Our doctrine is simple; we just want to follow Jesus like Christians did in the New Testament. We believe Jesus paid the debt of sin on the cross and has offered everyone salvation in his name and membership in his church. When one truly believes in Jesus, repents of their sin, surrenders their life to his Lordship, and is baptized into Christ, they are saved by his grace. They should then live their life for his glory and his purposes, according to his Word.
God is an uncreated spirit who is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has always existed in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.
Genesis 1:1,26,27; 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2; II Corinthians 13:14
Jesus Christ is the Son of God and co-equal with the Father. Jesus lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all men by dying on the cross. He became alive again after being dead for three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He's the Head of the church and the only way to God and eternal life. He went to heaven and now "sits at the right hand of God" and will return to earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Matthew 1:22,23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1;1-5, 14:6-30; Hebrews 4:14,15; 1 Corinthians 15:3,4; Romans 1:3,4; Acts 1:9-11; I Timothy 6:14,15; Titus 2:13
The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son as God. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. The Christian seeks to live under His control daily.
II Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7-13, 14:16,17; Acts 1:8; I Corinthians 2:12, 3:16; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:1
The Bible is God's message to all people. Human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit wrote the scriptures down. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. The original documents did not contain any errors. God has provided an avalanche of evidence to support what he claims in the Bible. We believe God also communicates through the Holy Spirit, prayer, circumstances, His church and other believers but these will never conflict with the truth he's already communicated in the Bible.
II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:20,21; II Timothy 1:13; Psalm 119:105,160, 12:6; Proverbs 30:5
Humans are made in the spiritual image of God, and share many god-like qualities. Mankind is the supreme object of God's creation. Although man has tremendous potential for good, he is marred by the inheritance of Adam’s sinful nature manifesting itself in an attitude of disobedience toward God called sin. This attitude separates man from God. Man can only reach his highest potential by being reconciled to God.
Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a; Romans 3:23; Isaiah 59:1,2
Salvation is being right with God. It means having your sins forgiven rather than punished. It means that God's Spirit lives within you and helps you become a real person. It means you will enjoy living with God forever in heaven after you die. Salvation is God's free gift to everyone who puts his or her faith in Jesus.
Matthew 5:3-11; Romans 5:1; 6:23; Titus 3:5; John 14:1-2
Man can never make up for his sin by self-improvement or doing good deeds. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God's offer of forgiveness can man be saved from sin's penalty, which is death. The Bible says we are saved by grace through faith, having been buried with Christ in baptism, and raised to live a new life. Therefore to become a follower of Christ, one needs to admit to God that he is a sinner in need of God's grace and forgiveness. He needs to repent of his sins by pledging in faith that he wants to stop sinning and start living like Christ. Through faith he must accept that Jesus paid the penalty for his sin by dying on the cross and that he is being saved because Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to the throne of heaven. And just like the Bible says, he must be "buried with Christ in baptism and raised to live a new life" as a Christian. The book of Acts shows that believers were immersed in water, or baptized, when they accepted Christ. We follow this practice of the Bible in spreading the Gospel.
Acts 2:38; 8:34f; 22:16; Romans 5:1-2; 6:1-7; Ephesians 2:8,9; Colossians 2:12; John 14:6; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26-27
The Christian life is the best way to live. God desires for people to live the highest quality life possible. Once one becomes a Christian, it's like getting married to Jesus. We fall in love with Him and want to do the things that please him. We begin a long process of getting rid of sin and becoming more like Jesus. However, the only way possible to live like a spouse of Jesus is through God's power within us. So we seek to practice a daily dependence on God's Spirit to enable us to do what is right.
Philippians 2:13; Ephesians 5:1-18 Matthew 28:18-20, Ephesians 4:12-13, Colossians 1:28-29
The Church is a divinely instituted body, given the mission of strategically and effectively pursuing God's purpose on earth. Each local church is God's primary means of bringing His people to spiritual maturity and equipping them for the work of ministry. The church is a gathering place for love, support, encouragement, accountability, service, worship, growth, and mission with people who share a common bond in Christ.
Matthew 16:18; 22:34-40; 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 2:42-47; Eph. 4:11-16
Jesus is the light of the world. Christians cannot keep the Light to themselves. They are commanded to let the Light shine to everyone. It is the responsibility of every Christian to share the Good News with those God brings us into contact with. We practice sharing about Christ and inviting friends to church and sharing with them the gospel (Good News) of Christ through personal bible study and prayer.
Matthew 28:18-20; I Peter 3:15; John 15:5
People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life. Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence.
John 3:16; Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:15
At Gateway City Church, we make disciples, baptizing them just as Jesus commanded in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). Baptism is a Biblical response for those who desire to surrender their lives to Jesus Christ making Jesus the Lord (master) of their life, accepting the gift of salvation offered by Christ (our Savior) and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit.
We believe that sinners are "saved by grace through faith" in Jesus Christ, whose death on the cross makes salvation possible (Romans 5:1-10, Ephesians 2:8-9). Baptism is not a human work by which we earn salvation. It is God's work.
Many Biblical promises are associated with baptism including:
Members of Gateway City Church have, whether in our congregation or among other believers, confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, their Lord and Savior, and been baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins.