Celebrating 50 Years of Ministry
On Feb. 25-26, FCC celebrated the 50th year of ministry for our Pastor Gary Kolstad! We welcomed both current and former church members, along with others from past ministries, friends, and family members to join in the celebration!
We kicked-off the celebration on Saturday Feb. 25 with a wonderful dinner and more than 100 guests who came to honor Pastor Gary. Following the meal, we enjoyed a song by Candice Chapman, daughter-in-law of Pastor Gary, followed by a dance performance by Kenya Harris and Tia Brown. Later, we introduced a slide show of Pastor Gary through the years that preceded guest speaker and longtime friend, Chris Vaughn.
The night ended with special comments from many who attended.
If you were unable to attend, you can still send a special video message to jillo1013@gmail.com or cards/letters to the church at PO Box 672 Mooresville, NC 28115.
Biography
Gary; the son of Gordon and Inez Kolstad and was born June 22, 1944 at Devils Lake Mercy Hospital in North Dakota. He was born premature; he weighed 3lbs. and could fit in a size (8) shoe box. Gary is first born of five siblings. Gary, Marlyn, Sandra, Denise, and John.
Educated in Eddy County Schools, Gary graduated in 1962 from Devils Lake Senior High School Grade. In high school, he participated in every high school sport offered such as (baseball, weight lifting, wrestling, track, basketball).
After Graduation he joined the US Army (June 1962) and took his basic training at Fort Lenard Wood, Missouri. From there He went on to Helicopter School at Fort Eustis, Virginia. After graduating helicopter school (April 1963) he was shipped to Vietnam, and given command as Crew Chief on the UH1-Turbine driven, it was known as a HUEY’ in the Vietnam War. When his tour of duty was completed in June 1965, he was serving as a Technical Inspector and Line Chief at Fort Benning, Georgia.
He returned to North Dakota, for a year and worked as an Electrician, but felt compelled to return to Rome, Georgia. On December 18th, 1966 he was born-again in a Bible Study. He began attending the South Rome Church of God, and was baptized in Holy Ghost a couple months later. He felt an inner prompting that God wanted him to (Preach and Teach Gods’ Word), which was confirmed by the Holy Ghost in Dreams and Prophetic Words on February, 8th, 1967.
After returning from a revival in Mississippi, he heard the Lord say “go back to Mississippi”. That was the beginning of being called by the LORD; he travelled to every state from Louisiana - Maine, including Nine foreign countries establishing churches as he travelled; He took courses; from Lee College, Cleveland, Tennessee and received a Bachelor in Ministry, May 1973. He continued his education by advancing toward a Masters’ Degree and received it in May, 1975. Later he helped a minister establish a Bible College named “Vintage”. He and the other minister taught students from Syllabuses’ they had prepared. Today they have over 600 students enrolled.
In 1983, Gary and Rendie were married, and they followed through on a calling to relocate from the SC area to Mooresville to plant a church. A friend, Gary Price introduced them to the Word of Faith movement and ministry partners Bobby and Cathy Ray, Chris Vaughn and Pastor Dean Melton. They started with an in-home Bible Study, and as the church grew, relocated to several locations in the area ultimately arriving at the current location in 2005.
During this time he approached the Sherriff and asked if he would sponsor him as a Deputy. After (6) months of intense training he graduated at the top of his class; He was hired and working as a Road Deputy, Bailiff in several different courts’; Issued Subpoenas; Transported prisoners to various Sites.
In 2016, Pastor Gary received an Honorary Doctorate in Hebrew studies, having been to Israel two times and studied with the Rabbi’s. Currently, he is working on a PhD; from Vintage Bible College.
Today after (50 years of ministry) February 8th 2017 He is the Founder and Senior Pastor of Freedom Christian Center, Inc.