John Gray, was previously an associate pastor under Joel Osteen at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas and as of 2020, he still preaches there regularly. He, his wife and two children came to Greenville in 2018 after Pastor Ron Carpenter asked him to take the reins of the local Redemption Church congregation and building. He renamed the church Relentless Church shortly after assuming the head pastor role, while Carpenter carried on Redemption in San Jose, California.

Gray also had his own reality TV show called "The Book of John Gray" that aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network highlighting his pastoral duties, mentoring of those in need and what life was like as one of America's high-profile pastors. The show wasn't renewed for a fourth season.

More recently in 2020, Gray had been in a dispute over an apparent lease of Relentless Church, which was owned by Redemption Church, led by Carpenter.