Love Story Church — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable John Gray (Lead Pastor) and Aventer Gray (Co-Pastor)

Founded 2018 (took over former Redemption Church campus)

Denomination Non-denominational

Service Times Sunday 8:30 AM & 11:00 AM

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry Yes

Website www.lovestorychurch.com/

Pastor Credentials John Gray: Associate pastor at Lakewood Church under Joel Osteen before Relentless; charismatic preacher; TV personality

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

Is Jesus the only way? (John 14:6)

Verify — Gray's preaching tends toward emotional/experiential rather than doctrinal precision.

Caution

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

Verify — topical/charismatic approach; inerrancy stance unclear.

Caution

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

No dedicated men's discipleship program found.

WARNING!

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Verify — prosperity gospel adjacency from Lakewood background is a concern.

Caution

Gender / Biblical Design

Biblical manhood and womanhood by God's design — patriarchal, complementarian, egalitarian, or affirming gender ideology?

RED CONFIRMED: Homepage explicitly states 'Aventer serves as Co-Pastor, while empowering women across the world to reign with purpose, power, and passion.' Egalitarian co-pastor structure fails MOOP male-headship standard.

Egalitarian — female co-pastor

WARNING!

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

RED: Female co-pastor (Aventer Gray) explicitly named on homepage as Co-Pastor alongside John Gray.

WARNING!

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Charismatic/topical. Gray is an entertaining, emotional preacher but not expository.

Caution

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Verify — community engagement focus but Great Commission clarity unknown.

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

Verify — Gray is culturally relevant but unclear on CRT/DEI positioning.

Caution

Accountability Structure

Denominational home, elder plurality, or external network — is the pastor answerable to anyone?

No elder board or denominational affiliation disclosed on homepage. Kept RED.

WARNING!

Assessment

Relentless Church is led by John Gray, who came from Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church — which is a significant yellow flag. Gray is a gifted communicator and charismatic personality but his doctrinal framework is unclear. Financial controversies, leadership disputes with the previous church (Redemption), and Lakewood-adjacent theology raise concerns. Not recommended without significant vetting. YELLOW — too many unknowns and the Lakewood pipeline is problematic. Renamed from Relentless Church effective March 31, 2024; John and Aventer Gray continue as Lead Pastor and Co-Pastor.

#non-denominational#charismatic#john-gray#megachurch#greenville-sc#seeker-sensitive#verified-2026#rebranded

Sources & Evidence

These are the URLs consulted to arrive at this church's scoring. Score-note claims are synthesized from homepage content, denominational directories, and public statements of faith at the time of review. Church websites change frequently; we're progressively adding Internet Archive snapshots to prevent link rot.

[1] Live source lovestorychurch.com/about

Transparency note: MOOP ratings are researcher judgments about publicly available theological and ecclesial evidence. They are not infallible. If a church's public posture has changed since our review, or if we've mis-read evidence, tell us — we publish corrections.