About Pastor Gary & Julie
Gary was born in Alhambra, Calif. on June 30 1954. His father Paul worked for the JC Penny Co. for 48 years. His mother Mary (deceased) was a homemaker. Both his parents are faithful Christian servants. He has a brother Ron and a sister Sharon. They are Indiana and California residents with families devoted to the Lord. Sharon gave her life to the Lord at A New Harvest Sunday service ….Praise God!
Raised in Southern Calif., Gary was a High School Honor Student and attended the University of Redlands as a Biology Major. He graduated from Redlands in 1977. Although his parents encouraged church attendance in their youth, Gary did not have a relationship with Jesus during that time. The year following his graduation from college, Gary tried several sales jobs that may have been lucrative but fell short of being fulfilling.
In 1978 he decided to pursue a dream of working as a tour guide. So he made the bold step of moving to Hawaii to gain experience in the tourist industry. He fell in love with the Big Island and has remained ever since. After a year of odd jobs, Gary sought to become a scuba diving instructor and underwater guide as a way of fulfilling his dream job. With over 15,000 dives with customers, Gary has been blessed with a job that he has looked forward to every day. Over the years he has worked in all areas of the Ocean Recreation field. From Captaining large catamarans on snorkel, sunset and whale watches…to the thousands of hours exploring God’s creations underwater. He has ridden whale sharks and danced with humpback whales. Currently employed at Mauna Lani Sea Adventures at the Mauna Lani Resort, Gary is back full time in the diving end of the business, pursuing his original work passion. At Mauna Lani the diving operation emphasizes small intimate groups with a high regard for quality customer service. God gifted Gary this job on Christmas Eve of 2002. It has been a wonderful opportunity that has re-ignited his passion for the diving business.
Gary met his wife Julie in 1985 and they were married on July 26, 1986. It was through Julie that Gary made his first steps in his Christian walk. While dating Julie, Gary began to attend Julie’s church, the Kona United Methodist Church. They were founding members of this congregation and helped build the church that now exists on Palani Road. It was here that Gary gave his life to the Lord. Their son Christopher was born on December 9, 1987. Their family was very active in the United Methodist Church, serving as Sunday School teachers and home hosts for Bible studies and Discipleship classes. Gary served several terms as President of the church’s administrative council.
In 1994 the Simons family purchased, with God’s blessing, their first home. Although Gary did not want to move from Kona out to windy Waikoloa, it was the area that they could afford. Little did Gary know that this was also where God was calling Gary to change his life in dramatic ways. After a year of traveling back to Kona for Sunday services, the family sought to find a church family in Waikoloa. They were led to A New Harvest Fellowship, at that time a small group of people pioneering a new church meeting on the lawn at Waikoloa School. The worship style and the overwhelming love that the people had for Jesus drew the Simons family in. This church was very different from what they were used to, but the presence of the Holy Spirit fell upon them and they began a love walk with Jesus that they had been praying for.
Although his walk with Christ began with his meeting his wife, Gary continued to be held by some bondages from his youth. Gary was a drug addict. He had been in bondage for over 23 years to the daily addiction of marijuana usage. Although he hid this behavior from his employers and church family, the Lord eventually brought him to his knees in this area of his life. After many failed attempts to quit by using his own will power, Gary was resigned to the life of an addict. In 1994, Gary lost his job due to a failed random drug test. He fell on his knees and cried out to the Lord for intervention. He surrendered it all to God and in the surrender was delivered from the bondage that had this hold on his life. Since then, through God’s grace, Gary has been drug and alcohol free. The Holy Spirit has guided him through numerous programs that have helped him to learn how to live a life on the Lord’s terms. Since that miracle of healing, his marriage, his fathering, his Christian walk and his attitude at work have grown with leaps and bounds. Life has never been so good. Through this overwhelming life change, it was the family at A New Harvest that stood by him, prayed for him and loved him back to a healthy lifestyle. Windy Waikoloa has turned out to be the best move that Gary has ever made and God had it planned all along.
As A New Harvest grew, so did the Simons family walk with Jesus. Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Simons family was able to help develop two short-term mission outreaches to Guatemala. It was on the second mission trip that Gary felt the Lord calling him into a pastoral role. Upon returning from that second trip, Gary began to pursue his Pastors license with the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. Under the guidance of Pastor Frank Giraud, he was able to fulfill this call and now serves as an Associate Pastor appointed to A New Harvest Fellowship.
Gary has worn many ministry hats at A New Harvest over the years.. He has served faithfully on the church council and acknowledges that it was as part of the council that God began to grow Gary in his walk of financial faith. Gary enjoys the opportunity to give Pastor Frank a break on Sundays now and then. Allowing the Holy Spirit to use him in presenting God’s word in a Sunday message has been an enormous growing experience. Julie and Gary have hosted numerous ohana groups (small cell groups). Their call has been to marriages and helping others in surrendering their bondages to the Lord.
The Simons family has become very involved in the teen outreach ministry known as YoungLife. For a number of years the group met weekly in the Simons converted garage that was the official club meeting place in Waikoloa. Both Gary and Julie have escorted several groups of teens to the weeklong YoungLife summer camps on the mainland. These camp experiences have been awesome beyond description. The Holy Spirit has moved in the lives of many of our Waikoloa youth through this outreach. God deserves all the praise and glory. Their son Chris is attending Trinity Western University in British Columbia. He is majoring in theology and theater and plans to graduate in the spring or fall of 2011. Chris is active in churches in both Canada and Kona. All the three of the Simons family praise God for His love and care and look forward to continuing to grow in their walk with Jesus and his love outreach to others.