Gene Appel
Following his father's footsteps into ministry Gene started his ministry as an intern at Eastside Christian Church in Fullerton, CA.

For the next eighteen years he was the senior pastor of Central Christian Church in Las Vegas. Under his leadership Central grew from 450 people to 8,000 in it’s services weekly. Central also was significantly involved in church planting in the Vegas Valley. Later, Gene served as Lead Pastor for five years at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois.

Gene has now returned to Eastside as the Senior Pastor, and during his first year of ministry in Fullerton, Eastside became one of the 10 fastest growing churches in America. Gene describes it as a “fresh wind that God is blowing."

Gene has coached church leaders from around the world on how to lead churches through healthy change. He is co-author of the book, How to Change Your Church without Killing It, and authored Dream Intruders and Healing Hidden Hurts.

Gene, his wife Barbara and their daughters Alayna and Jenna reside in Yorba Linda. Their adult son Jeremy lives in New York City.