Mission

"To help unchurched people become a unified community of growing Christ-followers."
(Matthew 28:18-20, Ephesians 4:12-13)

Jesus never saw church as a place to go, but as a people who love him and who are learning to love others. At Gateway, no matter what your spiritual background or past, we want you to "Come as you are." From there, we'll all grow together!

Values

Small Groups
We believe that life change happens best in the context of a small group of people (Hebrews 10:24-25, Luke 6:12-13, Acts 2:44-46). In these communities we are to be the church to one another and demonstrate the church to a watching world as we live out the "one another" commands of scripture. We must be a church of small groups rather than a church with small groups, committed to the value of every member being cared for in a community that will love and prompt him/her to grow.

Autheniticy 
We believe authenticity, acceptance and truth-telling create the atmosphere where people can become whole (Romans 12:3, Ephesians 4:11-16, 25-26). There is no need to pretend we are better or worse than we really are, but as we accept each other and speak the truth in love to one another, we can help each other grow into whole people.

Prayer
We believe that apart from Christ, we can do nothing of eternal value; therefore, everything we do will be undergirded and surrounded by fervent prayer (John 15:5-16, I Thessalonians 5:17, Matthew 18:19).

Compassion
We believe the church is to be an active agent of change in society by caring for and serving those who are poor, oppressed or marginalized (Deut. 10:17-19, Deut. 15:7-11, Prov. 19:17, Micah 6:8, I John 3:17, Matthew 25).

Culturally Relevent Communication
We believe the church should be culturally relevant while remaining doctrinally pure (II Corinthians 5:14-21, I Corinthians 9:19-23). We will use the arts, progressive music, video, multimedia, drama, poetry, dance and any other medium to communicate effectively about God's love.

Excellence
We believe in doing our best when we do something in the name of Christ (Colossians 3:23-24, Malachi 1:6-14). It might not appear slick or seamless, but it will be an authentic expression of ourselves given as an act of worship. 

God's Word
We believe that people are transformed when they understand and apply Biblical truths (II Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 4:12, Romans 10:17, Psalm 1:1-3). The Bible is the living, active word of God which the Holy Spirit can use to transform a life. Therefore, we will seek to help every person understand and apply God's word. It will be the authority for all that we do.

Spiritual Multiplication
We believe God's kingdom grows by multiplication: people developing people, groups birthing new groups, and churches planting new churches so that there is room for everyone to experience Christian community
(Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8, II Timothy 2:2, I Thessalonians 1:6-8, Matthew 13:31-32, Matthew 9:36-10:1). 

Spiritual Formation
We believe that the measure of fully following Christ is a more loving person, displaying the fruit of the Spirit of God (Matthew 22:37-40, Galatians 5:22-23). Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control are the indicators of spiritual maturity, and we believe it is normative for Christ followers to be growing in all of these areas.

Spiritual Gifts
We believe in being a community of servants who use their spiritual gifts to build up one another as the church (I Corinthians 12, Romans 12:3-8, Ephesians 4:11-12). Every believer has been given spiritual gifts through which to serve and build up the body. We believe that every Christian should discover and use his/her spiritual gifts in service to one another in the church.

Engaging Worship
We believe the corporate celebration and worship of God should be practiced regularly as a sign of our unity in the exaltation of God (Acts 2:46-47, John 4:19-24, Colossians 3:16). Every believer needs to regularly join in the corporate worship of God to be drawn into His presence and reminded of His position. Worship can take many forms and expressions as it is primarily an attitude of reverence and love resulting in acts of service.

One Church, two Locations

We desire to be one church in multiple locations.  We are committed to One Vision, One Set of Values, One Staff, One Central Leadership Team, One Financial Oversight and One Teaching Strategy over multiple campuses expressed in multiple ways.  Church was always intended to be more than just a building where people meet on Sundays-- it's about Christ followers living faith out in community with those around them.  The use of video allows us to connect McNeil and South campus with a common teaching element, and we are dedicated to meeting the spiritual and physical needs of people right here in Austin no matter which campus you attend.

Beliefs 

The Bible
We believe the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, are given by God's inspiration, and in the original writings they are without error. We believe the Scriptures originated with God but were written by the instrumentality of people and thus speak with the authority of God while reflecting the backgrounds, styles, and vocabularies of the human authors. They are the unique and final authority on all matters of Christian faith and practice.

God
We believe in one God, creator of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is true God and true man, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. We believe he was raised from the dead, ascended into heaven, and now acts as the only mediator between God and people.

The Holy Spirit
We believe that the ministry of the Holy Spirit, as the third person of the Trinity, is to apply to people the saving work of Christ. He does this by bringing conviction of a person's need for the forgiveness of Christ. He regenerates their heart and then permanently indwells them when they believe. His ongoing work is to guide, instruct, and empower the believer for godly living and service.

Humanity
We believe that people were created in the image of God for a loving relationship with God. However, people have rebelled against God, actively or passively choosing to go their own independent way. Thus we are alienated from God and suffer the corruption of our nature because of our sin. The effects of this fall from our intended relationship with God can be reversed through faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.

Salvation
We believe that Jesus Christ died as the substitution for the death penalty we owed. No amount of good works or human effort can restore us from our state of eternal alienation from God. It is only by God's free grace that we are saved from this state of alienation, and this grace is appropriated by a change of heart toward God's leadership in our lives and by faith in Jesus to forgive our sins.

The Church
We believe that there is only one true Church universal composed of all people who have asked Jesus Christ for forgiveness and made Him leader of their lives. The diversity of all believers working together, using their gifts to build up one another, form the parts of the body of Christ, the Church. The scripture commands believers to gather together to devote themselves to worship, prayer, the teaching of God's Word, using our gifts to build up one another, outreach, communion, and baptism. Wherever God's people meet in obedience to this command, there is the local expression of the church. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Head of the Church, and that every local church has the right under Christ to decide and govern its own affairs.

Spiritual Growth 

To further consider spiritual growth at Gateway, check out our Way of Christ resources website. The Way of Christ is simply Gateway's name for being intentional about your spiritual growth in relationship with others who are going the same way. The Way of Christ site is designed to help you take your next step in spiritual growth.