Our Story

In 2015 The Woods Church launched a multisite campus in St. Clair Shores under the leadership of Pastor Tim and a leadership team of mostly volunteers. The campus was launched with belief, by both Pastor Tim and other leaders, that God had a plan for the Gospel to flourish and His Kingdom to come. Over the years the leaders of the campus continued to pursue God’s purposes, still believing that what Jesus spoke to Paul in Acts 18, that He had “many people in this city,” was true of St. Clair Shores as well.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, in the beginning of 2020, God began to stir and to shift the campus, in regards to its leadership and its priorities and pursuits. It was not known then, but it was all the Lord’s doing in preparation for what He had in store for the future. As the pandemic hit and the shutdown began to impact the church, Pastor Tim’s heart, as well as the hearts of the leaders, were gripped by the calling of Jesus for His Church to take seriously and to be devoted to the pursuit of the Great Commission.

Over the several months of the shutdown God began to shift the leadership’s definition of success away from what the Western church has often made it: attendance, budgets, and brand recognition. Instead, the leadership began to be convinced that Jesus has actually called His Church to be defined by whether or not we as a community of faith are devoted to fulfilling the Great Commission through being disciples that make disciples.

With this burning desire to be a community of faith devoted to the fulfilling of the Great Commission, and the belief that God has many people that belong to Him in this city, The Gathering Church was launched on January 1, 2022 out of what was once The Woods Church, St. Clair Shores Campus. We believe that we will see God’s Kingdom come and His Will be done, as we continue to walk in faith and obedience to His Word.