The phrase “2020 vision” is based on these ideas... 20/20 Vision is perfect, clear vision.
Acts 20:20 is the Biblical verse which
It also refers to 2020AD.
A person with 20/20 Vision can see
gives us our METHOD of ministry - a
Our 2020 Vision is a 5 year plan,
clearly - both near and far; our vision
church which meets “publicly and in
from the beginning in 2016 to the
should clearly see both long term
homes” - a two-winged church - and
end of 2020AD, with goals to be
(5 years away) and the immediate
our MESSAGE - teaching the gospel
accomplished during these 5 years,
needs (for the current year).
and Word of God in a way which is
in each ministry department.
“helpful” for real life.
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Our Journey of Spiritual Growth Connect on Sundays • Grow in a Group • Serve on a Team We want people to feel like they are responsible for their own spiritual growth, so we simply provide a ‘buffet’ of options, groups, teams & activities - and leave it up to you decide what is appropriate for you at this point in your life and spiritual journey. Sometimes you may be very involved and committed to certain activities, sometimes you may need to take a break and re-evaluate things - follow the rhythm of your life. Love God • Love People • Love Life “Love the Lord your God with your whole being, and love other people as you love your self”
Our Message and our Method Belong to our community - a two-winged church that meets publicly and in homes Believe the good news of forgiveness and Eternal Life through Jesus Christ Become the person God intends you to be and enjoy living an Abundant Life We want people to Belong to our community, even before they have come to Believe what we believe, or have Become the people God is calling them to be.
Our Ethos and Culture Entrepreneurial Excellence
Spirit-Filled Ministry
Culturally Relevant
Constantly improving the quality
Seeking to be Spirit-led in
Seeking to minister within the
of everything we do; we also
our decisions and timing; and
existing culture and present
promote a free-market approach
passionate and enthusiastic
the gospel in a contemporary,
to volunteering - do what you feel
in worship, prayer and service,
relevant way; avoiding legalism
called to, as long as it is part of
following the two-winged church
and dualistically separating
our over-all Vision.
Biblical model.
ourselves from our culture.
V I S I T G AT E WAY . A C / / 3
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The Gateway Globe There are three “continents” on this globe:
Northern
Southern
Hemisphere
Hemisphere
Celebration (our Sunday services)
Cell
Equator
(our House Parties
Community
and Groups)
(the Gateway Centre and its activities)
Northern
Southern
Hemisphere Culture consistent, high quality, professional level production
Hemisphere Culture Equatorial Culture
informal, lay-led,
volunteer initiated,
relationally-based
multiple options, resourcing the community
Each “continent” has three “provinces” or ministry departments. Each “continent” has its own “culture” and each “province” has its own purpose. An “atmosphere” of prayer surrounds all that we do in any “continent” or “province.”
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Northern Hemisphere
The Sunday Service Goal: To have two full services each Sunday by 2020AD (up to 800 at regular services and 1,000 at Big Days, incl children)
Creative Arts
GATEWAY KIDS
Hospitality
Musicians, performers, technical
Leaders, teachers, and helpers
Greeters, ushers, Info Desk,
team, graphic design, media,
for nursery, pre-school and
and cafe baristas; security and
and video production.
elementary school age.
Green Room hosts.
Our Sunday Celebrations are times when the whole church gathers together in unity - the young, the old, new believers, mature disciples, and seekers - and this is also when Gatewaykids meets and ministers to our youngest attendees.
Our Sunday services last approximately 75 minutes - with recognizable familiar features, including quality, contemporary worship music, TED talk style messages, featuring one main idea, healing & prayer ministry, as well as a number of regular features like our Milestones (baptisms, child dedications, membership/partnership), interviews, communion, or video segments that show behind the scenes at Gateway or introduce stories from people whose lives have been changed and blessed in some way. We believe that God deserves our best, and so we aim to have a professional level production as well as an openness to the presence of the Holy Spirit. Three times a year we have special BIG DAYS at our Sunday Celebrations - Christmas, Easter and Fall when we make extra effort to create a service which will compellingly present the good news of Jesus Christ to those who have yet to come to know him.
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Equator
The Gateway Centre Goal: To have a fully-functioning Community Centre that provides activities, social events and training, for all ages, by 2020AD
Community Events
XLR8 Youth
Venue Management
We will partner with the local
For Junior and Senior High
This is our venue, rentals,
Community League and also
students - the Community
building improvements and
with other community groups
Centres main “club”- and a
additions, finance and budget,
(Scouts, soccer leagues etc).
bridge to the church for youth.
space-usage.
The idea is that the church venue would be a community centre and that people from within and outwith the church can find community through shared interests - all of these activities would be on the basis of volunteer leaders, from within the church, or from other organizations. Our Executive Pastor would be available as our “pastor-at-large” and as our church contact with these groups and organizations. We also seek to manage our financial and venue resources wisely, so that we are able to continually improve the quality and size of our facilities, to meet our needs as a growing church.
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Southern Hemisphere
House Parties Goal: Twenty groups of 20+ people by 2020AD (led by lay-leaders who provide pastoral care and discipleship, and also give oversight to group members who are also group leaders)
Cell Groups
EQUIP
Encounter Events
Our House Parties (of 20+ people)
This exists to provide Biblical and
We will hold occasional Encounter
led by leaders who are coached by
leadership training for all group &
Events (with worship, a speaker,
the Pastoral staff. Informal social
team leaders, and anyone else who and a time of prayer and ministry -
gatherings, where spiritual growth,
may be interested in attending
aimed at spiritual breakthroughs)
pastoral care and discipleship can
- it is our main discipleship &
for Youth, Women, and Men - a
take place naturally.
leadership training option.
gathering of cells.
House Parties are mainly social events, with a potluck or BBQ in someones home - however the goal is to gradually add in certain spiritual and ministry elements, like Communion as part of the potluck, following the way the Lord’s Supper was celebrated in the New Testament and early church, and breaking into smaller groups of men, women, children, and youth (homogenous cells) to pray together and encourage one another. All pastoral care, hospital visitation, fellowship outings, prayer, social justice activities, and similar ministries take place in and through these groups. We do not have multiple ministries for these things - everything is done through the groups. We are a church OF small groups (not simply a church WITH small groups). Other types of groups can start (sports, hobbies, coffee, pub night, fishing, moms & tots, bikers) as long as they add in the elements of communion, prayer of three, and homogenous cells and/or join with a House Party for these elements. Flexibility, based on who will be attending is an important element in Groups. See “Groups of Twelve: the model of Jesus” at the end of this booklet for more details.
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Gateway A Two-Winged Church Many churches have small groups, but often they simply tack-on small groups to all the other ministries in the church. A cell-church is not just a church WITH cells (small groups), but a church OF cells - a church where small groups do all the ministries, not compete with other ministries. At Gateway, all pastoral care, hospital visitation, fellowship outings, prayer, social justice activities, and similar ministries take place in and through these groups. We do not have multiple ministries for these things - everything is done through the groups. This is often referred to as a Two-Winged Church:
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The One-Anothers The New Testament tells us repeatedly that Christians are supposed to …. love one another, pray for one another, bear one anothers burdens, exhort one another, forgive one another, accept one another, show hospitality to one another, serve one another ... and many more! These things were not done for the congregation by professional clergy - they were done by all the people, meeting together in small groups for community, and gathering as one large group for celebration. The task of the church leaders, pastors, and ministries was simply to “equip God’s people to do the work of the ministry and build up the church...” (Ephesians 4:12). We have decided to go back to the Bible and delegate all “ministry and service” back to the congregation - it’s only in a small group or a team that you can truly serve and care for one-another, and it’s only in a large gathering that there is a sense of genuine celebration as a growing church.
Getting Connected Connect on Sundays: The best way to get to know Gateway is to become a regular attendee at our Sunday Celebrations, which provide great worship, inspiring Bible teaching, information on what’s happening, a great children’s ministry, and the chance to fellowship in our cafe with friends and newcomers. Grow in a Group: If you already have friends in Gateway, ask them what House Party or small group they are part of - its easiest to try something new when you are with someone you know. Otherwise, contact our office or ask at our Info Desk - we have many groups and there is sure to be one that is right for you and can help you grow spiritually. Serve on a Team: We have lots of opportunities to serve as a volunteer at Gateway - with new areas of service starting all the time. Our main volunteer opportunities lie in the following areas: Creative Arts (worship team, musicians, sound technicians, media & lighting techs, photographers and videographers etc); GatewayKids (nursery, preschoolers, and elementary age children have their own groups each Sunday); XLR8 Youth (our Friday night events for Junior and Senior High aged students); Hospitality (our greeters, ushers, cafe baristas, Info Desk helpers, parking lot workers). See our website for more information. Become a Partner: “Membership” can sound a bit formal, like you are joining a social club or exclusive society - so we have decided to call our members “partners” - because basically, we are asking our members to partner with us - to help us as we help you (serving “one another”). Partnership really means there things: • You identify Gateway as your Church home • You unite with Gateway in your presence (attendance) & prayers • You support Gateway with your gifts (talents & service) and giving (financial) If you are interested in Partnership and would like more information, please contact our office, see our website, or ask at our Info Desk. V I S I T G AT E WAY . A C / / 1 1
Groups of Twelve: the Model of Jesus Practical Principles at the Heart of Cell Church The Jethro Principle: When Moses was leading the Israelites through the wilderness, he tried to “pastor� the entire nation. His father-in-law, Jethro, had some advice for him:
This is the principle of delegating authority, so that everyone is supervised and supported, and everyone supervises and supports a small number of people.
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Jesus Model of Ministry: Jesus preached to multitudes, and healed and baptized publicly - but he only directly discipled a small group of twelve men, whom he taught, prayed with, and established the Lord’s Supper with. This was Jesus cell group. We are called to follow in his footsteps because he said “the works that I do, you shall do also”. [see Matthew 5:1, Matthew 9:35, Luke 5:1, Mark 4:34, Mark 14:17] The Early Church: The 11 disciples (after the death of Judas) wouldn’t do anything until they had restored the group to twelve. Then, at the birth of the church on Pentecost, the model of a two-winged church was established, where they met in the Temple courts as a large group, but also prayed and partook of communion in small groups in homes. As the church grew and spread, it continued to follow this pattern of small “house church” groups which met together as “the whole church”. [see Acts 1:21-26, Acts 2:42-47, Acts 20:20, Romans 16:5, Colossians 4:15, Acts 5:11, 1 Corinthians 14:23] Church History: Throughout church history, where revival and renewal has spread, Christians have returned to the cell church model - we see this in the Celtic Church who established “kils” and “kirks” (cells and churches), and whose leaders (like Joseph of Arimathea or St Columba) discipled a Group of Twelve; and also in the Reformation, the Methodist revival, and right on up until today, where the worlds largest and fastest growing churches are cell churches. Gateway and G12: A number of years ago, Pastor Martin & Christine Trench had the privilege of being trained and discipled by the pastors of one of the fastest growing churches in the world - Cesar & Claudia Castellations of the International Charismatic Mission, in Bogota, Colombia - who taught them their G12 principles: how to build a contemporary style church that reaches the multitudes, by using cell church principles, especially Jesus principle of discipling a group of twelve people - with everyone being in a cell, and also leading a cell; everyone is being discipled and they are also discipling others.
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How the G12 Model Works Everyone who wants to lead a cell, should also be part of a cell where they receive encouragement, support, and discipleship. In other words, every cell leader is also the member of another cell - so everyone who leads also has a leader. This starts with the Lead Pastor who has a Group of Twelve, each of whom has their own Group of Twelve, and so on - so a cell doesn’t “divide” into two when it reaches a certain number - instead it “multiplies” by growing to Twelve, and then each of the Twelve stay a part of that cell (for their own spiritual growth and pastoral care) and they also each open their own cell. From 12 cells, come 144 cells, which eventually develop 1,728 cells as each member begins their own cells. A cell can start with three people, because Jesus said “wherever two or three gather together in my name, I am in their midst” (Matthew 18:20). The cell leader will encourage each of their three to begin to pray the Prayer of Three (pray for three new people each, to come to faith in Christ, and join the church and cell). Once they have Twelve people in their cell, they stay part of that cell, though they may also start their own cell with three new people. Gateway, House Parties, Cell Church and G12. During this season, we are focusing on House Parties: informal social gatherings of 20+ people in a home setting. Our goal is to see these House Parties as a gathering of cells, meeting together as a larger group, but also breaking into cells of men, women, youth, and children, for discipleship, prayer, and pastoral care of oneanother. A House Party may meet less often as a House Party, but meet as individual cells at other times, or it may meet more regularly as a House Party and break into cells during their House Party time together.
Some cells may not meet as House Parties, but as a special interest group but with the goal of introducing discipleship, prayer and pastoral care and growing to a Group of Twelve. Cells like this may also wish to join up with an existing House Party for fellowship. Some cells may not meet as actual groups, but may simply meet up informally with their leader one-on-one or in smaller groups of two or three, but again with the goal of introducing discipleship, prayer and pastoral care and growing to a Group of Twelve. Some of our ministry departments may also have times during their team meetings where they break into smaller cells for fellowship, discipleship, prayer and pastoral care. As long as each cell leader is also being discipled, and is seeking to lead their cell in line with our Vision, using cell church principles, there is great flexibility in how, when, and where they meet. The goal is to become a church OF cells - where all ministry is carried out in small groups, which are connected together in a network of groups, as one united church. For further reading: • Life in His Body by David Finnell • Successful Home Cell Groups by David Yongi Cho • Groups of Twelve by Joel Comiskey • Dream and You Will Win the World by Cesar Castellanos • Successful Leadership Through the Government of Twelve by Cesar Castellanos • The Ladder of Success by Cesar Castellanos • Church Quake by C. Peter Wagner