GatewayLife

Visiting Trenholm Court

Visiting Trenholm Court

For the past couple of months, a group of young adults have gotten together and visited Trenholm Court, a local low-income residential community in Montgomery, AL. The young adults get together, hang out with the youth on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, play games, share candy, share prayer and a devotional about Jesus Christ. What a wonderful way to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Read what Gateway's young adult ministry leader has to say:

"We go to Trenholm Court with theyoung adults to play sports and have fun with the kids as we also reach out to their families. We pray with them when possible and try to meet some needs. We seek to point them to Jesus and encourage them to stay out of trouble. We motivate them to dream and have a vision for the future, therefore staying in school and developing their talents in sports and arts. We hope to be used by the Holy Spirit and share the love of Christ as we go."
- Bruno Resende

Houston Mission Trip

Houston Youth Mission Trip

Our youth just returned from a mission trip to Houston, TX where they ministered for a week. We have an amazing youth group. The leadership from the group that hosted our youth commented on the depth of our group; 1) how they all served wholeheartedly more than any other group this summer, and 2) were able to comprehend how God was using them and what God was doing through them more than any other group this summer. What an awesome God we serve! The ministry of our youth is going to continue in Montgomery, AL now that they have returned and their lives are forever changed. We wait with anticipation for what our awesome God is going to do through them! Read the testimonies from one of those that chaperoned and one of the youth below.

"The trip to Houston was one that I was very excited about but also dreading.  I could not imagine myself with teenagers for 10 days and no outlet to sanity.  God really showed me!!!  We have the GREATEST YOUTH GROUP EVER!! 

God really showed me how selfish we are and how unappreciative I can be.  I got to see amazing people who ran into unforeseen circumstances and ended up hopeless.  What little bit we accomplished last week seemed to help so many.  It really stirred a fire in my heart, as well as the kids, to see what could be done here.  We do not have to look outside our local area to see people in need.  The kids were amazing and when it was time to work they did.  There is no doubt in my mind that there are great opportunities beginning at Gateway."
- Missy Crews

"The week in Houston I saw God provide for our group. He gave us strength when we were weak, the words to say to people, and also guidance as to where to go. God also taught our group many things about Himself and about serving Him. I saw what it means to rely on Christ on this trip and I hope I will rely on Him at home as much as I did there. I am very thankful for the experiences I had on this trip and I hope to continue God's work here at home."
- Mark Schneider

5-Day Club in Dalraida Area

Several people in the Dalraida area got together last week to have a 5-day club to reach out to neighborhood kids who may not know Christ. On Saturday, we formed teams and passed out flyers in the neighborhood to invite children to 5-day club. Each week, several members of Gateway volunteered their time and talents to help with the 5-day club. Parents carpooled kids, picked up kids and brought them to club, baked goodies, served snacks, and had a great time with the kids helping them learn Bible verses and God's word. The cooperation of everyone was a blessing to see how the Lord used each person to reach the children. The youth missionaries from Child Evangelism Fellowship in Montgomery, AL came out each day of the week to teach the Bible stories, mission stories, songs and games.

A spectacular miracle happened on Friday night. When asking young Jada how she enjoyed the club, she said "I expected to learn about God and what he made. I thought club was good. I came to learn about God so that I can accept Jesus as my Saviour. The leaders were nice and club was fun. I enjoyed the games and stories." After talking with Jada, one of the leaders discovered that she had not asked Jesus as her Saviour but that she wanted to do so. She understood what sin is and who Christ is and accepted Christ as her Saviour on the last night of club. Praise God for our new sister in Christ!!!!

 

A God-Sized Vision For Our Community And Our World

(This post originally appeared on Pastor Alan's blog, Downshoredrift.com) Jesus taught us to pray to God that His Kingdom would come and His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:9). Would He teach us to pray that if He did not have some intention of it being carried out?

God's Kingdom

What is God's Kingdom? I have been talking about this a lot lately because the Kingdom is the template through which Jesus wants us to understand His purposes for this world. He brought the Kingdom of God into our midst. The Kingdom is nothing less than the reign and rule of God. So, Jesus wants us to pray that His reign and rule would be established on earth as it is in heaven. Prayer here means that we are asking God for His supernatural intervention in the affairs of men. But, since God uses us to do His will, we can also assume that He wants us to be agents of His Kingdom so that we may cooperate with Him in the establishment of His reign and rule. His Kingdom is here and it is forcefully advancing. It is for us to lay hold of it forcefully (Matt. 11:12).

Father / Daughter Formal

Father / Daughter Formal

Recently, the fathers of the teenage girls at Gateway had a very special Father / Daughter Formal. Read what Dorothy Morris and Caitlyn Collins say about it.

"We had a Father and Daughter formal Friday night. We were surprised but we had clues a month ago. We were told we were to dress up for 'dinner with a view' and have hors d'oeuvres with our dad. We had a coupon for shopping with our dads for a formal dress. We went to Belk (Dorothy) and I went to a Thrift Store (Caitlyn). 'Oh wait wrong event!' I went shopping for a Sunday dress with my dad and actually wore my beautiful dress from the Thrift Store Formal. It was fun shopping, being with my dad and buying whatever I wanted. We felt really loved and special. We got clues each Sunday leading up to the event. One was 'Reserve the Date', another was a ' Cordial Invitation for Hors d'Oeuvres, Pictures and to Follow Dinner with a View". Still another was a coupon for shopping. We spent 3 hours at the Morris' house getting ready for the event. We spent 2 hours together doing manicures and pedicures at the Collins the night before!!!!"

"So on the big day we arrived at the Collins house and Chris McCorkle took pictures for us. We had chocolates and finger foods. there were a lot of girls squealing with the BIG, WHITE, Stretched LIMOUSINE pulled up on the street!! 'Aaaaaaaaahhhh' screamed all the girls. They rolled out the red carpet for us and we felt like princesses!!"

"We had sparkling cider in the Limo which was pretty cool and enjoyed being together with our dads. We drove around and ended up at the fountain at Eastchase for pictures. There was another limousine behind ours but ours was bigger. We drove by the Governor's Mansion and parked out in front. We took pictures but got to speak to the First Lady and mentioned what we were doing. When she heard it was a family-oriented event, she invited us in and we took pictures on the front steps. We also stopped by Pastor Drew's house and had fun rolling his house with toilet paper. Our dads were teasing us about taking us to Wendy's, but then we pulled up in front of the RSA Tower and Capital City Club. Our mom's came out of the revolving doors and we went all the way to the top!! We got up to the top to a secluded, private room for a sit-down dinner with our dads. Special guests Alan and Erika Cross came to speak to us about becoming a young woman and being a child of God. Then, we went out on the terrace and viewed the whole city of Montgomery. On the balcony, we had a special time with our dads and talked."

"Then, we went on our next adventure! We walked across the street to an unmarked building with only the words '301 Club' over the door. It turns out that it was the Dexter Avenue Methodist Church basement where our dads took us dancing. We told them it was a Father/Daughter Group and they let our dads twirl us around for free. We had fun doing the Cha-Cha Slide. It was a LOT of Fun!!"

- Dorothy Morris and Caitlyn Collins

Visit to Gateway from Around the World

Visit to Gateway from Around the World

We had a very special treat recently at Gateway. We were blessed to have Helena from India visit us and Brian and Leenah Finnan visiting with us as well. These special brothers and sisters in Christ enjoyed dessert and coffee with those in our body on Saturday, May 17th at the home of Tom and Jan Kotouc. On Sunday, they shared in church and visited with several Gateway families Sunday night at the Cross Falcione Life Group. Monday night they enjoyed a combined dinner at the Montgomery House of Prayer. Tuesday they shared at a ladies luncheon and shared at the Wednesday night Bible Study at Gateway. Many were impacted by their visit and renewed by stories of how God is working around the world. Here's what Carmen Falcione had to say about Helena's visit. If you were touched by their visit, please leave a comment and testimony below.

"We had a dinner at the Montgomery House of Prayer and Worship attended by interdenominational and interracial pastors, lay leaders and businessmen of the Montgomery community. This was a combined dinner of The Gathering, Isaiah's Legacy and Community Development Initiatives at The Montgomery House of Prayer and Worship prepared by our very own Catheryn Collins. We had a wonderful dialog between local people and missionary Helena Sing, Brian and Leenah Finnan. The missionaries spoke and presented a slide and powerpoint by Helena with Brian and Leenah regarding the mission, vision and purposes of the indian Childrens' Home, medical needs, residences and daycares - six different facilities under her care that she is overseeing in India.

There was a Q & A where many people gave comments, feedback regarding the overall inforfrmation and need for these children in India (i.e. clothing, health, food and education). Pastor Alan handed out packets of project needs through this ministry of India. There was a wonderful response of the people that attended. Some of the other pastors, especially the African American pastors, felt compelled to go on a trip to India in the future and minister to those that are oppressed there, in particular to those in slavery there."

"Helena stayed with us most of the time (Carmen and Elaine). We enjoyed fellowshipping with her and being able to bless her and show her around Montgomery. Helena really enjoyed it  and we got to know her so much better than we did before. Helena also shared with the John 17 Pastors Group on Wednesday, prayed with pastors and lay leaders and shared a meal prepared by our very own Elaine Falcione. Helena really made an impact on the Montgomery Community. Her visit here gave face and life to all our previous and future trips."

- Carmen Falcione

Building Local Victory Goal Met!

Great news! 

We’ve already seen $371,428 pledged towards building our capacity to minister through an expanded building. That’s well past our “Victory Goal” and on the way to our “Challenge Goal.” Add to this the money that we’ve been saving each month – thanks to being debt-free – and we have over $473,346. This puts us well on the way towards seeing work starting.

Right now the building committee is working hard on details with both the builders and the bankers. Of course, they’re not the only ones. We all have work to do. What you might ask? Here are a few things I’d encourage to focus on:

• First, remember to keep praying for the overall congregation: the leadership, the membership, your family, and you. Remember, the enemy works best when our defenses are down so pray for unity of vision, focus, and effort. We want to avoid the human in-fighting that often erupts when these things are missing.

• Second, start working towards meeting your pledge. Here again, prayer is key. If you really stretched yourself in making your commitments, it will require God’s direct intervention to bring unexpected resources to come into your control. Prayer for diligence and wisdom to seize the opportunities He provides.  

• Third, as you’re able, start giving your pledges to the growing pool via an offering envelope marked for the “Building Fund.” With our money pooled, we will earn more interest then when we keep them apart. This is just one more element of good stewardship. This also begins building the habit of regular giving toward your pledge commitment.

• Finally, did I mention keep praying?

Keep trusting God for the strength and wisdom to meet these and your other kingdom commitments. May God bless and keep you as we work, pray, and sacrifice together to “Build Locally and Reach Globally.” Remember to keep you faith in Him since through Him all things are possible. 

Your brother in Christ, 

Brett Morris
(Campaign Director)

Welcome Kaitlin Rose

Brian and Candyce DeKruyff welcomed their baby girl, Kaitlin Rose May 20, 2008 at 10:13 a.m., weighing in at 6lb. 10 oz., 20” long! We praise God for Kaitlin and rejoice with the DeKruyffs.

AWANA Awards Ceremony VIDEO

Check out this awesome video made for the AWANA Awards Ceremony. Thanks to Dan Heidt and Ray Simmons who made it. Turn up your speakers and prepare to Worship the Lord. We thank him for all the blessings of our wonderful children and the leaders who worked with them during AWANA 2007-2008!!!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Play Ball!

The Gateway Softball teams are having a record-breaking year! With a 900% increase in wins over last year, Nacho Libre, Napoleon Dynamite and the Goonies won all of their games this week. The Goonies and Libre had two wins Monday night and Dynamite secured a win on Sunday! The year started off with one practice which was one above last year and has played great, despite multiple injuries. The Church has enough players to make three teams with some of our superstars on multiple teams which is amazing! We have some GREAT hitters and spectacular defense. Way to go TEAM! If you haven't been out to a game yet, Libre plays on Sunday, May 11th at 2 pm, Dynamite plays on Monday at 6:20 and the Goonies play at 8:20. Take me out to the Ballgame!!!

Annual Spring Picnic

The Spring Picnic at Gateway Baptist Church on Sunday was so much fun! The afternoon began with the AWANA Grand Prix Event. The kids had a blast! Three huge inflatables were set up on the lawn and the kids jumped and played until they couldn't any longer. Some "Big Kids" even joined in.The new slide this year was a 20 foot water slide and it was a big hit!  There was face painting and kid's ball.

The annual egg-toss was a big hit and there was some speculation that the eggs were boiled because they just wouldn't break!!!!! The popcorn machine and the snowcone machine was a big hit. There was a run on the snowcone machine with Banana being the favorite.

Grill-masters were on hand cooking up delicious hamburgers and hot dogs and many people were helping get the food prepared to eat. At Alan and Drew's request, there was a LOT of food! Thanks to everyone who helped set up and clean up. It was a wonderful time of food and fellowship.

Welcome Glory!

We welcome new baby, Glory into the world! Amanda and Anthony Sansano have a new baby girl. Glory Lenora arrived around 5pm Monday evening. Glory weighed 8lbs 15oz and was 21 1/2 inches long. "We just want to thank everyone for their prayers and praise God for his abundant blessings! - Anthony and Amanda"

We are so happy for you. Congratulations.

AWANA Awards Ceremony

Winners and Heroes!

The Awana Awards Ceremony was a great celebration as many, many kids came out to receive the awards that they had earned from their leaders. This was potentially the largest club that we have ever had. The night started with a video recap of the 2007-2008 Awana year including photos of pies thrown at fearless Sparky leader, Greg Locklier and many photos of kids thought the club year.

“We had so many Cubbies we didn’t know what to do!” Just kidding. The Cubby leaders knew exactly what to do. They ministered to our little ones in a Big Impact kind of way. We had two groups of Awana Cubbies this year come up with their parents and receive their awards. Way to go Cubbies.

The Sparks that  “light the world” came out to receive various awards presented, such as, the “Man vs Wild”, “Survivor” and “Shining Star” awards. It is no wonder that their leaders had such a great time with them this year! Good job Sparkies!

The TNT Boys and Girls had many book awards presented to them for learning so many verses this year. Their leaders had many wonderful things to say including the great effort that went into learning their sections. Each one of these boys and girls was a winner and should be very proud. Truly, they are hiding god’s word in their heart as “A Workman that Need not be Ashamed.”

However, the real heroes are the leaders and directors in each club at the direction of their experienced commander, Bryan Dekryuffe. Thank you to all the leaders and the workers in Awana along with Brian. Your efforts have made a lasting impact!! Great year! Stay tuned for scenes from the Awana Grand Prix and Church Picnic on Sunday. If you were touched by Awana in some way this year, give a shout out by posting a comment below! More photos online here!

 

Gateway Softball

Sparks Pie Mr. Locklier

Wednesday night, the Sparks got to cram pies in Mr. Locklier's face for successfully completing their goal in scripture memory for the week.

Mrs. Locklier got too close and Mr. Locklier made sure to share his whip cream with her.

Thrift Store Formal

The Thrift Store Formal last night was packed, the food was good, and the entertainment was delightful.

The Best Outfit prize went to Mr. Glen "Run DMC" Spivey and the lovely Cecelia Teal.

But this video after the event was over is a must see. First, Kieran and Caleb ham it up. And then Caelan takes over the dance floor.

Glen and Cecelia (with Drew) won best costume awards:

The Stylings of the Seniors:

Building Local, Reaching Global

A Word from Pastor Alan...

We have been talking about the need for additional space
for classes, gatherings, fellowship, and ministry for many years now. It is obvious that we need a permanent structure to replace andexpand upon the service that the trailers have provided for us. After much prayer and deliberation, and for obvious reasons, we believe that the time to build has come. While we are excited about finally being at the point where we are going to build, we need to make sure that we keep our priorities straight.

The focus of our endeavors should never be just a
building. A building is only a tool to accomplish the mission that God has given us. Our mission/vision at Gateway is that we would. Love God and Love People . . . To the Ends of the Earth. We want to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Out of our love for God and the love He has for us, we want to sacrificially love our neighbor as ourselves. And, we want to love God and love people everywhere we go, both locally in Montgomery and globally as God leads us to interact with and disciple the nations. God has given us a big vision, but it will only be achieved through the empowering of the Holy Spirit as we work Together.

Together. That is a powerful word. Our culture tells us that we don’t need others – we can make it on our own. The Bible speaks against that. Whether we are talking about Gideon’s Army of only 300, Nehemiah’s call to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem with the remnant, or the early Church having all things in common, it is clear that God puts people together to accomplish amazing things. He brings us together to depend upon Him, trust Him, and believe in Him to do more through us collectively than we could ever do by ourselves in our own strength. Philippians 2:2 tells us that we should be “one in spirit and purpose.” When a group of people come together under the Lordship of Christ to love God, love other people, and reach the world, then God often does amazing things. Do we believe God to do more through us together than we could ever do by ourselves? Do we believe God to provide this building as we step out in faith? If God is not in it, we cannot do it.
Our prayer is that we would be able to build a building that
enables us to disciple adults and children to know God and follow
Him. We hope to be able to house ministries out of this building that
can be a part of reaching and transforming our community. Our
prayer is that every day and every night, the doors would be open and
people would be learning more about God as they teach one another,
relate to each other, and have fun together. We hope to create a
gathering place for fellowship and recreation so that the whole person
is ministered to and can grow in Christ.

We also hope that this building becomes part of a strong
base that can train disciples of Christ to impact the nations as we send
people out to the ends of the earth. Will you believe God with us for
this? Will you commit to pray, seek God’s face, and call upon Him for
wisdom and help as we step into this endeavor? Will you ask God
how you can be a part of helping make this happen? If we are going
to do this, we all need to give sacrificially. The burden should not be
on just a few. This is a faith journey that we all need to step into
together. Won’t you join us? I’m so excited about what God is
going to do!

Alan Cross

Micah Mandate: Doing Justice, Loving Mercy, Walking Humbly With God

{An Excerpt from DownshoreDrift.com, Pastor Alan's Blog}

Since last August, we have been going through a spiritual formation study on Wednesday nights at our church. We spent several months talking about loving God. Then, we explored what it meant to love people. Now, we are talking about how we do that "to the ends of the earth." We have taken a pretty different approach on each area and I have really grown through it. One of the books that we are using for this last movement is The Micah Mandate: Balancing the Christian Life by George Grant.  He deals with Micah 6:8, which says: "But he has showed you, O Man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you: To do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God."  His premise is that if we do those three things, then our lives will be in balance and we will be salt and light to the world. Jesus appealed to Micah's mandate in Matthew 23:23 when he said to the Pharisees, "But you have neglected the more important matters of the law - justice, mercy, and faithfulness." 

Thom Wolf says that when interacting with the larger culture, we start with justice issues, we the show mercy to people that we connect with, and then we share our faith with them. He calls it "Weeds, Deeds, and Seeds."  When we live in a culture that is ignorant or hostile to the gospel, we should seek to come alongside them and set right what has gone wrong by bringing the Kingdom of God. We should pull the weeds that have grown up around them (Justice).  Then, we should do good deeds (Matt. 5:16) among them (Mercy).  Finally, after their hearts have been made receptive, we should plant the seeds of faith through the gospel (Walking humbly with God).  Of course, it does not have to necessarily go in this order, but caring about justice issues and doing good amongst unbelievers surely does open their hearts to ask, "Why are you doing this?" I experienced that directly as we went down to help right after Katrina.  Dr. Wolf goes on to say that the Micah/Jesus Mandate is the same as what Paul is saying when he calls us to "faith, love, and hope." It's just that amongst believers, Paul starts with the heart and our relationship with God and works his way out to our effect on the world.

FAITH = Walking Humbly with God = Planting Seeds (faith comes from hearing the gospel)

LOVE = Mercy = Good Deeds (sacrificially laying our lives down for others)

HOPE = Justice = Pulling Weeds (our hope in in the salvation that is to be granted to us fully one day)

So, basically, the Christian life is a balance of all three of these components as they continue to mix and work in our lives.  Unfortunately, we often get out of balance and focus more heavily on one area over the other.  Throughout my life, I have seen this imbalance in Christians who were totally focused on trying to change America through politics and social action. I have always felt that wrong. On the other hand, I have met Christians who only wanted to pray and try and do 2 Chronicles 7:14 as though it was some magic formula to restore us to the 1950's. Also, wrong. George Grant says,

John Cleveland Shares about Gateway

  I came to Gateway because of a relationship that my uncle had with Alan Cross. Robert (Bob) Cleveland. He knows Alan through the blog-o-sphere and the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). I sent an e-mail to Alan when I was thinking about coming to Montgomery. Not expecting very much of a response, I was amazed when Alan sent me back a long e-mail response. That was more than any e-mail that I ever received from my home church. Following that I received a phone call from Pastor Alan. I was very appreciative of the personal, extended call I got from the Senior Pastor. My immediate reaction was that the pastor cares. I visited the web site and got the impression that this is a community-centered church. On my first visit, I was greeted by the Foxx family and treated to lunch by the Kotouc family. There is real genuine community and Agape love at Gateway. I experienced this through Gateway’s hospitality.

Since I have been at Gateway, I have noticed that Gateway is God-centered. The body wants to know what God is doing and join him. When you come from a man-centered culture, it is very refreshing. Additionally, Gateway is Agape-centered. We love because God first loved us. (1 John 4:19) We love God in response, love others and love the lost even more. Gateway truly exhibits Agape love. Lastly, Gateway is grace-centered. I meet regularly on separate occasions with two guys from the church and there is a real transparency that people share with one another from Gateway. It is unique and refreshing.

I have already recommended Gateway to other military families moving here and will tell others about the church too. Gateway is very good for military families because the body of Christ here is so warm and accepting.

In Christ,
John Cleveland

 

Church-wide Yard Sale

Time for Spring Cleaning!

Have you done your spring cleaning yet? There is no better time for spring cleaning than right now when you can bring all your unwanted items in good condition to the church yard sale. Saturday, April 5, 2008 the Cross/Falcione LIFE Group is sponsoring a church-wide yard sale in the church parking lot. Funds raised will go toward ongoing projects in India.

Donations are asked to be clean, functioning and safe. Note: No adult clothes, please. Only children’s clothes up to 2T will be accepted. Due to lack of storage space, PLEASE DO NOT BRING DONATIONS until Wednesday, April 2 following worship. There is a potential that someone can help pick up your larger items if you need a truck. For more information, please contact Todd Barber.