Our Beginning

Surrounded by the moss-covered cypress tress that line the Calcasieu River, a small group of Christians gathered one Sunday morning to worship God.  It was July 3, 1976, and it was a warm summer day. The day before America celebrated its Bicentennial and the day a new church, Gateway Church of God, began in Moss Bluff, Louisiana. They named the church Gateway because they wanted the church to serve as a gateway to a new life. Beneath the sunny skies, they sat in lawn chairs, on tree stumps or simply on the ground.  After six weeks of church on the river, the congregation moved indoors. Services were held in a small, white building on the corner of Davis and Landry roads in Westlake.


Gateway soon began to outgrown their building in Westlake and purchased the land of its current location on Sam Houston Jones Parkway in Moss Bluff.  The sanctuary was dedicated on April 11, 1981 and has since expanded and been converted to the Upstreet Building - a children's environment for fun, relevant learning.  The current sanctuary was dedicated on Easter Sunday in 2000.  From the banks of the river to the current sanctuary of worship, Gateway continues to share the love of Christ and create opportunities for lives to change. 



Who is the Church of God

Gateway  Church of God is registered with the Church of God Reformation movement based in Anderson, IN.  If you were to attend one of our services, you would find that it resembles most church services in Baptist and Conservative Methodist churches rather than other charismatics Church of God denominations.  In the late 19th century, denominations claimed their 'brand' of Christianity was the only true way to heaven. It was during this time the pioneers of the Church of God began to preach sectarianism and created churches who "reached their hands of fellowship to every blood-washed one."  As the Church of God movement began to spread, congregations were called to holiness and unity.  In some ways, this movement was the first non-denomination group of churches. However, as time went on like-minded Church of God churches connected to one another and began to organize much like many demonstrations. 

     

Though the dynamics and structure has continued to develop, the message of responding to the Holy Spirit's call to salvation and living with others according to the scripture has remained the same. You will notice at Gateway that we practice open communion and all believers are encouraged to participate.  We also do not require believers to be re-baptized in order to serve in our church.  We believe the Bible is our foundation of faith and are not attached to any specific creed. In essence, Gateway Church of God is a church that exist to love others to life by living according to the scriptures.  We are very exited you have taken an interest in our church and look forward to answering any other questions that you may have.