Gary Rea is a worship leader and song writer from Cape Town, South Africa. He and his family are now based in San Clemente, California. Gary has been writing and singing worship songs since he was 11 years old and from that very young age has felt God's call on his life to be in music ministry. After high school he attended Bible college in Cape Town for 3 years during which time he started an outreach and worship band with his close friends called Peculiar People. Gary was the singer and song writer for the group with whom he traveled extensively throughout South Africa, U.K. and the United States, sharing Jesus through music and leading people into worship. These days Gary is the worship director at Heritage Christian Fellowship where he leads worship regularly on Sunday mornings. He also visits other churches and venues to lead people in worship. His goal is to stay focused on his calling to lead worship and to write and record songs that glorify God!

When I was 8 years old my father committed suicide. That tragic end to his life began my journey of discovering the heart of God. The pain and rejection of being abandoned by my earthly father was to be healed and later overshadowed by my heavenly Father’s unconditional and everlasting love for me, which played out in a very real way in the years that followed. At the young age of 10, I committed my life to Jesus and was serious about finding and living out His will for my life. One of the people responsible for leading me and the rest of my family to salvation was the worship leader from our local church. He took me under his wing and started discipling me. He noticed a musical gift in me and at the age of 11 he had me playing guitar and singing in the worship team. He always told me that I was destined to be a worship leader and a song writer and that God was going to use my music for his glory. He also taught me invaluable truths about humility and totally depending on God for everything.

In my high school years I was blessed with a bunch of great friends who loved Jesus as much as I did and also had a passion for worship and reaching people for Christ through music. We started a band called Peculiar People that lasted for 8 years. In those years we saw God do incredible things. It started as a part-time ministry, but after 3 years at Bible college we took to the road and music ministry became our full-time occupation. We traveled extensively throughout South Africa, the U.K. and the United States and saw thousands of people’s lives changed by the power of God as a result of us stepping out in faith. In 2003 the band relocated to the United States after signing a record deal with Maranatha Records in Southern California, and we spent the next 2 years on the road, ministering throughout the U.S.

In 2005, after my awesome wife Kerry and I had our first child, we felt like our season with the band was over and Peculiar People disbanded. But I still felt strongly that I should continue to pursue my calling as a worship leader and song writer and I focused my attention more on that. Instead of returning to South Africa I was offered a position as worship director at Heritage Christian Fellowship in San Clemente, California. My wife and I both felt like this is where God wanted us, so we have made this our new home base.