Apostle Collette L. Gunby

Apostle Collette Lewis Gunby was the daughter of the late John H. and Thelma O. Lewis, Sr. She was the second child, first daughter, of five children (John, Jr., Nawanna, Veronica, and Renee). Apostle Gunby was born on May 4, 1949 in Atlanta, Georgia. She attended E. R. Carter Elementary School and Booker T. Washington High School graduating with the class of 1967. Pastor Collette Gunby was a graduate of North Carolina College of Theology and received an Honorary Doctorate from Beulah Heights University. Some are called to lead, some to teach, some to exhort, still others to prophesy. Pastor Collette L. Gunby’s call came to no longer assist her husband in ministering, but to carry on his work after his death. Out of adversity has emerged a truly powerful and dynamic ministry. Just as the oyster labors to produce the perfect pearl, and the butterfly evolves from the confines of an unsightly cocoon, life’s greatest tragedies can sometimes produce a miraculous turn of events. The ministry of Green Pastures Christian Ministries, Inc. is a testament to the character of a woman whose faith in God never wavered, even in the midst of her most tumultuous storm. Married at the tender age of 18, Collette Lewis Gunby was unprepared for the realities of life as a wife and mother. Despite a deeply religious upbringing, youthful passions ruled her household. Those heated emotions at last led to a watershed event, resulting in Ronald Gunby being mortally wounded. As she nursed her husband’s fallen body, Collette read to him her favorite Scriptures. The 23rd Psalm seemed to ease his pain, and brought peace back into her home. “The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me.” Ronald Gunby’s heart opened to the Word of God and, as he recovered, began to seek out the meaning of his life. From his searching emerged the Green Pastures Christian Ministries. At first a small gathering of worshipers in their home soon mushroomed into a full-fledged Church. As the membership grew into the hundreds, Rev. Gunby was growing in the Lord. He was given a prophetic manifesto…a blueprint for building a religious empire…revealed to him in prayerful communion with God. After his death in 1986, the prophecies of Ronald Gunby became a living legacy through the vessel of his widow. During the 12 years Ronald Gunby survived, confined to a wheelchair, he penned a master plan that outlined in thorough detail the future of Green Pastures. As witness to the birth of this hand-written document, Collette Gunby willingly took up the mantle as envisioned by her husband, and has followed precisely the path he set forth. “My husband was the visionary,” explains Pastor Gunby. “I’m the cook, just completing his recipe.” Committed to memory, she kept the tattered and aging document, shielded by plastic covers to preserve it, close at hand. Using her God-given talents, Pastor Gunby, as she prefers to be called, crafted a ministry that is non-traditional by most Christian standards. Straight talking and practical, she was nonetheless devoted to fulfilling the Lord’s purpose for her life. She built an apostolic ministry in which she takes full responsibility for the souls of the flock of her followers. Numbering in the tens of thousands over the years. Only three days after the home going service for Ronald Earl Gunby, Collette Gunby kept an appointment previously made by Ron with an investor to arrange financing for the new church facility. In less than five months, Pastor Gunby moved her grieving congregation into a $1.2 million church facility. The financial institution financed this acquisition with a 100% loan. God divinely included a 42-acre retreat with an 8-acre lake for good measure. When the seed of Ron Gunby went into the ground, it was as though the time and seasons were right for a miraculous move of God. God inspired Pastor Collette L. Gunby to purchase five houses across the street from the church in 1987. That same year Green Pastures began the childcare division of the school, which began in 1982. The school now goes from six weeks old to twelfth grade with enrollment of over 200 children. In 1989 God led Apostle Gunby to renovate the church sanctuary and her thoughts also turned toward a new gymnasium facility. The same financial institution financed the second million-dollar loan. A balcony and gymnasium were completed in 1989. Possessing strength tempered by wisdom of time and tragedy, Pastor Gunby has moved boldly forward into a world that was once predominately male. Under her guidance, the non-denominational congregation has acquired a wealth of properties. The church purchased 6.5 acres of commercial in-town real estate in the historic West End District of Atlanta, for a mixed-use development that includes “Skyloft Condominiums”. Green Pastures was the first church to obtain a TND (Traditional Neighborhood Development) Zoning from Dekalb County. A comprehensive planned community on 97.2 acres will include a sanctuary, child development center, school, elderly housing and subdivision. Green Pastures received two grants from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development totaling approximately $6 million dollars for the construction of 74 units of elderly housing and supportive services: Green Pastures Commons. For over 20 years, Green Pastures Christian Ministries, Inc. produced and presented an annual dramatic musical presentation “King of Glory” boasting a spectacular 250-cast performance with an annual audience of 25,000. Many of those attending have been healed and set free by the power of the Spirit in the performances. They come in wheelchairs, from orphanages, elderly homes, by busloads from all across the United States and from all walks of life for a touch from the Spirit of God. The Bible comes to life as angels fly and the heavenly host proclaim Jesus Christ in every act. Pastor Gunby is also a keen, savvy businesswoman who instinctively knows organization. Green Pastures operates more like a fortune 500-company than a traditional church, with 60 employees. In 1999, Pastor Gunby was a speaker for the National Faith-Based Initiative presented by HUD. In 2000, she was also the honored guest of President Bill Clinton to discuss Faith-Based Initiatives. She has been featured many times on TBN Spotlight Ministry, AIB, WATC TV57 as well as Gospel Radio. Pastor Collette L. Gunby is a woman truly on a mission. Her outreach ministry goes into public housing communities, hospitals, nursing homes, street ministry, homeless ministry and prisons. Children excel in the church-run school. Instilling strong principles and values in the next generation is a major focus of her ministry. Pastor Gunby was in demand all over the country because of her practical teaching and the anointing God places on her to break yokes and to set captives free. A self-described shy, quiet young girl has blossomed into a powerful force in the community. She credits it all to her deceased husband’s vision, which revealed her gifts for the entire world to see. This woman’s gifts and callings powered by the Holy Spirit are undeniable. For no man or woman could do these things except God is with them. Pastor Collette L. Gunby is the author of three books: “The Plumbline”, “Through Shadows of Death” and “Courageous Women – Chosen to Lead”. She also co-authored “Failure the Womb of Success”. Rev. Dr. Collette L. Gunby leaves to cherish her precious memory two children, Kelley and Douglas (Tamar) Gunby. She simply adored her grandchildren DeShon, Tiffani and Kristopher; one brother Archbishop John H. Lewis Jr, four sisters, Rev. Nawanna Lewis Miller (Deacon George), Veronica Lewis Long, Aretha Rosser and Renee “Sunshine” Lewis; nieces, nephews, cousins, Green Pastures Family, the innumerable lives she touched, and a host of friends.

Tributes

Apostle Collette L. Gunby

May 4, 1949 - April 27, 2023