The back room of Karma’s Coffee House in Cullman’s Warehouse District is bustling with customers stuck in deep conversation, visiting with friends and waiting on the man of the hour: Ron Teal. Teal, along with fellow pastors Kim and David Trelles, lead The Gathering Bible study every Thursday night around 6. The trio invites anyone who has a desire to be closer to God. Teal said he wanted to have fellowship and worship in a place that is neutral and welcoming to individuals of all walks of life.
The program has been steadily regaining momentum since coming back after pandemic restrictions eased. It is on the verge of quickly outgrowing Karma’s. Teal said The Gathering has been around for a while, “catching souls on fire with a deeper delve into the Truth.”
“We started doing this about five years ago at the Cullman County Museum, then Covid came and shut everything down. Karma’s was the only place that would allow us to meet. We spoke with them at Karma’s and our attendance just started to explode,” Teal shared. “It’s been one of those things that the Lord just breathed on. We only had the Cullman Gathering until last year and now we have three more, one in Midland, Texas, one in Amarillo, Texas, and one in Destin, Florida. What happened in Midland, Amarillo and Destin is people came to Cullman and said, ‘I want to do that in my community’ and took it home.”
Teal travels back and forth between his home in Texas and his Gathering spots. He said the goal has always been to bring followers closer to the Lord and share the miracles that are given from above with a little bit of truth and faith.
David Trelles shared, “This is very non-traditional. Thursday nights, and we don’t own a building, we don’t have to upkeep a parking lot, we don’t have those diversions and roadblocks to the truth – and that’s what we do here. We share the Truth.”
The Gathering meets each Thursday night at Karma’s Coffee House located at 103 First Ave. NE. Fellowship begins at 6 with the message following at 7. Teal and the Trelleses recommend an early arrival to secure a good spot, as the seats fill quickly.
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