Gateway Church

 

                      3702 Buena Vista Road, Columbus, GA 31906        706.687.5156           

Welcome to our Website!

Gateway is a church designed for those who have given up on traditional church services! The reasons are obvious:
  • The church services are too long and boring.
  • Sermons are not relevant to you.
  • You feel out of place.
  • Members are unfriendly.
  • Money seems to be the primary interest.

Not at Gateway Church! We’re a church in the now, not a church of the past. We're excited about life; we're passionate about Christ!  Join us this week in worship; you won't be disappointed.

Sincerely,

Loyd and Patricia Johnson Lead Pastors 

 

Theme: I Believe in Communion

Celebrate the Presence

Read Deuteronomy 27:1–7

Sacrifice fellowship offerings there, eating them and rejoicing in the presence of the Lord your God (Deuteronomy 27:7).

In the Old Testament, God’s people fellowshipped by sacrificing an animal and having a feast. In the New Testament, however, the sacrifice has aleady been made: Jesus Christ. Now we can fellowship together, partaking of Communion, celebrating why Jesus died for us.When two or more believers gather in the name of Jesus, He joins them (Matthew 18:20). This alone is cause for celebration, but to remember what He did for believers takes it to the next level.

Even though the events Communion symbolizes are very solemn, the Cross made the resurrection possible. When you take Communion, you remember the Lord’s death and His sacrifice, but don’t stop there. Remember how He rose again, showing the victory over sin and death.

Taking Communion involves more than one person. When people gather with the right attitude, Jesus is present. Take that time to not only celebrate Jesus’ presence but the victory He gives us over sin and death.

Thought for Today: God’s presence can show His pleasure.

Devotional brought to you by God's Word For Today.
God's Word For Today is available from Gospel Publishing House.

 

The Assemblies of God grew out of the Pentecostal revival, which began in the early 1900s in places such as Topeka, Kansas, and the Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles. During times of prayer and Bible study, believers received spiritual experiences like those described in the book of Acts. Accompanied by “speaking in tongues,” their religious experiences were associated with the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Jewish feast of Pentecost (Acts 2), and participants in the movement were dubbed “Pentecostals.” The Pentecostal movement has grown from a handful of Bible school students in Topeka, Kansas, to an estimated 600 million in the world today.

Many participants who were baptized in the Holy Spirit during revivals and camp meetings in the early 1900s were not welcomed back to their former churches. These believers started many small churches throughout the country and communicated through publications that reported on the revivals. In 1913, a Pentecostal publication, the Word and Witness, called for the independent churches to band together for the purpose of fellowship and doctrinal unity. Other concerns for facilitating missionaries, chartering churches and forming a Bible training school were also on the agenda.  

Some 300 Pentecostals met at an opera house in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in 1914, and agreed to form a new fellowship of loosely knit independent churches. These churches were left with the needed autonomy to develop and govern their own local ministries, yet they were united in their message and efforts to reach the world for Christ. So began the General Council of the Assemblies of God.  

Assemblies of God churches form a cooperative fellowship. As a result, the organization operates from the grass roots, allowing the local church to choose and develop ministries and facilities best suited for its local needs.