Get to Know the Gates Family

Ministry Description

Right now our role is to raise support so that we can move to Eastern Michigan and serve full time there with local churches. When we get there we will be connecting with Local Churches, Discipling Youth Leaders, training church volunteers, hosting evangelistic events, and reaching the young people of Michigan by equipping and serving the local church.

Learn more about the ministry in the United States.

About Bryant

My name is Bryant Gates. I grew up in a small town in central North Carolina. My grandfather was a pastor the first 25 years of my life and my parents were faithful to make sure I always went to church. After hearing a sermon in Romans at the age of 6 I went home and told my dad I wanted to go to heaven with Jesus and Mom and Dad and Nana and Pop. He gave me the gospel there on his bed and I believed that Jesus is Lord and repented of my sins. The following years were hard on little Bryant as I was in a home full of division and anger. My parents divorced when I was 2, each of them remarried, and divorced this spouses as well. I’m glad to say that both my parents love the Lord now, but back then I struggled believing that I was the reason for the pain. It wasn’t until my youth pastor, Pastor Rock, came alongside me and spoke into my life that I found the incredible joy and love in the Christian life. Through him and the other youth volunteers at my church I fell in love with following God and wanted to have that same impact on others. To pursue this I went to Word of Life Bible Institute and it was there I fell in love with discipleship. After Word of Life I spent the next 7 years working in Youth ministry. During that time, while working as a youth pastor, a word of life LCM missionary came alongside me, encouraged me, and helped our youth group to grow deeper and wider. God used him to greatly impact us and I came to desire to want to have that same impact on others. Years later God has called me and my family to become Youth Ministry Coaches, and my prayer is that the chain of discipleship will continue in Eastern Michigan as we work towards God’s mission there.

About Noelle

My name is Noelle and I have been married to Bryant since November 2024. I grew up in a Christian home, my dad is a pastor. I knew about Jesus ever since I was young. I cannot remember a time in my childhood that I was not convicted for sinning. I remember in middle school writing out a prayer to God asking for His help, desiring to grow closer to Him. When I graduated High School I decided I was going to attend Word of Life Bible Institute. I had not grown much closer to the Lord and I knew if I wanted to get anywhere in life I needed to have a Biblical Foundation. I went to first year and second year from Fall 2022 to Fall 2024. During my second year I got the opportunity to work with the Local Church. I worked at a small local church an hour away from everything I knew up in New York, and they needed help. While I was there my heart grew for the local church. I remember thinking of my local church at home and how they needed better equipped, and how I can help more than I realized. I did not want anyone to be like I was in Middle School to High School, wanting to grow but not understanding how to. With this my heart ached for the Local Church and specifically the youths in them. Bryant and I got married and we searched to find where God would have us serve, and we found Local Church Missions with Word of Life.

1 Peter 3:15 “but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”

Contact Information

bmgates@wol.org

Address:
Bryant Gates
Word of Life United States
PO Box 600
Schroon Lake, NY 12870