Military Ministry

Welcome to the Military Ministry and Missions of Gateway! Here are a few items to help you understand who we are and how we want to serve you.

OUR MISSION & VISION

The mission of Gateway Military Ministry and Missions is to reach, train, and equip military members and their families who live in our community. We want to embrace them, invest in them, train & equip them, and commission them as military missionaries. By the end of their assignment in our community, we want them to see the military as their mission field and their careers as God-ordained platforms for ministry.

OUR VALUES

Keeping the Kingdom of God Foremost - We will joyfully and purposefully release disciples and resources for the benefit of the whole kingdom of God.

Building Networks on the Basis of Relationships First - We will make God-honoring and trusting relationships the bedrock of our cooperation.

Being Committed to a Global Vision - We will stay committed to reaching every military member and their families . . . and through them the entire world.

We offer several casual dinners, pool parties, etc. to welcome you and allow you to get to know us personally while you’re looking for a church home. You’re also welcome to visit any of our small group Bible studies (called “Life Groups” ) at any time. We are a cell-based church.

We also have a vibrant AWANA program for children aged 3 years to 6^th grade. If you are interested in attending any of these, please call the Gateway office at (334) 272-9494.

TRAINING

We seek to provide specific training for military personnel and their families. Sunday School curriculum designed for military folks: (how to cope with military lifestyle stress, outreach in the military, discipleship in the military, how to embrace military as mission field and themselves as missionaries)

SERVING

We want to serve you! If you have practical needs while you’re moving in and getting settled, please give us a call at (334) 272-9494. If you need to know where to shop, where are the schools, where to get your car fixed, where to get your kids’ hair cut, why is it so hot here (disclaimer: we may not be able to change the temperature), etc, again, please give us a call.

CONNECTING

We encourage a church-wide mindset of warmth and welcome to military families and we hope you notice this as soon as you arrive. We recognize that the “permanent” members of a community with a military population often become calloused to relationships with military families. Many of these more permanent community members have been hurt in the past by growing emotionally and spiritually close to a military family only to have that family move away. We encourage our church body to “share in Christ’s sufferings” by embracing that pain by realizing that the life of Christ is flowing through them into the lives of military families. As the longer-term members of our community do this, and as the military families move on, they are both ultimately reaching out to the outermost parts of the globe.

Embracing a Movement-Building Philosophy - We will follow the Biblical model of multiplying discipleship, where we commit to building disciples who will make other disciples. We commit to not only minister to military, but through military to the world.

Maintaining a Christ-Pursuing Heart - We will make sure our hearts stay alive. The constant revival of the heart and our love for God and others will drive our passion for Kingdom causes.

Being Balancing Strategy and Faith - We will attempt to always balance the dynamic tension of strategic intentionality, risk-taking faith, and Spirit-led flexibility.

Affirming Biblical Christianity - We will build networks of Kingdom leaders who hold to Biblical Christianity and its historical creeds and confessions.

In addition to the values of the Military Missions Network, we also place a high value on Creativity in Ministry. We will adapt any tool or method at the leading of the Holy Spirit to adjust to a given situation. The Purpose of the Great Commission remains constant. Our Strategies, Methods, and Tools for accomplishing that Purpose will all remain adaptable in order to be most effective at evangelism and discipleship.

Our Ministry and Missions concept is based on the “lifecycle” of a military member’s assignment to a local installation, whether it’s three years or six weeks.

OUR MINISTRY

We embrace the same values as the Military Missions Network (http://www.militarymissionsnetwork.com)

Fulfilling the Great Commission by equipping military members and their families to be Kingdom-minded missionaries wherever they are stationed worldwide.