We are a fundamental, independent, baptist church located in the beautiful valley of Luster's Gate.  Formerly Luster's Gate Bible Church our name was changed to Gateway Baptist Church in 1978.  This church has been an important part of the community since the early 1900's and our mission has not changed since its inception.  Our purpose is to reach others for Christ and to bring Him glory in all that we do.

 Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, we do now in the presence of God, angels and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another, as one body in Christ.

 We engage; therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love:  to strive for the advancement of this church, in knowledge, holiness and comfort; to promote its prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the Gospel through all nations.

 We also engage to maintain family and secret devotions; to religiously educate our children, to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances, to walk circumspectly in the world, to be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements and exemplary in our deportment; to avoid all tattling, backbiting, and excessive anger; to abstain from the sale and use of all intoxicating drinks as a beverage; and to be zealous in our efforts to advance the kingdom of our Savior.

 We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember each other in prayer; to aid each other in sickness and distress, to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation and mindful of the rules of our Savior, to secure it without delay.

 We moreover engage, that when we remove from this place, we will as soon as possible unite with some other Bible believing church, where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant, and the principles of God’s Word.

 Furthermore it is our utmost desire as individuals and as a group to live to the glory of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.

ARTICLES OF FAITH

We believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Scriptures.  We believe them to be the final source of authority in matters of faith, principle and practice.  We believe them to be inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God-breathed.  II Timothy 3:16-17, II Peter 1:20-21

We believe in one Triune God, eternally existent in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections.  Deuteronomy 6:4, Matthew 28:19-20, II Corinthians 13:14

III.    THE PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST

A.  We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men.  John 1:1-2, 14, Luke 1:35

B.  We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead.  Romans 3:24-25, I Peter 1:3-5, 2:24, Ephesians 1:7

C.  We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, Advocate, and that He is coming again.  Acts 1:9, 11, Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25, 9:24, I John 1:1-2

IV.    THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

A.  We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, and that He is the super-natural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them until the day of redemption.  John 3:3-7, 16:8-11, I Corinthians 12:12-14, Ephesians 1:13-14

B.  We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth, and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit.  John 16:13, Ephesians 5:18

V.    THE TOTAL DEPRAVITY OF MAN

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God, and that man is totally depraved, and of himself utterly unable to remedy his lost condition.  Genesis 1:26-27, Romans 3:22-23, 5:12, Ephesians 2:1-3, 12

VI.    SALVATION

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace, and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins.  John 1:12, Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-10, I Peter 1:18-19

VII.    THE ASSURANCE OF BELIEVERS

A.  We believe that all the redeemed are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever.  John 6:37-40, 10:27-30, Romans 8:1, 38-39, I Corinthians 1:4-8, I Peter 1:5

B.  We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh.  Romans 13:13-14, I Peter 1:8-9, Galatians 5:13, Titus 2:11-15

VIII.    THE TWO NATURES OF THE BELIEVER

We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural.  Romans 6:13, 7:15-8:1, 12-13, Galatians 5:16-25, Ephesians 4:22-24, Colossians 3:9-10, I Peter 1:14-16, I John 1:8, 3:5-9

IX.    SEPARATION

We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord, and that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices is commanded by God.  Romans 12:1-2, 14:13, II Corinthians 6:14-7:1, II Timothy 3:1-5, James 4:4, I John 2:15-17, II John 9-11

X.    SERVICE

We believe that every believer is obligated to witness by deed and word to the truths of the Holy Scripture, to intercede for others in prayer, and to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind.  To reach the world for Christ we believe that every member of this church should support the missionary program.  Mark 16:15, Acts 1:8, II Corinthians 5:19-20, I Thessalonians 5:17, I Timothy 2:1

XI.    THE CHURCH

A.  We believe that the Church, which is the body and espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born again persons of this present age.  Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:25-27, I Corinthians 12:12-14, II Corinthians 11:2

B.  We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures.  Acts 14:27, 20:17, I Timothy 3:1-13, Titus 1:5-11

XII.    ORDINANCES

We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ has left two ordinances to be observed by the Church in commemoration of His person and work.  The one is that of baptism, the other is the partaking of the Lord’s Supper.  Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 2:41-42, 18:8, I Corinthians 11:23-26

XIII.    THE PERSONALITY OF SATAN

We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the fall, that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man, and that he shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire.  Job 1:6-7, Isaiah 14:12-17, Matthew 4:2-11, 25:41, Revelation 20:10

XIV.    THE SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST

We believe in the “Blessed Hope” – the personal, imminent, pre-tribulational and pre-millennial coming of the Lord Jesus for His redeemed ones, and in His subsequent return to earth with His saints to establish His Millennial Kingdom.  Zechariah 14:4-11, Acts 1:11, I Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-18, 5:9, Revelation 3:10, 19:11-16, 20:1-6

XV.    THE ETERNAL STATE

A.  We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment.  Matthew 25:46, John 5:28-29, 11:25, Revelation 20:6, 12-13

B.  We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss, they await the first resurrection when spirit, soul and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord.  Luke 23:43, II Corinthians 5:8, Philippians 1:23, I Thessalonians 4:16-17, Revelation 20:4-6

C.  We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment and shall be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihalated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment.  Matthew 25:41-46, Mark 9:43-48, Luke 16:19-26, II Thessalonians 1:7-9, Jude 6-7, Revelation 20:11-15