Practices
Gateway follows three essential practices for the church that are taught in the Bible.
Baptism
Baptism is an act of obedience that follows a person’s acceptance of Christ as Savior. Baptism by immersion pictures Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. It also is in keeping with the Scriptural examples of baptism.
The Lord’s Table
The Lord’s Table or Communion is practiced once per quarter at Gateway. Christ provided this time of remembrance and encouraged our participation as often as we select to do it. The use of broken bread symbolizes the shedding of the blood of Christ as the payment for our sins. The Lord’s Table is a special time of personal fellowship with God. It is also a time of personal examination to be sure we have not kept unconfessed sin in our lives. The Lord’s Table is a time of personal anticipation of His second coming to take us to heaven as well.
Assembly
The church in the Bible is a called out assembly. God specifically designed the church to be separate from our routine life. It is in obedience to God’s Word and in response to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives that we meet weekly to worship and be instructed in the Word of God. God has promised to meet in a special way with us as we do this so that we can receive the most benefit from the experience of the services.