Daily Inspiration: Meet Tori Gay

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tori Gay.

Hi Tori, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Like a lot of people in music ministry – or music, period – I got my start singing in church. My first solo was at the age of 4, and it just grew from there. After college, I started to feel like the Lord was calling me to music ministry, which was a big surprise! The sad part is that I had no heart for the people I would be singing to, I just wanted to sing. Gospel music was the only thing I wanted to sing, but it was all about the music and nothing about the purpose of actual ministry.

Despite that, the Lord began to send opportunities to share the songs. Then, around 2007, I started getting more serious about songwriting, and that has become a big part of my ministry. About a year or so later, my comedic character, Lula Bell, was created…and it only took me to 2017 to get up the courage to introduce her to the public! Things have kept progressing ever since then. In 2020 – yes, 2020 – God was working things together for me to take my biggest ministry step in 2021.

The door was opened to work with a Nashville company to do a single and a video. This company is at the top in Gospel music, and they work with people like The Kingdom Heirs, Triumphant, Legacy Five, Greater Vision, and Jason Crabb every single day. I knew, and did not take for granted, that it was only the Lord who had gotten me to that point. I continue to work on my schedule, knowing that I have an open door to work with those people, again, when the timing is right.

The greatest thing to come out of this is how I’ve grown as a Christian. My focus is to share Jesus through music and laughter, knowing that they are merely tools to reach people for Him.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Smooth? Ha! Absolutely not! Discouragement is everywhere in the ministry. I get discouraged when there’s nothing on the calendar. I get discouraged when it feels like nobody cares what I’m trying to accomplish for the Kingdom.

I get discouraged when I’m passed over because I’m not a “big name”. I get discouraged when I don’t see any advancement (even though I know God’s still working). I get discouraged when I don’t have enough time to write songs or create helpful materials/social media posts that could benefit somebody.

But, I know this is my calling, so I keep doing it. I also know that discouragement is one of the biggest tools the devil uses to make people quit, so I keep doing it.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
When I first started, I sang, and that was it. Being able to start writing real songs – unlike the things I came up with in high school – was important to me, because I can share my own perspective. I sing songs by other writers, too, but I like that I can put my personal thoughts into singable form.

Really, though, I guess Lula Bell sets me apart, lol. Doing comedy on a public platform is way out of my comfort zone! But, as my ministry has evolved, I realize how important it is to include humor. When I do a program, I want to help people forget what lies outside those doors, even if it is for only an hour.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I think the most important thing you can do is just be yourself and make genuine connections with people. That’s another area I’ve grown in. There’s a name, which I forget, for people who only seek others out for advancement purposes.

I’m ashamed to say that I used to be one of those people. My problem was that I didn’t have patience enough to trust the divine plan; I thought I had to make my own opportunities and open my own doors.

Nowadays, if friends or acquaintances help me in some way, I know they’re doing it because they just want to.

Contact Info:

• Email: tori@torigay.com
• Website: www.torigay.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/tori_gay_
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/torigayministries
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/torigayministries

Image Credits
Austin Clark, Irene Mann, and Byron Saxton