Prominent Charlotte pastor Robyn Gool has died, church officials announce
Prominent Black Charlotte pastor Robyn Gool has died, according to an announcement Saturday by his church, Victory Christian Center.
Gool died Friday night, the church announced on Facebook. He was 69. No cause of death was released.
“While we are saddened by his passing, we rejoice in knowing that he is with the Lord, and that we will see him again,” the announcement said.
Gool’s family has asked that no visitations be held “at this time,” church officials said in the Facebook post.
His funeral arrangements are incomplete, according to the church.
“Please keep the Gool, White & Chapman families lifted up in prayer,” church officials requested on Facebook.
Gool was pastoring at Faith Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Charlotte in 1979 when he and his wife, Marilyn, felt called to establish Victory Christian Center, according to a church history.
The first service was held in 1980 in a warehouse in Matthews, 11 miles from Charlotte, with 64 worshipers, according to the history.
The church also worshiped in three Holiday Inns in 1980 and 1981 and a building in Kannapolis in 1983.
Its present multipurpose building on Kings Ridge Drive in south Charlotte was dedicated in 1988.
Gool built the non-denominational ministry to where it today includes a full-service preschool, fully-accredited elementary and secondary schools, and a fully-accredited community college that includes Biblical and ministerial studies besides secular courses, according to the church history.
The college added a vocational arm in 2007 and a bachelor of arts program in 2010.
‘He built people’
Former U.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger said he knew Gool for more than three decades.
Pittenger represented the state’s 9th Congressional District, which covered much of the Charlotte area, from 2013-2019.
Pittenger said Gool “met the needs of people in every way he could.”
“Spiritually, and personally, he helped equip thousands of people to prepare them for a meaningful life,” Pittenger said. “I loved him and I miss him.”
While Pittenger served in the state Senate during the early 2000s, he said several young students who attended Gool’s ministry interned for him. Gool’s impact was evident, he said.
“These were kids who were in 10th, 11th and 12th grade and they all had a vision for what they wanted to do in their life,” he said. “He built a great education system, academically and spiritually. He built people.”
Pittenger said he’ll always remember how devoted of a friend Gool was.
“If there’s a time when you’re going through a crisis or a personal concern, he’s the person who will stand next to you,” he said.
This story was originally published November 19, 2022 at 1:56 PM.