Willie George
Willie George is the founding and lead pastor of Church on the Move in Tulsa, Oklahoma.[1]
Born and raised in Texas, George converted to Christianity while in high school. He and his wife, Deleva, have been married over 30 years. In addition to a teenage daughter, they have four children and ten grandchildren.[2]
Willie George became a Christian in 1972 and began work in the Children's Ministry as a youth pastor of a church of 200 in Plainview, Texas. George believes that God spoke to him during a significant and intense time of prayer and instructed him to found a church in Tulsa. George and his wife Deleva moved to Tulsa and he accepted a position with Faith Christian Fellowship in a children's ministry position. He decided to resign from the church in 1980 and travel — he formed his own ministry later on in that year. Willie George is well known for his role as "Gospel Bill" in his evangelism TV shows. He also performed in the Gospel Bill role in one episode of The Wichita Slim Trilogy alongside Kenneth Copeland as Wichita Slim (a Sheriff). Willie George was also instrumental in producing Fire By Nite, a televised Christian program aimed at reaching a youthful audience. It aired on the Trinity Broadcasting Network and other local broadcast networks across America in the early to mid 1990s.
Willie George Ministries purchased land in rural Mayes County, Oklahoma in order to build a Christian camping and retreat center called Dry Gulch, U.S.A.. The park opened in July 1986 on 154 acres (0.62 km2). Willie George started Church on the Move on the outskirts of Tulsa in 1987 with 163 people in attendance. Church on the Move has a conservative church membership numbering well over 10,000+ as of 2009. It is a two-campus church[3] and classified as being a Mega-church in the Tulsa area.
As of January 2010, Church on the Move was reported to be the largest church in Tulsa, with an average Sunday attendance of 9,000 to 11,000.[4]
In 1996 George also started "The Christmas Train" at the Dry Gulch location. The train ride takes its riders through a biblical re-telling of the birth of Jesus Christ.
Filmography
- The Gunslinger
- Covenant Rider
- The Treasure of Eagle Mountain
See also
References
- ↑ Church on the Move website
- ↑ Church on the Move website
- ↑ "Church on the move". Retrieved 25 January 2014.
- ↑ Bill Sherman, "Church change in a decade: Six churches move into spots on Tulsa's top 10 list", Tulsa World, January 3, 2010.
Dad Life - A music video put together by Church on the Move in Tulsa, OK for Father's Day 2010. http://vimeo.com/12714406
External links
- Church on the Move website
- The Christmas Train (Located at the Drygulch, U.S.A. park)
- The Gospel Bill Show
- Willie George Ministries
- Camp Dry Gulch, U.S.A.