Gateway affirms the Nicene Creed as our primary statement of faith. While the Nicene Creed is an historic, formative statement of faith and doctrine dating back to the 4th century, it is also a beautiful worship confession that all orthodox streams of Christianity affirm.
The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him, all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sin. We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Jesus is Lord.
Everything about us starts and ends with Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, the author and finisher of our faith, and the King of our Kingdom.
Jesus is God in the flesh, the union of God and humankind, our doorway to knowing, understanding, and experiencing God and our true humanity, and the model and means for our reunion with God.
Jesus is the authoritative living Word of God to us, and we submit to him as his lifelong apprentices, Kingdom citizens, commissioned ambassadors, and beloved friends.
Through Jesus, we get to know the Father and experience the Spirit.
"Through Jesus, we get to know the Father and experience the Spirit"
God is Love.
The essence of the Source and Sustainer of the universe is love.
Love is relational energy, within and between persons. God is, by definition, always relating within Godself.
God is triune, three-in-one, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Everything God does is an expression of who God is, which is eternal, infinite love.
"The essence of the Source and Sustainer of the universe is love."
The Holy Spirit Empowers
The Holy Spirit Empowers.
The Spirit, the breath of God, blows us toward Jesus, grows the fruit of love in our hearts, empowers us for ministry, and distributes gifts among the Church to help build up the Body of Christ. Through the Spirit, we have the mind of Christ, and continue to experience the presence of God at all times for conviction, confirmation, and comfort.
We Are Valuable
We Are Valuable.
Humans are made in God’s image and likeness, made by Relationship for relationship, by Love for love. As the parables of the lost coin, lost sheep, and lost son affirm, we have lost our way through our own sin and are unable to save ourselves. But Jesus shows us a God who values us enough to pursue us, restore us to who we were made to be, and celebrate with us whenever we come home.
Something Is Wrong
Something is Wrong.
The Bible teaches, history demonstrates, and experience affirms that something is wrong with everything. This world is filled with both beauty and horror, and humans amplify experiences of both. The Bible calls the corrosive force that separates us from God, from each other, and from our better selves, “sin”. Jesus came to heal our hearts, save us from sin, and show us a better way.
Saved By Grace.
Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection,
God brought an end to his own religion
(the Old Covenant), inaugurated the New Covenant
(a new way of being in relationship with God
and one another) and offers us eternal and abundant
life now, all as a gift. In this New Covenant,
God gives all believers a new heart, a new spirit,
and God’s own Spirit to change us from the inside out.
This is pure grace, which we receive by simple faith,
expressed in following Jesus.
Faith is Following.
To believe in Jesus is to trust Jesus, which is to
follow Jesus. Biblical “faith” includes “faithfulness”.
Jesus calls us to follow him, through death, to life.
Christians pledge their allegiance to King Jesus as Lord,
Leader, Messiah, and Master. We are not just believers,
but disciples, apprentices of Jesus, learning together how
to obey everything he commands. Baptism is not
only about our death to and cleansing from sin,
but also about us rising again into a new life of
faithfulness to and intimacy with Christ.
Scripture is Inspired.
Like John the Baptist and the star of Bethlehem,
the Bible points people to Jesus. The Bible, Old and
New Testaments, is our God-given window to see
Jesus most clearly, and is useful to equip us for living
as his disciples. We believe in the divine inspiration
and delegated authority of all Scripture and we read
and interpret the Bible together, with Jesus at the center.
Most importantly, the Bible helps us know Jesus,
and Jesus helps us interpret, understand, and apply
the Bible. (Note: In practice, while many
Christians speak of the “inerrancy” and “authority” of the
Bible as the “Word of God”, we tend to reserve this
language for speaking of Jesus.)
Peace is the Way.
Because we see Jesus’ life and teaching as
God’s authoritative Word to us, we take his teachings
about all things – including non-violent enemy-love,
active peacemaking, relational reconciliation,
and the priority of receiving and offering
forgiveness – very seriously. We seek to live peaceful,
reconciled lives, to encourage other believers to do
the same, and to actively extend the peace of Jesus to
the world. We especially desire to be peacemakers
within the fractured body of Christ as we make
every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the
bond of peace.
Citizens and Ambassadors.
Jesus came to establish his Kingdom and he invites us to live in it now. This isn’t a Kingdom of land and laws, but one of our hearts and relationships. This Kingdom defines for us a new culture and identity that stand in sweeping contrast to the kingdoms of this world. Christ-followers are ambassadors on behalf of the Jesus Nation to the people of all nations, with church communities functioning as embassies to experience a taste of the Christ Country. Our purpose every day is to experience, express, and extend the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.
As a local expression of the church we are committed to following the Way of Jesus. This sounds like the expected answer, but this statement guides the direction of our leadership posture. At the center of our leadership ethos is our desire to listen and discern the leading of the Holy Spirit, and to follow the Spirit as we lead others.
As a church, we are Staff-Directed and Board-Protected. The Staff drives the vision, while the Board protects the vision.
The main role of our Governing Board is to protect, advise and give consent to the vision and financial decisions made within the church. The Governing Board oversees the calling and commissioning of the Lead Pastor, prepares and gives final approval to the annual budget with the assistance of the staff, oversees long-range financial planning for the church, reviews all staff salaries, and provides for the care and maintenance of all properties owned by the church. We are so grateful for those who have committed to serving on our Board.