Pastor’s Blog

During the month of May we are honoring our heroes here at Gateway. This Sunday we will honor some of our greatest heroes–our mothers! We plan to give each mother a special gift as a token of our appreciation for them.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my mom for who she is and for all she has done. Many of you know my mom and her many wonderful qualities. I would not be what I am today without my wonderful, godly mother. She has always been there to love me, encourage me, correct me, direct me, and pray for me. She is a “behind the scenes” kind of lady. She always has been. My mom is a true servant in every way. If I ever known a Proverbs 31 woman, it is my mom: “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.” I have found that woman and it is my mom!

Mom, thanks for making such a difference in my life as well as the lives of Tracy, David, Teresa, your sons and daughters in law, your grandchildren and scores of others across this country and around the world.

Happy Mother’s Day! I love you, Mom!

Well, it is hard to believe that our “Friend Day” weekend has come and gone. I want to praise the Lord for a fruitful weekend here at Gateway. It was not what we had hoped for numerically but it was fruitful. It is fruit and not results that God requires of us anyway. We did have 1647 in attendance and 18 people walked the aisle to give their life to Jesus Christ. We had 81 new families visit our church on Friend Day weekend which made a total of over 200 first time visitors. The wonderful thing about this past weekend is that we have many new prospects for heaven and for Gateway. I would like to thank our people for praying and working so diligently to make “Friend Day” a fruitful experience.

On April 13 we will have our annual “Friend Day” here at Gateway. Friend Day is an opportunity for our church family to get their family, friends, neigbors and co-workers to Sunday School and Church. It is always a very special day for us. Our people work hard year round to get others to church, so this special day is always very rewarding for our people as they see many they have invited walk in the front doors of Gateway Church. I believe in big days because of what they do for our people, our church and for those who are saved as a result. We have many folks in our church family today who came because of a big day.

We also have our Friend Day Carnival on Saturday, April 12 from 2:00-4:00 PM. We are praying for 1000 young people that day. They will not only enjoy a time of fun and food but they will all hear the Good News of Jesus Christ in our Children’s Crusades.

We are praying and anticipating a great “Friend Day” weekend. There is much prayer and preparation that has gone into this special weekend. Join us if you can and pray for God to work in a great way!

I will give you a report next week on our Friend Day. Be sure to check out the results and join us in praising the Lord for His goodness!

According to wikipedia, the earth has a circumference of approximately 24,900 miles. Well, over the last seven weeks I have had the privilege to safely travel almost 37,000 miles throughout three countries and preach 28 times in other churches besides the times I have preached in my own pulpit here at Gateway. I cannot describe the privilege it has been to share the Good News of Jesus Christ in three different languages and see folks around the altar at the end of each service getting right with God. I praise the Lord for each opportunity to preach and meet some of the finest Christians I have ever met anywhere. What a thrill to meet other Christians around the world and hear how they came to know Christ.

I also thank the Lord for a home church with a world vision. I thank the Lord for Gateway and their willingness to send me and others so that we can share Christ with others. I just returned home from India with a missionary team from Gateway Christian College. They were a blessing to travel with and to minister with. None of us returned home the same as we left. I urge everyone to visit the spiritually needy fields of our world. The Great Commission is still our Mission and it is a world mission.