Pastor John Gray Faces ‘Long Road Ahead’ After Hospitalization

Pastor John Gray (Credit: YouTube)

Megachurch pastor John Gray is in “amazing spirits,” but still faces serious health challenges, his wife Aventer Gray told parishioners on Sunday, July 17, at their Relentless Church.

Aventer, who serves as co-pastor, said she left her husband’s side as he recovers from treatment for a pulmonary embolism, to thank church members for their prayers and well-wishes.

“I just wanted to take a moment to stop in and to let you know how grateful to God we are for your relentless prayers, for your love, calls, texts messages,” she said in a video posted on YouTube.

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Earlier this month, John Gray was admitted to a critical care unit with a saddle pulmonary embolism in the pulmonary artery and lung blood clots, and needed two types of surgery.

According to Healthline, the condition can lead to heart failure and death.

Aventer told the church on Sunday that Gray had been “close to death” and called his recovery “miraculous.”

“Seven different doctors said, ‘There’s no way he walked in here with that,'” she recalled. “I know God saved his life.”

Still, she cautioned Gray faces challenges and asked church members to continue praying.

“Even though there’s a long road ahead of us, I implore you to please maintain your prayer posture,” she said.

John Gray, 49, is senior pastor of Relentless Church, which has campuses in Greenville, South Carolina, and Powder Springs, Georgia, according to its website. He took over leadership of the church in 2018, after previously serving as associate pastor at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas.

Gray was featured on the OWN docuseries, The Book of John Gray, and has made appearances on Red Table Talk, and Unsung.

He was initially hospitalized in Alabama before being moved to a medical facility in Atlanta.

In a July 9 Instagram post, Aventer said he was hospitalized for “severe” health problems.  She shared that a doctor told her that others who came into the hospital with similar conditions had died.

The Grays are parents to two children, son John W. Gray IV and daughter, Theory Aspyn-Sky Gray.