Gene was born in California during the turbulent sixties, a time when young people challenged the existing social mores and political authority of America. The third of four children born to a Baptist pastor, Gene lived as a child in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in Texas. When his father entered evangelism, the family relocated to the tourist town of Sevierville, where Gene spent his remaining youth in the foothills of East Tennessee.

"Beware that you don't despise a single one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father."

-Matthew 18:10  

Despite his being raised in the environment of full-time Christian ministry, however,  Gene's parents divorced when he was a teenager. After the divorce, he was left to grapple with the bitterness of a young world gone awry. Following the footsteps of many preachers' kids, he kicked up his heels in protest and walked a short road of rebellion.  Gene eventually returned to Texas and entered Bible College.

Graduating from Criswell Bible College in Dallas, Texas, he immediately entered evangelism where he served as a full-time minister for twelve years. In 1999, while hosting a student conference in Kansas City, GOD imparted to Gene that he was to return to the Smoky Mountains of his youth and start a non-denominational church called The Gathering.

A few short years later, and based upon a word from the LORD that Gene would be shown how to teach HIS people to serve the poor, a humanitarian organization was born--The LORD'S Child. Intended to serve impoverished children throughout the Appalachian region and in other parts of the world, The LORD'S Child was launched in 2007.  

Gene lives in Sevierville, Tennessee with his wife, Karen and their two sons Corey and Seth.