What We Believe

Our Passion

Our passion is to delve into the heart of God, to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Our “ethos” in carrying out this call is through fervent, persistent, and united prayer. Prayer is the “ethos” of everything we do at Gate City Church. Yet it is not prayer for prayer’s sake, it is prayer that leads us to the heart of God. We do not dedicate ourselves to seek after the Father’s hand, we dedicate ourselves to seek to know God.

As we passionately seek after God, he will begin to transform our hearts to love the things that are in the center of His heart. To learn more of how we carry out this vision to passionately seek the heart of the Lord, click here.

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Our Mission

Our overall vision for Gate City Church is to boldly proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We believe that we are called to win the lost, make disciples, and train them to go and do the same. We have a strong sense that the Lord has called us to be God’s ambassadors in building bridges to span the divide between those who have entered into a relationship with Christ and those who have yet to make that decision. To accomplish this, we believe it is critical that all of our people become strong in:

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The Word—the ability to understand and apply the truth of God’s Word in their everyday life. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” (Psalms 119:105)

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Worship—the ability to give God the glory He deserves “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.” (Psalms 29:2).

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Witness—a life and words that spread the aroma of Christ among non-believers “…and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8).

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Work—every Christian needs to be involved regularly using his or her gifts and talents to serve God through the church. “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others.” (1 Peter 4:10)

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Our Values

There are many things we deeply value at Gate City Church. Below is a summary of some of the core values at Gate City Church. To review our Statement of Faith, go to the section, Our Beliefs.

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• Respect – We deeply respect God and His Word. We also respect every person regardless of race, age, marital status, etc. We believe all people are God’s creation and should be valued, loved and respected.

• Biblical Fidelity – Our goal is to teach God’s Word faithfully and apply it to everyday life.

• Caring for One Another – We wish to grow small while we grow big! Many of our church family meet in small fellowship groups (MiniChurches), and we strive for an atmosphere of caring and respect at all services.

• Community and World Outreach – We believe God has called us to serve our community and help others around the world find faith in Jesus Christ. One way is to build bridges of ministry into the community, through which we can care for people.

• Contemporary Forms – In our services, we use multimedia and contemporary worship to share the ageless Good News of the Bible.

• Orderliness – We are charismatic, yet conservative, in our expression of the gifts in worship and ministry.

• Spiritual Gifts Orientation – We believe the Holy Spirit gives all the gifts mentioned in the Bible. We help our people discover their gifts and talents so they can serve the Lord effectively and with joy.

• Teamwork – Working together we are able to accomplish more than we can independently. We value working together as a team. Gate City Church is a congregation with beliefs deeply rooted in the Bible as the Word of God.

 

Our Beliefs

We believe…

• That there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

• That Jesus Christ was and is the Son of God.

• In His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of God the Father and in His personal return to this earth in power and glory.

• That all have sinned and that the only means of being cleansed from sin is through the blood of Christ.

• That regeneration by the Holy Spirit is essential for personal salvation.

• That man is justified by faith in Jesus Christ apart from works.

• That the redemptive work of Christ provides healing for the whole man: body, soul, and spirit.

• According to the Scriptures, every believer may be baptized in the Holy Spirit and equipped with a prayer language with which to seek the Lord.

• In the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling presence the believer is enabled to live a godly life which manifests the fruit of the Spirit.

• That the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as enumerated in 1 Corinthians:12-14, are for the church today.

• In the resurrection of both the saved and the lost, the saved to everlasting life and the lost to eternal judgment.

• In water baptism by immersion in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

• That the Bible is the infallible Word of God given to men by inspiration of God.

• In the reality and personality of our enemy Satan.

• That Jesus’ death is remembered in the ordinance of the Lord’s supper. His blood purchased salvation for us. His broken body purchased healing for us.

• That a Christian who is walking with God cannot be demon possessed.

• That God calls some men to the five offices of Ephesians 4:11, or that of elder or deacon.

• That God is preparing a bride for His Son.

 

Our Commitments

We at Gate City Church are a church committed to the following:

• Prayer

• Purity of heart and tongue

• Pursuit of God: consecrated seekers of God

• Peace with God and man

• Praise & Worship

• Proclamation of the Word

• Persuading men thru witness & evangelism

• Purpose: the Great Commission & World Missions

• People committing to service & lay ministry

• Pleasing God

• Pioneering new ministries

• Planting new churches

• Posterity: creating and maintaining a ministry work that will impact generations