New Here?

So you’ve heard about Gateway and are a little curious. Going to a new place can be intimidating and scary. How will I know where to park? What if my kid has to go to the bathroom? What do I wear? We’ve asked those questions too. Please know we will make every effort to make sure your first experience is worry free. We look forward to hanging out with you and becoming friends.

Quick Tips

Wear Comfortable Clothes

Leave that tie on the rack and consider wearing jeans. What you wear is not nearly as important as who you are.

Where to park

Parking attendants will be in place to guide you where to park. The parking spaces close to the main entrance are reserved for those who need help into the building and for the elderly.

The Lobby

Once you walk through our doors you will see the smiles and warmth of Gateway. There will be volunteers ready to serve you and answer any questions you have. Plan on spending some time before and after service meeting new friends. Visit our cafe area and visit with friends before or after service.

Main Auditorium

Grab a worship guide, and enter into worship with us. Our ushers will help you find a seat, and don’t worry about anyone making you stand up and say your name. You will be able to blend in the crowd with no worries.

Worship

We have worked hard to provide you with an experience where you can connect with God. In our main service, the band plays a relevant style of music that you will enjoy. Their passion for God is contagious. The words to the music will be on the screens for you to follow along. You may see some people expressing their love for God by closing their eyes, sitting, clapping, and even raising their hands.

Gateway Kids Area

Take the most important people in the building to the child check-in area. Our best volunteers are helping with our little ones so you can focus on having a great experience in the service. Their background checks have been cleared and they been trained through a risk-management course. Our leaders will give 100% of their care while making it a fun experience to learn lessons from the Bible.

Early Childhood (Birth – Pre K)

Leaving your baby with a stranger can be tough, that is why we have made every effort to make it comfortable and safe. When checking in your baby and bag, you will receive a tag with your name and a number. Please do not lose the tag as it will be the only way to pick up your child. Should we need your assistance, we will place your number on the screen so you can leave service.

Adventure Kids (Kindergarten – 5th)

This will be the best 60 minutes of your kid’s day. They will laugh, sing, dance, and learn with new friends and amazing leaders. Our goal is to help you lead your child to become a life long follower of Christ. Since we only have one hour with them a week, we will often give you tools to help with ideas and get you talking at home. Kids deserve our best and know we believe in them. Caring team leaders will make sure every kid feels welcomed and is connecting to other students.

Teaching

John Van Pay has a style that is relational and to the point. He is passionate about how the Bible leads us into truth and helps us with every day living. We will use video, music, drama, or other creative methods to make learning interesting for you.

Closing

We will always be done in 60 minutes.

Our Story

Gateway started as a small group of 8 people in John Van Pay’s living room on Labor Day weekend, 2007. With a God sized burden, they wrote down the names of neighbors on a piece of butcher paper. A mission was born to help their friends become devoted followers of Jesus. They invited those friends to their grand opening service on February 10, 2008 at Bob Beard Elementary in Helotes, Texas. 283 showed up and 28 of their new friends surrendered their lives to Jesus. A few months later, Gateway was homeless because the school district wouldn’t allow churches to rent during the summer. God opened the door at the Silverado 16 Movie Theatre. A simple method of discipleship was embraced through a worship service and small groups in homes.

John received a vision to start Finishers, a church planting network. The purpose is to train and send teams to start new churches. Gateway’s first church plant, Camino Victorioso (a spanish speaking contemporary church) had their grand opening on April 24th, 2011. On Gateway’s 3 year birthday, February 13, 2011, the church announced City Fellowship Church as the second Gateway church plant on the west side of San Antonio. On January 2012 a team was sent to downtown San Antonio to plant the Gathering Church at the old Borden warehouse.

After growing to a church family of 1,000 and maximizing their space, Gateway embarked on 15 prayer walks from the Silverado Movie Theatre to 11.5 acres of land on Loop 1604. They boldly asked God to provide this land so they could have a permanent home. On December 20, 2012, Hobby Lobby bought the $2.4M piece of land and donated it!

Gateway doesn’t seek to be one large mega church. It is their vision to be the catalyst for a network that starts healthy churches who reproduce the same all over the world. Will you join the mission?

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