This week I spent two hours with Pastor Sam Williams talking about church growth principles and how we could find ways to do our best here at Gateway Church to reach others with the Gospel of Jesus. I find nothing more fascinating and energizing. My hope and prayer is that every step we take will be thoughtful, strategic, and important. None of the changes that we make will be to “just shake things up; ” prayerfully, they will all be for the better.
Meanwhile this Sunday, I will be preaching on “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” as we continue our study through the Beatitudes. Once we get right with God, know we are forgiven, and are moving in His direction, it is important for us to then return to help others we can relate to. If the Lord has been teaching you new things, I want to know about it. Would you take some time to pray and write out your recent testimony? We would like you to consider sharing your life’s story with others. Please email me at mark@gatewaychurchonline.com. , or put it in the offering plate clearly labeled “testimony.” We will all be blessed from hearing how God is at work in your life.
The next time you come to Gateway, you’ll notice a new sliding door to our Bistro area. Rick Buxton and his capable work crew made arrangements to have this done so we can make better use of our facilities for small gatherings and classes. Of course, it will be open to provide space for fellowship between services. Check it out, and be sure to tell Rick “thank you!” I hope to see you this Sunday as we worship the Lord together.
In Christ,
Pastor Mark
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( 2.8 / 43 )Over the years, I have had many opportunities to be involved in VBS and have been involved in many promotions to encourage kids to invite their friends to hear the Gospel. Just a couple of years ago, I became a human ice cream sundae, as every kid who brought a friend put a scoop on my head along with syrup, whipped cream and nuts! Last year, I walked the plank into the baptistery, celebrating high attendance day. But last night was unique. I have worn cashmere before, but I have never kissed a camel or shared a banana with one, but last night I got to kiss a camel, a real dromedary named Jasmine, brought to us by Deena Stevens and her friends. It was all worth it as the kids at Gateway Church are having a wonderful week learning about Paul’s ministry in Rome and how Jesus was changing lives there.
I love Vacation Bible School, and so do the people at our church. In fact right now, our workers are involved in three. Through Vision San Diego, Lew Hileman is helping VBS at Camp Pendleton, and we are supporting his efforts, buying t-shirts and helping his commute. Also, our team in Chiapas, MX, is conducting VBS with 75 children enrolled to hear the message that God loves them. There is no better time for people to become a Christian than when they’re a child. And there is no better way than to take this down time in summer and spend a week getting to know God better through Jesus Christ. Thank you in the Lord to everyone that has helped in all these efforts.
This Sunday we will celebrate these victories and hear the message on “Core Values of the Christian Church” from I Timothy 3:16. “Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations; was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.” Do come for an exciting time of praise and worship and what I hope is a clear presentation of the values that make us a church.
In Christ,
Pastor Mark
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( 3 / 42 )Dear Gateway Church Family and Friends,
As the lyrics go, “all my bags are packed, I’m ready to go….” Our team of 8 leave for Arusha, Tanzania on Wednesday! I feel so good about the position our church is in, confident that Tony Astolfi & Steve Tillman [July 5] and Sam Williams [July 12] will do a great job preaching in my absence. Our office staff is so competent and pleasant, our debt is paid is off, [Praise the Lord!], and our future is bright. It is indeed time to give back to those less fortunate than we. This is going to be a wonderful time with Randy Ford leading out, and a great team going [Teddie Anderson, Kevin Johnson, Frank Levell, Yvonne Scott & Rex Cooper and my daughter Rachel]. I will relish the time I get to spend on this mission along with her as well as the others! Thank you for your prayers as we rely on God’s strength to do His work.
Thank you for all that each of you do. I know of no other place I’d rather minister. May God’s grace be sufficient for the future. His mercy abundant for our past, and the Holy Spirit, the Comforter real for the present. Please, let’s all act as the Lord would have us while I am gone: loving one another, serving one another and going the second mile as Jesus challenged us to go. Two Sundays and then I’m back. Can’t wait to tell you all about it!
In Christ,
Pastor Mark
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( 2.9 / 39 )Dear Gateway Church Family and Friends,
Pastor Mark has asked me to write in his place this time. :o) Exciting things are happening at Gateway Church! This past week, we have seen people of all ages and families coming and going, dressed in color coordinated clothes and sporting their best duds and hairstyles. They were all gathering as the family of Gateway Church; folks that have been a part of our congregation since its beginning and others that have only recently decided that this body of believers is where they want to connect in God’s kingdom. I cannot wait to see the final directory with everyone’s smiling face! I’m sure you feel the same way. Let’s put names with faces!
I had such a great time on Tuesday evening as I showed up to lead music for the youngest children of Gateway Church. Their parents were gathering for the first night of the small group studying “Shepherding a Child’s Heart” led by Bud and JoAnn Schrader, and their older siblings were attending Kid’s Rock under the capable direction of Linda Swope. Over 30 children showed up to sing the musical Jailhouse Rock which teaches children about our freedom in Christ as believers. They will be meeting on Tuesday nights 6-8pm throughout the summer with the intention of performing on a Sunday morning. Children going into first grade through eighth grade are welcome! Jolie Brent and Beth Selbe are in charge of this new branch of Grow Gateway Children’s ministry, and they are doing a marvelous job!!!! It is not too late to join the Bible study or the musical. If you have preschool aged children, there is childcare which features 30 minutes of musical activity. Last Tuesday night we helped keep rhythm using balloons filled with popcorn kernels which Galen Peek and his father Earl were so kind to inflate for me. Thank you, gentlemen. They were in the children’s wing waiting to get their pictures taken along with their wives Jan and Ellen. They will be joining other family members for their son Phillip’s wedding in Washington state this weekend. Congratulations to Phillip and fiancé Laura!
The Peeks are adding a new member of their family, and God is continuing to add new members to Gateway Church. This Sunday afternoon, Pastor Mark will be offering the Membership 101 class from 4-6pm. Linda Lilyquist will be meeting with members interested in developing their weekly personal devotional time. Her class will meet in the Bistro at 12:30 (note this new scheduled time - this Sunday only). Pastor Mark will be continuing his sermon series on The Church using Paul’s exhortation to Timothy. His sermon is entitled “The Dos and Don’ts of a Gracious Church.”
One last comment, my songwriter friend, Judy Stiles, wrote a folk tune years ago based on Peter’s metaphor of stones representing Christ’s Body. I think her lyrics capture the meaning of what it means to be part of the Lord’s church:
“the Church is more than a pulpit and steeple, it’s a Chosen People. Chosen to be Christ’s very flesh and bones, His mystic Body made up of living stones. Chosen to set this needy world on fire, not chosen to sit in a sanctuary with lovely windows and spires. Can you grasp it’s simplicity? It’s as clear as it can be, that the Church is more than a pulpit and steeple, it’s His Chosen People.”
So, that being said, “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”
Hebrews 10:23-25
Come gather with us so we can keep our souls aflame and thus shine brighter when we go back out to our homes and workplaces and weekly activities. Pastor Mark and I will be looking for you this weekend at Gateway Church- His Chosen People in El Cajon!
May the Lord bless you and keep you,
Janet
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( 3 / 42 )Dear Gateway Church Family and Friends,
I have just come from my midweek Wednesday @ 10 service at Gateway, and Janet thought I should share with you some of my thoughts from 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17.
“But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”
In this passage we see that God fulfills His part, the Holy Spirit has an active role in our lives, and Jesus gets the glory. Yet, God has something for each of us to do. First of all, let us look at what God has done for us. First of all, He chooses us. Secondly, He loves us. Then He gives us grace, He encourages us, fills us with hope and then supplies the strength. All of these are pretty wonderful things.
The Holy Spirit’s job is to sanctify us, or make us “saint like” people. He does this through the Word, and through convicting our spirit. Jeremiah’s picture, picked up by Paul in the book of Romans, is that of a clay pot spinning on the wheel. God is forming us, molding us, and changing us, so that we will be a vessel of honor for Him.
Jesus, of course, gets all the glory for saving us through His death on the cross. The great thing that 2 Thessalonians tells us, is that Jesus shares His glory with us. We participate in His victory over sin and death.
So our part in all of this, far from being nothing, is very important. We are called to thank God for what He has done, stand firm in the faith, hold on to His teaching and pass on the light of Christ that He has given to us. And finally, He has called us to good deeds as we live out our sanctification.
This coming Sunday, I will be starting a new sermon series as I begin to preach through I Timothy. My hope is that you will be encouraged by this great letter of Paul who writes to his dear friend and son in the Lord, Timothy. We will begin this series with the Lord’s Supper, so come prepared to re-evaluate your life as His follower. Have a blessed week.
In Christ,
Pastor Mark
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