A Church for the City of Bend
Gather people to Jesus.
Grow disciples in community.
Go together for the renewal of Bend.
Throughout Scripture, God gathers the thirsty, the hungry, the hurting, the sick, the searching, and the scattered to Himself. Not merely into a crowd, but into a family. As we gather to Jesus, we grow in Christ together and go for the renewal of Bend. We believe church is not something we attend but a people we are becoming; formed by Jesus, living as His family and sent for the good of our city.
Meet the Lawrences
Hi, we’re Sam and Julie! We’re SO excited to be planting The Gathering here in Bend.
Our story together began at Hume Lake Christian Camps; it’s both the place we met and the place that revealed to us how desperate people are for truth and belonging. We have three beautiful children: Renly, who was stillborn in 2021, and our two boys, Jack and Cohen. We’ve called Bend home for the past eight years, and somewhere along the way, this town became so much more than just the place we live and we feel incredibly grateful to be raising our family here.
Ministry has been a big part of our lives. We’ve both had the privilege to pursue higher faith-based education. Sam holds a B.A. in Biblical and Theological Studies from Liberty University and is currently working toward his master's degree at Western Seminary, which he'll complete in the spring of 2027. Julie earned her bachelor’s in Christian Behavioral Science from California Baptist University. Over the past 12 years, Sam has had the opportunity to serve in a variety of ministry roles, with the last 7 of those years spent serving churches here in Bend.
Some of our most formative ministry experiences have been here in Bend where we have had a front row seat to the unique ache, hurt and challenges that people here in Central Oregon face in their desperate pursuit for meaning and purpose. It’s out of these experiences we have felt a clear and compelling invitation from the Lord to be a part of furthering the Gospel here in our city.
Our heart for planting The Gathering is not to capture a portion of the church market, our desire is to pursue the 70,000+ people in our city who don’t know Jesus and are looking for meaning and purpose apart from Him.
The last eight years in Bend have shaped us in more ways than we could have anticipated — through friendships, ministry, raising our family, and navigating both joy and life-altering loss, we've come to know and love this community in a deeper way. We don't take lightly the opportunity to plant a church here, and we're grateful to be part of what God is doing in a place that means so much to our family!