The Gathering: Who We Are: Staff

Changing Lives, Changing the Community, and Changing the World

Staff

James Shiroma
Lead Pastor

James loves serving as The Gathering's lead pastor. Prior to The Gathering, James was senior pastor of Cornerstone Fellowship for nine years. He also served as youth pastor in Ft. Worth, Texas. James has been on short term missions in Hawaii, the mainland and overseas. He has spoken in churches, conferences and large youth events in Hawaii and the Mainland. James meets with Central Oahu pastors who desire to see spiritual transformation in our community.

The son of a pastor, James became a Christian at age seven and sensed God’s call to be a pastor during his senior year in high school but did not surrender to the ministry until his senior year in college. James graduated from Hawaii Baptist Academy (1988) and University of Hawaii--BA Journalism (1992). James received his Master’s of Divinity (1996) from Southwestern Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas.

James loves to jog, watch sports and spend time with his wife, Julie. James enjoys keeping up with University of Hawaii sports, especially football. James and Julie have a strong desire to see God work. They consider serving God through The Gathering a privilege and honor.

unknown

Peter Chang
Student Pastor

unknown Christy Fritts
Children’s Minister

“God called me LOUDLY!” Christy exclaimed. “We were unsure of where God wanted us to be when my mother reminded me that God had called me into children’s ministry three years earlier. Not seeing how that could be possible right now, I simply replied with ‘Thanks Mom.’ And pushed it from my mind. Two days later, God called me to The Gathering as children’s minister. I could not say no to God, so we started working and haven’t looked back.”

Born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Christy grew up an Air Force brat and lived in many places. She became a Christian at five years old. Christy graduated from Northwestern State University (Natchitoches, Louisiana) with a degree in Early Childhood/Elementary Education. She served many different volunteer positions in Children’s Ministry such as Sunday School teacher, Wednesday night children’s ministry leader, Children’s choir, and camp counselor.

Christy is a wife, mother, and home school teacher. Her hobbies include reading and scrap-booking. She is married to George (an elder at The Gathering) and says, “I am married to an amazing man.” George and Christy have five children.

Christy says: “God has given me a passion for children. I love being with them, teaching them, playing with them. I believe that God has called me to minister to children and their families in Mililani, simply by being there and meeting their needs. I am convinced that God will use and is even now using The Gathering to reach families for Jesus Christ. We are already seeing huge change in people’s lives and I have no doubt that is going to continue in big ways.”

Julie Shiroma
Frontlines Director

Julie is responsible for leading worship, overseeing Mini-Gatherings, and connecting all the nuts and bolts of The Gathering. In other words, she is responsible for making sure the ministries of The Gathering run smoothly. Julie is passionate about what she does at The Gathering.

Originally from Alexandria, Virginia (just outside of Washington DC), Julie's ministry experience includes youth ministry, singles ministry, Bible Study Fellowship, Macedonian Project, and missions. She has led many mission trips to Turkey. In Virginia, Julie was a flight attendant. Julie graduated from Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Arts in English.

Julie enjoys surfing, reading, watching TV, traveling to Turkey, and hanging out with her husband, James... who by the way is lead pastor of The Gathering. The Shiromas consider it an honor to serve the Lord at The Gathering. They believe that God will use the church to make an impact for Him in the community, the island and the world.

Praise Team

Although Julie Shiroma leads our Worship Team, she emphasizes the “team” approach. Everyone on the team has something special to offer. We make ourselves available to God by giving Him our talents, personalities and hearts. The goal of our Worship Team is to point people to Jesus by leading with our hearts. We desire for our worship to be a reflection of our love for God and our worship of Him.

We believe everyone who comes to worship should be an active participant. When we all worship with our hearts and when we connect with God in Spirit and Truth, we allow God to transform us through our worship.

Come and join us on Sundays and experience worship that is simple… yet powerful.

Elders

George Fritts

Elder

George says that “God called us to the Gathering. It has been very exciting to see how God has been faithful to His work in Central Oahu!” The Fritts were one of the original families who started The Gathering.

George became a Christian at age 12. George served as a deacon, led worship, sang in choirs and praise teams, led Men’s Ministry, and taught Sunday School. George is married to Christy (our Children’s Minister). The Fritts have five children—George, Arlene, Shea, Allen, and Abigail. His hobbies are anything related to sports or music.

George is a Lt. Colonel in the Air Force. George serves as a KC-135 Instructor Pilot and a Command Process Manager for Air Force Smart Operations 21. George holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Factors Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy and Master’s in Human Relations. As an Air Force brat, George lived in North Carolina, Alabama, New York, Colorado and Virginia. After graduating from the Air Force Academy, George lived in Texas, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas and Hawaii.

George said: “It is already evident that God is desiring to ‘do a new thing’ (Isaiah 43:19) in Central Oahu—I see Him using The Gathering to meet the needs of the unchurched, especially in the Mauka area. I’ve always seen myself as a ‘utility infielder’ in regards to ministry. I hope to remain responsive to God’s leading in regard to personal ministry, but expect to stay plugged in to the worship ministry and to help build a fellowship of men as the Gathering matures.”

unknown Stanley Shiroma
Elder

Pastor Stanley retired as pastor of Waianae Baptist Church in 2002. Pastor Stanley served Waianae Baptist for 22 years. Following Pastor Stanley's retirement, he served Mt. Kaala Baptist Church as an "interim" pastor for four and a half years. Altogether, Pastor Stanley has nearly 40 years experience as senior pastor. That experience has been valuable for The Gathering.

Currently, Pastor Stanley has enjoyed retirement and serving at The Gathering. Pastor Stanley is married to Faith. They have four children and one grandchild. Pastor Stanley son James is the lead pastor of The Gathering.

Pastor Stanley received his Bachelor's (Comparative Religion) from the University of Hawaii and Master's in Theology from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.

Pastor James said: "I consider serving with my dad as the biggest honor of my life. He is my role model in ministry. I respect my dad for being the man of God he is. It is very humbling for me to now be my father and mother's pastor. Our church is blessed with my parents but I am even more blessed and will remember this time for the rest of my life."

Bob Adair (January 5, 1937 - January 31, 2010)
Bob served as one of our first three elders and later as an advisor to The Gathering. Bob went to be with the Lord on January 31, 2010 after a bout with cancer. Although Bob is in Heaven with Jesus, we miss him very much. The Gathering will always appreciate the contributions and leadership Bob gave us. As one of our first three elders, Bob was instrumental in laying groundwork for The Gathering. We at The Gathering have been impacted by Bob's life. Future generations will also be impacted because of Bob's commitment to starting The Gathering. Please continue to pray for Bob'e wife Helen and the rest of the family as they journey through this time of loss and grieving. For more on Bob, please see: www.rememberingbob.com.