| History of Gateway
Written by Pastor Gary Gaertner
Why
start a new church? Don’t we have enough churches? It seems
like there is a church on every corner. Why don’t they all just
“get along”? Those were some of the sentiments when we started
Gateway Community Church back in 1996.
My answer to
those excellent questions is to compare churches to people. Each
and every one of us has our own DNA that makes us unique. Every
church in our community has a unique ministry that God has called them
to perform. Also, every follower of Jesus is wired up to focus on
different areas of ministry in this great big wonderful world God has
given us. If we put those two thoughts together we find the
reason that a group of Christ followers started Gateway Community
Church. We were wired to have concern and compassion for those
who find themselves far from God.
At Gateway Community
Church we believe every person is born with what we call “a God-shaped
hole” in our innermost being. All of us try to fill that hole
with something; material possessions, careers, relationships, extreme
sports, etc. We believe that ultimately only God can fill that
hole. Therefore, a group of about 20 people decided that we were
going to establish a congregation that would give people a safe place
to investigate the claims of Christianity and Jesus.
How were we
going to do this? We would strive to make “church” a comfortable
place to attend. That’s why we say that attendance at our Sunday
morning service is “jean-friendly” – you don’t have to wear a suit and
tie. The music we use in our service has a more contemporary
sound, even when we do some of the great hymns of the past. We
use dramas and video clips from current movies to
show a slice of life that then leads into the message of the day.
This is to show that the message of Jesus and the Bible is just as
relevant to our issues today as it was to the original hearers of
Jesus. We have also instituted a “Round Table” discussion after
the service so that anyone can ask questions or challenge what was
taught during the service. We do this because in our DNA is a
belief that every one who seeks God will find Him. We are not in the business of changing anyone; we are in the business of being a conduit so you can see God.
The
bottom line is that we desire to Share the Relevancy of Jesus Christ
with our community because we believe if the words of Jesus are
properly applied to every situation we will have the full life God
wants us to have. So I invite you to come and begin your journey
to discover God with us at Gateway Community Church.
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