Our Story
It seems too incredible to be true. Does God really speak to people? Does He really send visions in this scientific rationalistic age of ours? Gary has no doubts in the matter.
As he tells the story, Gary was sitting down one day in his office condominium twenty-three years ago, and in that moment God spoke to him through his own mouth. He said, "The building next door is yours. It will be open and filled with people." Gary grabbed his mouth, not knowing quite how to respond, but he remembered what God had said and put faith into action.
Before long, God had provided the resources needed to purchase the neighboring condo. In faith, he bought the building and cleared it out of all the walls and dividers that had previously filled the space. The building was his, and now it was open. But where were all the people? Gary waited and waited... Nothing. From time to time he rented it out or allowed Christian organizations to use the space at no charge, but nothing came about that fulfilled the promise he had received.
One day he told God, "Lord, I'm getting older, and if possible I'd like to see the fulfillment of this vision while I'm still young enough to enjoy it," and he prayed that God would fulfill it soon. At the time, the building God had promised him was empty with no prospective renters in sight. Shortly after he and Phyllis began to pray about what God would have them do, Phyllis came home one day with the notion that God wanted them to transform the office area into a dance studio.
Crazy as it seemed at the time for two people with no prior dance experience to invest in a ballroom dance studio, they chose to go ahead with it. Gary put a "For Rent" sign out front and told Phyllis that they would go forward with renovations as long as God did not provide any other interested renters. If He did, that would be the sign to stop. The days passed with no renters in sight, and the studio continued to go up.
I've Got Rhythm has been in business now for almost two years, and Gary's vision has been and is still being fulfilled as a widening group of visitors to the studio learn to call IGR their home, filling the studio with every soul God had promised to bring.