Gary is the founder, President, and Principal Consultant for Ministry By Design, the premier organization committed to assisting churches and other ministries design ministry that is effective in transforming lives in the name of Christ. He began his career working in various aspects of the heavy construction and natural gas industries, gaining expertise in the areas of pipeline construction, material handling, telecommunications, payroll and tax processing, and human resources organizational development and training. Following 17 years of experience in these areas, Gary followed a calling into full-time ministry.
Gary's initial ministry calling was to serve his local church in Houston by leading support groups in several disciplines. The next several years saw increasing pastoral responsibilities in various capacities in the areas of volunteer recruitment, single adult ministries, assimilation, missions and outreach, stewardship, and adult ministries. Subsequent assignments added a portfolio that included additional responsibilities for men's and women's ministries, as well as couples and marriage ministries. During an assignment at a megachurch in Texas, Gary led a team that developed a comprehensive ministry plan for marriages that is a model that any church of any size can effectively adopt for their needs. The creation of Hartwood Ministries, a non-profit ministry dedicated to helping churches in a number of areas, followed shortly after the development of the marriage ministry project. This non-profit organization was then the forerunner of Ministry By Design, which builds on what the previous incarnations started. Much of the expertise garnered in the areas of ministry design, development, and implementation has been put into book form through a set of volumes entitled, Ministry By Design: The Series. The first three books of the multi-volume series have been published, with others being published in the next several years. See the Products & Publications page for more information on this series.
Gary's passions include the promotion of strong marriages, families, and churches throughout the world. He believes the family must be structured and led based on the foundation of a strong marriage between a man and a woman committed to each other through their Biblical values. He also believes the church should be structured on the foundation of Christ at the center of strong marriages and families.
Bachelors and Masters degrees were awarded Gary through the University of Houston, and a D.Min curriculum is being completed in the area of Pastoral Leadership. Gary and his lovely and wonderful wife, Aimee, reside in North Texas with their two wonderful young men and one cat.
