| Gateway Church | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Denomination | Non-denominational |
| Website | www.gatewaypeople.com |
| History | |
| Founded | April 2000 |
| Clergy | |
| Senior pastor(s) | Robert Morris |
Gateway Church is a non-denominational Charismatic Christian megachurch located in Southlake, Texas. In its 10 year history, the church has averaged more than 16,000 in attendance each week.[1] The church is also home to Christian singer, Columbia Records recording artist, and Dove Award winner Kari Jobe; who works as a worship pastor.[2]
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On September 16, 1999, Pastor Robert Morris began to plan a Bible-based, evangelistic church in Southlake, Texas. Morris hoped to serve Northeast Tarrant County, the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and beyond. Gateway’s first service was on Easter morning, April 23, 2000, at the Hilton Hotel in Grapevine with approximately 180 people in attendance. A few weeks later, the church began meeting on Saturday nights at Christ Our King Church in Southlake. In July 2001, Gateway Church began meeting at the A World of Learning daycare facility in Grapevine, during which time the church grew to five services with over 2,000 people attending weekly.[3]
The church currently conducts 13 services at 3 locations across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
Ground was broken on the first permanent location of Gateway Church during their third year of ministry. In June 2003, Gateway moved into their Southlake Campus located at 2121 Southlake Blvd. Attendance averaged 5,000 by Easter of 2004; reaching 20,000 by Easter of 2010.
In 2008, the church began work on Project 114, the new campus located on State Highway 114 between Kimball Ave and Carroll Blvd. The initial phase of Project 114 includes a 4,000 seat sanctuary, which opened on November 13, 2010 with more than 6,000 people in attendance. The new campus serves as the church's central ministry facility, hosting four weekend worship services, as well as numerous events throughout the week with an emphasis on ministry to Jr. High, Sr. High and college students as well as young adults, singles and single parent families. The church plans to sell its former Southlake campus.[4]
In November 2007, Gateway opened a new campus in North Richland Hills, TX. The building is almost 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2) in size and sits on approximately nine acres. Weekend services at the NRH Campus are a mirror of those at the main Southlake Campus with live worship and personal ministry, but with the message delivered via live video from the Southlake Campus. In addition to facilitating five weekend services, the NRH campus also serves as multi-purpose facility with an emphasis on ministry to Jr. and Sr. High students. [5]
In April 2010, the overseers of Northstar Church in Frisco, Texas asked Gateway to assist them in a transition process following the resignation of their senior pastor, Blaine Bartel. [6] Gateway provided video messages and worship teams for the church before announcing that Northstar would become a Gateway extension campus on June 10, 2010. [7] As with the NRH cammpus, the weekend services are a mirror of those at the Southlake Campus with live worship and personal ministry, but with the message delivered via live video from the Southlake Campus. In addition to facilitating four weekend services, the Frisco campus serves as a multi-purpose facility with an emphasis on ministry to Jr. High and Sr. High students.
In October 2011, Gateway announced its intentions of building a new campus outside the state of Texas. The construction will begin in late 2012. The exact location will be announced in early November.
Gateway Live is Gateway's online webcast of all services at the North Richland Hills and Southlake Campuses. gatewaypeople.tv
Gateway produces a weekly television program called The Blessed Life. This program airs on the Daystar Television Network and features sermons and worship from past Gateway Church services.[8]
Gateway Worship, a worship band that leads worship at the Gateway Church, had some success in 2008 with their live album Wake Up the World. The album reached #2 on Billboard's Top Christian Albums Chart. Gateway's live album God Be Praised was released on November 9, 2010.[9]