Gary W. Combs, B.A., Radford University; M.Div., Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, is the senior pastor at Eastgate Church, which has campuses in Rocky Mount and Wilson, North Carolina. He was born in Bristol, Tennessee, but grew up in Bristol, Virginia. He was the first of four children. Gary majored in music with an emphasis on classical guitar at Radford University. This is where he met and married his college sweetheart, Robin Conner, in 1979.
He began working for the Jack Eckerd Corporation in 1980. He was the District Manager over the Eastern North Carolina district when he resigned in 1991 to answer God’s call to full-time ministry. He finished his seminary work with an emphasis in Biblical Languages in 1994. While attending seminary, Gary planted Wilson Community Church in Wilson, North Carolina, in 1992. WCC was renamed Eastgate Church in 2022 to match the church’s vision to plant churches east of I-95 in Eastern NC.
Gary and his wife Robin have three grown children: Stephen (wife, Caroline); Jonathan (wife, Nicole); and Erin. They have ten grandchildren. Gary enjoys reading, playing guitar, riding his motorcycle, travel, disc golf with his sons, and hanging out with friends and family.