Our Story
Bryant and Gary might never have crossed paths but for the unlikely intervention of a mutual acquaintance. The story begins with Bryant cooped up in his study over a pile of books and assignments, whose deadlines were fast approaching. For a long while, his Ph.D. studies had absorbed him and pried him away from friends and ministry relationships. That night he resolved to put aside his studies and take a step in renewing some of those relationships.
After a months of taking a break from his dancing, he made his way to one of the weekly parties at Dance Louisville where he was presently teaching, although only sporadically. As he walked in, the music was playing, but no one was dancing. The energy and excitement that had been present in the group during his last visit had waned severely, and the crowds had likewise dwindled to only a select few. Making his way to a table, he joined the crowd.
Chatting about, Bryant soon discovered a table of guests from Southeast Christian Church, and somewhere over the course of their conversation, he mentioned the ministry to marriage couples he had recently conceived only a few nights before. One of the ladies seemed very excited about the idea and mentioned the name of a man that she had met at church less than a month earlier, who was opening a ballroom dance studio and was looking for an instructor. She wrote his name down on a slip of paper and gave it to him.
Thinking this man was surely no different from any of the other studio owners who paid slave wages to their instructors to better serve their own interests, Bryant didn't think much of the offer at first. He took the slip of paper and, when he got home, placed it under the key to his dance partner's now out-of-business studio. For some reason he'd never gotten around to throwing it out. The next day, however, he decided that he might as well give this "Gary Arnold" character a call and see what he was about, so he found his number and called.
As Bryant spoke to Gary over the phone, and they each shared their story with one another, he looked back at the slip, still lying beneath the old studio key, and all became clear. This man and his studio would be the key to success both in Bryant's ministry and his future. A day later, they met, and the rest is history.