We Are Gateway

If you’ve ever been on a road trip, you know that you set out from home to a destination of some kind, and it may be near or far. You have some sort of route, and it may be pre-decided or you may figure it out as you go. On your trip you go at a certain pace, maybe taking your time or maybe going as fast as you legally can. You might use a GPS, a map on your phone, a physical map, or even a compass. No matter your destination, route, pace, or navigation tool, you always need a direction – otherwise you end up going nowhere. And your direction ends up determining your destination. We all need to find direction in life. We may not be certain of our route, we may all be at a different pace, and we may be using different kinds of navigation, but we are all headed somewhere. At Gateway Church we would sincerely love to help you find direction in life, and to take steps in the right direction.

If you’ve ever been on a road trip, you know that you set out from home to a destination of some kind, and it may be near or far. You have some sort of route, and it may be pre-decided or you may figure it out as you go. On your trip you go at a certain pace, maybe taking your time or maybe going as fast as you legally can. You might use a GPS, a map on your phone, a physical map, or even a compass. No matter your destination, route, pace, or navigation tool, you always need a direction – otherwise you end up going nowhere. And your direction ends up determining your destination. We all need to find direction in life. We may not be certain of our route, we may all be at a different pace, and we may be using different kinds of navigation, but we are all headed somewhere. At Gateway Church we would sincerely love to help you find direction in life, and to take steps in the right direction.

OK so you are having a conversation with someone, going back and forth about things you agree on and some things you do not agree on. Then all of a sudden you hear the words, “the reality is…” and you know you are in for a treat. You are about to hear something that is true for sure… because after all, it is reality. And how does this person know what the reality is? Well, they believe it, and maybe they even read it on the internet… so it must be true. The reality is, I say this all the time. I think I know what reality is simply because I believe it, and my opinion must be right. And if you are honest, you do it too. You think that something is reality because you believe it, and that your opinion is right… otherwise you would change it. But what if someone who claims to know truth does things that make them less than truthful? And what if truth is something, we need to discover rather than determine?

We hear quite a bit about “bandwidth”. In telecommunications it refers to a range of frequencies in which a signal can be transmitted without distortion. In the computer world it’s the speed of data transfer. And in humans it refers to our capacity to handle many things at the same time. We can always tell when bandwidth isn’t good… your mobile phone drops its signal, or your internet connection is really slow, or it takes forever to copy those files to your external drive. We’re typically not as good at knowing when our own bandwidth isn’t great. And there’s another bandwidth that’s really important for our lives: our connection with God. Sometimes that can really suffer from data overload or interference or just lack of a good connection. Healthy bandwidth can make all the difference for a healthy life.

We hear quite a bit about “bandwidth”. In telecommunications it refers to a range of frequencies in which a signal can be transmitted without distortion. In the computer world it’s the speed of data transfer. And in humans it refers to our capacity to handle many things at the same time. We can always tell when bandwidth isn’t good… your mobile phone drops its signal, or your internet connection is really slow, or it takes forever to copy those files to your external drive. We’re typically not as good at knowing when our own bandwidth isn’t great. And there’s another bandwidth that’s really important for our lives: our connection with God. Sometimes that can really suffer from data overload or interference or just lack of a good connection. Healthy bandwidth can make all the difference for a healthy life.

We hear quite a bit about “bandwidth”. In telecommunications it refers to a range of frequencies in which a signal can be transmitted without distortion. In the computer world it’s the speed of data transfer. And in humans it refers to our capacity to handle many things at the same time. We can always tell when bandwidth isn’t good… your mobile phone drops its signal, or your internet connection is really slow, or it takes forever to copy those files to your external drive. We’re typically not as good at knowing when our own bandwidth isn’t great. And there’s another bandwidth that’s really important for our lives: our connection with God. Sometimes that can really suffer from data overload or interference or just lack of a good connection. Healthy bandwidth can make all the difference for a healthy life.

It is Father’s Day. Are you ready? What are you planning? What are you hoping to do? It may have to be a different Father’s Day than you’d like it to be, but we’d love to inject some joy and fun into your day! So we want to thank and bless and honour and love our dads. And maybe we can laugh and have some fun along the way!

#WeStandWithLove

Picture this: it’s a beautiful summer day, you put the top down on your convertible, and you and your best friend jump in and go for a fun drive through the countryside, past fields and forests, hills and valleys, rivers and streams. You stop at one of your favourite places to get ice cream, and take your ride to a whole new level. What a great picture of what life can be! But let’s be honest: it costs you to have that joy ride. You need to buy the car, maintain it, get your driver’s licence and insurance, develop that good friendship, and patiently wait for that beautiful day. But the joy it brings is so worth it! There are more people than ever in need of care and help today. Booker T. Washington said, “Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.” Caring for others is one of the best ways to experience a real joy ride! Maybe together we can discover some great ways to do that.

Picture this: it’s a beautiful summer day, you put the top down on your convertible, and you and your best friend jump in and go for a fun drive through the countryside, past fields and forests, hills and valleys, rivers and streams. You stop at one of your favourite places to get ice cream, and take your ride to a whole new level. What a great picture of what life can be! But let’s be honest: it costs you to have that joy ride. You need to buy the car, maintain it, get your driver’s licence and insurance, develop that good friendship, and patiently wait for that beautiful day. But the joy it brings is so worth it! There are more people than ever in need of care and help today. Booker T. Washington said, “Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.” Caring for others is one of the best ways to experience a real joy ride! Maybe together we can discover some great ways to do that.

Sometimes when we hear people say they care, it’s hard to believe it because they may not show they care. If we’re honest, it’s easy for any of us to do that. So when we say we are Gateway Church, and Gateway cares, you may not believe it. And that’s OK. But we’d like to show you how we care. We warmly welcome you to see how Gateway Cares and what that can mean for you.

If you’ve ever been stuck in a job you don’t want, stuck with a boss you don’t like, stuck on a problem you can’t solve, stuck in a financial crisis you can’t get out of. Stuck in a habit you can’t break, stuck with a car that keeps breaking, stuck in a relationship you can’t unstuck yourself from, or stuck in the present without being able to plan for the future… in every case it sounds like being stuck is anything but freedom. It sounds like you’re just plain stuck. If there is one thing this pandemic with all of the physical distancing and isolation has shown us, it’s that we really need each other. We need to see each other, hear each other, care for each other, love each other, and be connected to each other. We need to be stuck… together!

It is Mother’s Day. What a different Mother’s Day it is going to be. We would love to bring some joy and fun into your day! Whether you are a mom, have lost your mom, still have a mom, or even anticipate becoming a mom, we're all in this together. So we want to thank and bless and honour and love our moms. And maybe we can laugh and have some fun along the way!

Almost 58 years ago Martin Luther King Jr. gave his most famous speech, declaring the words, “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last.” We would all like to think and believe that we are free. After all, we live in a… free country, don’t we? Equality, respect and kindness should certainly be wonderful signs of freedom. But for all of us, especially with what we’ve experienced this past year, freedom means being free from what? Others’ opinions? Family decisions? The government’s regulations? We all tend to be held captive by other things… like desires, appetites and habits… like worries, fears and pandemics. What if we could be free from those kinds of things and more? What if we could experience true freedom?

Almost 58 years ago Martin Luther King Jr. gave his most famous speech, declaring the words, “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last.” We would all like to think and believe that we are free. After all, we live in a… free country, don’t we? Equality, respect and kindness should certainly be wonderful signs of freedom. But for all of us, especially with what we’ve experienced this past year, freedom means being free from what? Others’ opinions? Family decisions? The government’s regulations? We all tend to be held captive by other things… like desires, appetites and habits… like worries, fears and pandemics. What if we could be free from those kinds of things and more? What if we could experience true freedom?

Almost 58 years ago Martin Luther King Jr. gave his most famous speech, declaring the words, “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last.” We would all like to think and believe that we are free. After all, we live in a… free country, don’t we? Equality, respect and kindness should certainly be wonderful signs of freedom. But for all of us, especially with what we’ve experienced this past year, freedom means being free from what? Others’ opinions? Family decisions? The government’s regulations? We all tend to be held captive by other things… like desires, appetites and habits… like worries, fears and pandemics. What if we could be free from those kinds of things and more? What if we could experience true freedom?

Almost 58 years ago Martin Luther King Jr. gave his most famous speech, declaring the words, “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last.” We would all like to think and believe that we are free. After all, we live in a… free country, don’t we? Equality, respect and kindness should certainly be wonderful signs of freedom. But for all of us, especially with what we’ve experienced this past year, freedom means being free from what? Others’ opinions? Family decisions? The government’s regulations? We all tend to be held captive by other things… like desires, appetites and habits… like worries, fears and pandemics. What if we could be free from those kinds of things and more? What if we could experience true freedom?

Did Jesus really come from God? Did He really heal the sick and do extraordinary miracles? Was He really crucified on a cross to pay the price for our sins? Did He really rise from the dead? Is He really the Son of God, the Saviour of the world? How can we know? The truth is, thousands were eyewitnesses to these things. The truth is, there were inspired, reliable accounts written about these things. The truth is, the story is actually true. THIS ACCOUNT IS VERIFIED…by those who saw it, by millions more, and by God Himself. And through faith this account is verified in you!

Coffee will help you grow. I love the sound of my alarm clock. Do you want my leftover bacon? Your socks look great with your sandals. I cannot wait for another lockdown. Said…no one…ever. You look better in a mask. We hope no one would say that ever! We all know so many fun things that are opposite of what we actually say. The truth is, coffee will not help you grow, I hate the sound of my alarm clock, I will never have bacon left over, socks never look good with sandals, and I can wait the rest of my life for another lockdown! And you look so much better without a mask! But how about this: God will not give you more than you can handle. You do not need to forgive them for what they did. God just wants you to be happy! Many people have said these things many times. But does that mean they are true?

Coffee will help you grow. I love the sound of my alarm clock. Do you want my leftover bacon? Your socks look great with your sandals. I cannot wait for another lockdown. Said…no one…ever. You look better in a mask. We hope no one would say that ever! We all know so many fun things that are opposite of what we actually say. The truth is, coffee will not help you grow, I hate the sound of my alarm clock, I will never have bacon left over, socks never look good with sandals, and I can wait the rest of my life for another lockdown! And you look so much better without a mask! But how about this: God will not give you more than you can handle. You do not need to forgive them for what they did. God just wants you to be happy! Many people have said these things many times. But does that mean they are true?