After Gary Fowler finished his first triathlon, he asked his wife to slap him and remind him how difficult it was should he ever consider doing another.
That was in 2012.
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Photo by Wes Kroninger
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Photo by Wes Kroninger
In October, Fowler ran his first officially sanctioned Ironman triathlon in Maryland. The biking, swimming and running has helped him raise $17,000 toward starting new churches in Ohio. In August, he’ll compete in a Half Ironman in Delaware.
Previously an executive pastor at Pickerington’s C3 Church, part of the Assemblies of God, in May, Fowler became Ohio Church Multiplication Network director, in charge of growing churches under the Assemblies of God organization. Come 2016, he’ll be traveling around Ohio to raise money and gain support.
Fowler’s own entrance to the church came when he was an adult. While he attended church
Photo by Wes Kroninger
with his grandmother, he never went willingly. The experience was more ritualistic than spiritual.
Once his daughter, Shayna, was 2 years old, Fowler realized he wanted to help her grow up with morals and Christian values. Intending to put her in day care, he visited the Harbor of Hope church in St. Clairsville and inquired about the institution’s belief system. That’s when he met Konan Stephens, the church’s youth pastor, who would become a best friend to him.
The joy and peace that Stephens radiated impressed him.
“I remember walking away thinking, ‘Whatever he’s got, I want it,’” Fowler says.
Fowler had spent four years in the U.S. Air Force, and at that time, post-bachelor’s degree, he was trying to obtain his Cisco computer certification. He realized he wanted a godly relationship.
After Stephens became district youth pastor for Ohio, Fowler ended up taking his old position as church youth pastor at Harbor of Hope.
Fowler credits the church with turning his life around when he was focused on making money via a career path in technology. He also found support from the organization when his second daughter, Megan, died about 11 years ago.
The prognosis for Megan wasn’t good: hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Fowler and his wife,
Photo courtesy of Gary Fowler
Clockwise from top left: Gary Fowler with daughters Shayna, Hannah and Raegan, and wife Deni
Deni, already knew that she might die in the womb. They were told that if Deni were to give birth, Megan would die after her umbilical cord was cut. Though she was born with a heart that was missing a chamber, Megan ended up living for four days. Stephens performed the funeral ceremony.
“That was the hardest time in my life,” Fowler says.
Megan’s death led him to question his faith, but Fowler ultimately persevered. He believes his experience has helped him to be more compassionate than he was before. He recently led a funeral for a stillborn baby, and he says he was able to connect with the family in a way that wouldn’t have been possible had he not had his own experience to draw upon.
“God has used that over and over and over,” he says.
Fowler and Deni now have three daughters: Shayna, 19; Hannah, 10; and Raegan, 8.
And while his family has grown, Fowler has also worked to help grow his parish community, which started with the C3 Church in Pickerington that he and Stephens founded about nine years ago. Since then, they have started several new churches. Most are in the Columbus and Pickerington areas, and one is in Youngstown. They’ve also partnered with a handful of churches overseas over the last six or seven years.
“This church was started to help other churches,” Fowler says.
Fowler and Stephens’ involvement in triathlons has also helped their parishioners in Pickerington pursue their own 5Ks and even the Columbus Marathon.
“They’re really starting to focus on their physical health,” he says.
Fowler’s own introduction to the triathlon began when he agreed to participate in one with Stephens in 2012.
“I had no earthly idea what it was,” Fowler says.
Training for the event was rough. Fowler compares it to a part-time job. After that first race, Fowler decided he didn’t want to do another race unless it was a sanctioned Ironman event.
He decided he wouldn’t compete again unless he was going to race with someone who hadn’t done a triathlon before. He wanted to race for a good cause.
Enter a new church member, down on his luck, who wanted to become more physically fit. He began biking. Last October, Fowler asked the parishioner if he wanted to do an Ironman triathlon together. In January, the two began seriously considering the idea.
Fowler says the church member stopped smoking and quit drinking as part of his preparation.
“His marriage is doing so much better,” he says. “He’s probably in the best shape of his life.”
Sarah Sole is an editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
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