Gateway Alliance Church Magazine - Issue 16 - Winter/Spring 2016

I S S U E 1 6WINTER/SPRING 2016

Sunday CELEBRATIONS(see pages 3-8)

Ministries & EVENTS (see page 9-14)

To a New Year, a NewSeason, and a New JourneyNew journeys can

be both exciting and

frightening. Whenever

someone starts a new

journey in life (they get

married and set up a new

home; or they travel to a

foreign land and start a new

life; or they totally change the

direction of their life and career

because they have realized that

they have been living someone

else’s plan for their life, and have

finally discovered their own dream) it

usually begins with excitement (mixed

with a little bit of uncertainty about

exactly what might lie ahead).

We know all about those feelings.

We have been led down new and

unfamiliar paths on a few occasions -

including when God surprised us by

leading us down a new path we hadn’t

even thought about - a path which led

us to Canada, to Edmonton, and to

Gateway Alliance Church. We gave up

everything ( jobs, a business, a home,

family, friends, and familiar places) to

travel to a new continent - not knowing

exactly how things would turn out,

but trusting God to “work all things

together for good”.

Gateway has also been on a new

journey over the last few years, and is

about to embark on another adventure

as we begin our 2020 Vision. We will

launch this Vision fully at our Vision

Sunday (AGM) just after Easter - right

now we are “doing the packing before

the journey” - we are getting ready and

organizing and planning for what we

believe will be one of the most exciting

seasons in Gateway’s history - and we

want you to be a real part of it!

Whether you are new to Gateway, or

have been journeying with us for a

long time - let’s begin to prayerfully

prepare for a new, fresh move of God’s

Spirit in our church - to be the “wind

in our sails” and to lead us down new

paths, and take us on new adventures

together!

Martin & Christine Trench

A LETTER FROM THE PASTOR

Dr. Martin Trench

is our Lead Pastor,

and is our main

teacher, vision-

caster, and leader

of our staff team. Christine serves behind

the scenes in the church and is involved in

strategic-planning with Martin, designing

our stage-sets, and pioneering a prayer

ministry. They came to Canada, from

Scotland, with their two daughters 7 years

ago to serve in Gateway.

2 / / GTWY MAG WINTER/SPR I NG 2 0 1 6

V I S I T G A T E W A Y . A C / / 3

An “Epic” in ancient times was a story (usually a long poem) which told the story of a hero and his/her mission

from tragedy to greatness. We think of the great Epics, like Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, or the Babylonian Epic of

Gilgamesh, or the Hindu Mahabharata, or in more recent history - Dante’s Inferno or Milton’s Paradise Lost. In modern times, new Epics have been written -

like JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, and they all follow a similar storyline.

“Now these things happened to them as

examples for us.” (1 Corinthians 10:6)4 / / GTWY MAG WINTER/SPR I NG 2 0 1 6

The mythologist, Joseph Campbell, (1904-1987), popularized the idea that all of these great Epics - and all great and lasting stories - resonate with us so much because they seem to be allegories of our life. We can relate to them. We see ourselves in these stories - because they are designed that way. Joseph Campbell referred to it as “the hero’s journey”. They usually begin with someone who would never be regarded as a hero (a peasant, slave, outcast) who is “called” by some great divine power to go on a mission. They always fail their mission (or so it seems) and fall into despair - but then learn that when they stop “trying” so hard and start to “believe” instead, they suddenly achieve their mission effortlessly! Sound like something you are interested in learning? Well, there is more. The greatest thing that they discover is not that they were capable of achieving their mission (because they weren’t - not without divine/supernatural help anyway) - the greatest discovery is what they have BECOME as a result of their adventure. It has changed them - made them into a better person (not simply provided a better life). Isn’t that what we all want?

“These things are to be understood

as an allegory.” (Galatians 4:24)

If that sounds familiar, its because all the great movies (from Star Wars to Avatar) have deliberately used this storyline, based on Joseph Campbell’s research. The Bible itself is like an Epic novel - in fact it contains many “epics” and many stories of a “hero’s journey” through life. And they speak to us! They speak directly into our lives and circumstances, and they provide wisdom and a roadmap for navigating life’s twists and turns. I hope you will journey with me through this series and re-discover the excitement of living!

Dr. Martin Trench, Lead Pastor

Messages will include:• Experiencing the Favor of God, in a world of trouble

• Starting Life Over - the right way• Going with the Flow of Blessing

• The Battle in Your Mind• Discovering Your Unique Path through Life

• Search for the Hero Inside YourselfV I S I T G A T E W A Y . A C / / 5

Each week, we are given the opportunity to come

together as a Church body and respond to what

God has done for us, and how he has impacted our

lives. At Gateway - we believe that God inhabits the

praises of his people - and that as we reflect and

focus on him, our burdens are lifted away. During

the Sunday worship times, we choose to reflect on

God’s good nature rather than our brokenness - and

to CELEBRATE what God has done and is doing

in both our lives - which in turn opens us up to be

made new in Christ.

Our Vision as a team, is that every member of our

Gateway family is actively engaged in our worship.

That (even when we don’t feel like it) we are coming

to give God the honour and praise he so deserves.

In this - we are all called to be a part of our “Culture

of Worship”, and we are all worship leaders.

If you’d like to be a involved in either our worship or

tech teams, do not hesitate to contact Mitch, as we

are always looking to grow our teams!

The purpose of GATEWAYresources is to provide

a convenient place to purchase materials to help

people “dig deeper” into God’s Word, increase their

understanding, and grow in their faith.

GATEWAYresources carries a number of general

resources including books, music CDs, CD Box sets of

message series, and compilations of message series on

USBs for your listening and learning pleasure.

GATEWAYresources also stocks Pastor Martin’s

”recommended reading” books to expand on the topics

in his current message series and the current A.C.T.S.

Academy, to help you “dig deeper” into the topics that

have piqued your interest.

Interested? Want more information?

Contact Marjory Ariza by email at [email protected] or

speak to her after a service.


Did you know that a sign of a follower of Christ (and

of His Church) is hospitality?

Jesus said, “… I am giving you a new commandment:

Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should

love each other. Your love for one another will prove to

the world that you are my disciples.” John 13:34-35 (NLT)

At Gateway, our Hospitality Team takes hospitality

seriously – and it’s intentional! We want to reflect Christ’s

love to everyone who enters the building. NOT in a

legalistic or fake way – but by letting Jesus’ love and joy

in us bubble out and overflow onto others. Hospitality

is love in action! It means really caring about the people

who come through the doors, being welcoming, friendly,

helpful, and always striving for excellence. It means

actively looking for ways to “go the extra mile” to make

someone’s day a little easier or brighter. To make

strangers, new-comers, long-time members, children -

everyone! - feel welcome and loved here at Gateway.

If you are looking for an opportunity to serve and share

your love of God as you love people, consider a place on

the Hospitality Team: Greeters • Info Desk • Café • Ushers

• Foyer decorating • Serving at Gateways “BIG” events •

and a myriad of “behind the scenes” positions.

Serving on the Hospitality team allows you to share in fun

and fellowship as you serve.

Marjory is the Admin Assistant and Volunteer

Coordinator. She is a servant of Christ who

enjoys watching God work mightily in and

through the staff and congregation at Gateway.

At Gateway we take our kids’ safety

seriously. All workers are screened and

trained in Plan to Protect Policies. Parents,

please create a KidCheck profile at: www.kidcheck.com/signup.aspx

gatewaykids

JOINOURTEAM


b e l o n g . b e l i e v e . b e c o m e .

At Gateway, kids matter! They are respected for the way God created

them to play, discover, question and have fun! So we at GatewayKids

are all about helping kids to BELONG, BELIEVE and BECOME what

God made them to be. We believe in kids and have a passion for

kids and all that God has for them. We want every experience here at

GatewayKids to have an eternal purpose behind it.

We provide a place for kids from 0 all the way to grade 6, with our

nursery and toddler room, preschool, early elementary and preteen

programs. Check out the KidCheck centre and talk to one of our

GatewayKids team members on a Sunday morning for more information

or email [email protected].

Get plugged into an action packed ministry where you will find

community and mentorship as you contribute to the care and support

of Gateway’s little ones and their families!

For more information on where and how YOU can get involved, check

the column to the right for some of the teams that you could be a part

of and contact Lauren Reid at GatewayKids@gatewayalliancechurch.

com or 780-456-0252 ext. 107.

Here are some of the teams that you

could be a part of!

NURSERY (ages 0-3)

PRESCHOOL (ages 4-5)

EARLY ELEMENTARY (gr. 1-4)

PRETEENS (gr. 5-6)

KID CHECK-IN HOST

ON CALL SUPPORT

Members of this team are not regularly

scheduled in the rooms, but are ready

to jump in once in a while if one of the

scheduled volunteers are unable to

make it, or if extra help is needed!

ROOM PREP

A lot goes into making the rooms fun

and exciting for our kids on a Sunday

morning! If you enjoy showing up a

little early for church and like to pitch

in, this is the perfect place for you!

PARENT HELPERS

If you are a parent, this is an

opportunity for you to join your child

in their own Sunday service! You can

pick one or two Sundays a year to

lead a craft, game, or to just enjoy

spending time with your child and

their friends!

Lauren Reid is the GatewayKids Program

Director. She recently graduated with a

degree in theology, is happily married to

Andrew Reid, and is passionate about

children discovering and developing their

relationship with Christ as they explore who

they are and who God is.

TEAMs

Are you seeking meaning and discovery?

Are you asking who is God? Who was

Jesus? Why does it all matter? We want

to help you wrestle with these questions.

If you are exploring Christianity or if you

want to know what the next steps are in

following Jesus, email Pastor Drake.

Baptism is about declaring you belong

to the Kingdom of God. Much like a

wedding ring is an outward symbol of

a commitment to someone, baptism is

an outward symbol of the inward work

God has already done in your life and

declaration that you belong to Him.

As we journey through life, we

come to major milestones

along the way. Let us

celebrate and support

you through every

stage of your journey.

Our Elder’s Team

would be happy to

connect with you about

the following Milestones:

Do you call Gateway home? Membership

is all about digging your roots deep and

planting yourself in a community that you

can call family. Be a part of what God is

doing at Gateway and discover what God

has for you in this Faith community.

The Bible says: “Are you hurting? Pray. Do

you feel great? Sing. Are you sick? Call the

church leaders together to pray and anoint

you with oil in the name of the Master.”

(James 5:13) One of our Elders would be

happy to meet and pray with you. We also

have special healing services throughout

the year. You can email

[email protected] and

our prayer team will intercede for you.

FAMILY MATTERSThe journey of life is full of beginnings and endings.

Email [email protected] to inquire

about booking our facility and/or having

Pastor Drake officiate your wedding.

When your family is blessed with a new

addition, we want to celebrate and

support you. Child Dedication is one

avenue to do this.

Funeral preparation can be difficult

while grieving the loss of a loved one.

While never easy, this can be a time to

celebrate a life and shared memories.

Let us come along side you and be of

any help we can with service details and

connections to different options.

Fill out an info card at the Info Desk

any Sunday for more information

about any of these milestones.

We want to hear your stories of God

working in your life or how being

a part of Gateway has helped you

grow in your faith journey and life.

Email [email protected]

MILESTONES

FAITH COMMITMENT MEMBERSHIP

WATER BAPTISM

HEALING PRAYER &CRISIS COUNSELLING

WEDDINGS

CHILD DEDICATION

FUNERALS


One of the most misunderstood concepts in the Bible

is the idea of “the Last Days” or “the End Times”. Very

often Christians read the Bible, with its warnings of the

soon-coming End of the Age, and imagine that WE live in

the “Last Days” and that “the End” will come very soon

- probably in our lifetime. That’s what the Bible predicts,

isn’t it? A “soon coming End”?

But weren’t those warnings written 2,000 years ago? So,

it would be the FIRST readers of these gospels, letters,

cost $ 40

gatewayalliancechurch.com/academy

Wednesdays from 7pm - 9: 30pm

February 3 - 10 - 17 - 24

10 / / GTWY MAG WINTER/SP R I NG 2 0 1 6

and prophecies, who were being warned about the

fact that THEY were living in “the Last Days” of a “soon

coming End of the Age”. It wasn’t the “End of the World” -

it was the end of the AGE; it wasn’t the Last Days of planet

earth - it was the Last Days of the Old Covenant.

Once your eyes are opened to the Age-changing events

of the first century - the Bible will become a whole new

book to you!

V I S I T G A T E W A Y . A C / / 1 1

If you want more information or are looking to join a House Party, speak to someone at the Info Desk in the Foyer or email Pastor Drake at [email protected]

In the early church, they met in large gatherings in the Temple courts or a rented Lecture Hall and other places, but they also met in smaller, home-based groups. (See Acts 2:42, 19:9,20:20)

Sunday mornings are all about Celebration! It is a place to come and gather with many people and celebrate all that God has done, is doing and will continue to do. But it can be very hard to make meaningful and helpful connections on a Sunday morning and so HOUSE PARTIES is about about digging deeper in our faith and life as a community and walking along side one another.

We believe that people will come alive and flourish best in groups that are organic and have genuine connections by being informal, allowing people to really know each other and have a place to grow into the people God has planned for them. The feel and culture of each HOUSE PARTY is driven by the gifts and passion of the people who make up each group. No two HOUSE PARTIES will look identical and each will have a life of its own

Whether you are new to Gateway, or have grown up in the church, there are always new people to meet and new friends to make. We encourage you to visit some of our House Parties and find the right one for you!

SENIOR HIGHHOUSE PARTY

WHO: Grades 9-12

WHENFriday: 6:30pm-9:30pm

(once a month)

CONTACTgatewayyouth@

gatewayalliancechurch.com

THE KASIHNYATAHOUSE PARTY

WHO: IndonesianHouse Party

WHENEvery Sunday: 4pm

CONTACTAdela:

[email protected]

HOUSE PARTY

WHO: Anyone

WHENSunday: 4pm-7pm

(once a month)

CONTACTDrake:

[email protected]

HOUSE PARTY

WHO: Anyone

WHENSunday: 1pm-3pm

(once a month)

CONTACTGeorge:

[email protected]

YOUNG ADULTHOUSE PARTY

WHO: Young Adults

WHENSunday: 12:30pm-3:30pm

(once a month)

CONTACTDrake:

[email protected]

HOUSE PARTY

WHO: Anyone

WHENSaturday: 7pm-9pm

(once a month)

CONTACTConnie:

[email protected]

HOUSE PARTY

WHO: Anyone

WHENSunday: 12:30pm-2:30pm

(twice a month)

CONTACTAdela:

[email protected]

MOM’S GROUP

WHO: Moms of Young Children

WHENEvery Wed: 10am

CONTACTCarmen:

[email protected]

Pastor Drake joined the Gateway team 3 ½

years ago and oversees the building and

discipleship of our various teams and groups

in student ministry and community life. One

of his greatest passions is seeing people Dig

Deeper in their faith and Rise Higher towards

what God would have for their life.

Jesus said: “Come Follow Me.”But what does it really mean to follow Je-

sus? What does that look like? How does

that change who I am at school, at home,

with my friends, on the bus, at work?

Does what was said 2000 years ago really

make a difference for me today?

In this season of XLR8 Youth and at OUT-

BREAK, we will be looking at what is means

to BE a follower of Jesus today and what the

call to “Come Follow Me” means for me in my

everyday life, in the 21st Century.

All XLR8 Youth events are 6:30pm-9:30pm

15 XLR8 Arcade

22 Sr. High House Party

Jr. High Night

29 OUTBREAK

5 Film Festival

12 Girls & Guys Night


Jr. High Night (XLR8 Arcade)

26 OUTBREAK

4 XLR8 Arcade


Jr. High Night

18 Dodgeball Night

25 No XLR8 Youth

1 OUTBREAK


Jr. High Night

15 XLR8 Arcade

22 Girls & Guys Night

29 OUTBREAK

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

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GROUPS/XLR8.YOUTHGATEWAY.AC/XLR8-YOUTH XLR8.YOUTH

1 2 / / GTWY MAG WINTER/SP R I NG 2 0 1 6

A movement

spreading across

this generation

A JOINT MONTHLY

MULTI-CHURCH

WORSHIP EVENT

FOR YOUTH

AND YOUNG ADULTS.

Jayelle is the Youth and Young Adults Intern

here at Gateway. She recently completed

a degree in psychology and is now excited

about helping the young people of Gateway

discover who God has made them to be

and grow in relationship with Him!

V I S I T G A T E W A Y . A C / / 1 3

YOUNG ADULTS HOUSE PARTYAre you around 18-30 and looking to get connected? Check out our

Young Adults House Party on Jan. 10th from 12pm-4pm (location TBA).

Once a month a community of young adults get together to hang out

and form relationships, while also supporting one another in life and

building a faith community. For more information contact Drake at

[email protected] or head to our facebook

group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gac.ya/

JAN 29FEBRUARY 26

APRIL 1APRIL 29

Palm Sunday Praise PartySunday March 20th at 10am

An all-age family worship service, with music, performances, and an inspiring multi-media presentation.

Good Friday Communion ServiceFriday March 25th at 6:00pm

A time to reflect on the power of the cross of Jesus Christ, rededicate our lives to God, and give thanks for his amazing free gift of forgiveness & life.

T HE E AST E R EXPER I ENCESunday March 27th at 9:30am & 11:15am

Come and experience what church in the 21st century should be like!Inspiration, new beginnings, good news, amazing music, inspiring message, captivating media, and a special party for the kids. We will also be launching our new message series, Building a Better Life.

1 4 / / GTWY MAG WINTER/SP R I NG 2 0 1 6

Building a Better LifeAny enterprise is built by wise planning (Proverbs 24:3)

Applying the practical, life-enhancing wisdom of the ancient scriptures to your dreams, ambitions, faith, family, career and society - to build a better life, a better church, and a better world, one step at a time.

V I S I T G A T E W A Y . A C / / 1 5

Fervone Goings is our Operations Manager, and

she oversees the business, management, and

facilities of Gateway. She and her family have

attended Gateway for 10 years and are actively

involved. They are excited to be where God is

doing new things.

Capital Plans

At our last Vision Sunday, we announced the need to expand

our current facility. Our 2020 Vision plan includes a 3 phase

development but for our most pressing needs we plan for phase 1 to

proceed in 2016 and it carries with it a potential cost of $500,000.

Phase 1: Mezzanine Project: 1800 sq. ft built above our current

technical booth and information desk which would include more office

spaces, a multi-purpose board room, a large classroom, a broadcasting

booth, a new welcome centre and a modified café and kitchen area.

Stay tuned as more information will be announced and early 2016,

we will be launching a Fundraising and Pledge Drive. Donate

anytime by designating to “Capital Campaign.”

We are calling members of our community to join us in this exciting

opportunity as we take these big steps of facility transformation.

We are asking our community to commit to two of the following

initiatives in 2016.

1. 100 people to donate $1,000 (of their tax refunds) to this

project to give us a cash fund of $100,000 to start the project.

2. 250 people to participate in our pledge drive from Feb 2016

–Feb 2017. Monthly donations for one year, in the amounts of

either $25, $50, $75 or $100. Working together 250 people

would contribute $225,000 in 1 year.

We believe that the timing is right for us to proceed with this project;

God is leading us and we believe that he will use the Gateway

community to provide the full $500,000.

GATEWAY PHILOSOPHY OF GIVING: Why We Give? A generous lifestyle … an abundant life.

We seek to live out a simple message to: “Love God. Love

People. Love Life.” As we strive to live our lives reflecting God,

his goodness, his grace and his light, we can’t help but reflect

his generosity as well. At our core, we believe that God provides

everything and out of his abundance we can release our time,

treasure and talents to others knowing that God is the ultimate

source of everything. We can trust that he will provide for our needs

even as we share our resources with others.

We invite you to journey with us. To see how your financial

contributions are resulting in life transformation watch videos at:

www.gateway.ac.

We have made giving to Gateway as easy as buying a song on

itunes. Give online at gateway.ac/give, use the PushPay App, or

by text “gatewayac” to 77977. We are encouraged by how many

people are using PushPay and the increase in spontaneous

giving as you respond to God’s prompting to support the

activities of the church.

New, through the PushPay app, you can now make Payments

for café and resource purchases, the Academy registration and

other fees. Search for Gateway Alliance – Payments and add it

to your App today.

We want to be known as a faith community defined by generosity.

Our Philosophy of Giving is our guiding principle as we continue to

grow this area corporately and individually.

DATE DAY TIME EVENT

3rd Sunday 10am EPIC part 2

10th Sunday 10am EPIC part 3



29th Friday 6:30pm OUTBREAK

31st Sunday 10am OUTBREAK Sunday*

3rd Wednesday 7pm ACTS Academy


10th Wednesday 7pm ACTS Academy



21st Sunday 10am EPIC part 8



28th Sunday 10am Healing & Communion Service

2nd Wednesday 7pm EQUIP



20th Sunday 10am Palm Sunday Praise Party!

25th Friday 6pm Good Friday Communion Service

27th Sunday 9:30 & 11:15am Easter Sunday

1st Friday 6:30pm OUTBREAK


WINTER/SPRING 2016 EVENTS CALENDARJA

NFE

BMA

RAP

R

*Our youth & young adult service, OUTBREAK, will be taking our Sunday morning service.

Gateway Alliance Church Magazine - Issue 16 - Winter/Spring 2016

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Transcript of Gateway Alliance Church Magazine - Issue 16 - Winter/Spring 2016