Our Vision and Values

We believe God places churches for purpose - it's no accident that Gateway Church was planted in Swindon nearly 30 years ago as Swindon Family Church.

Gateway has the same global mission as every church family across the world - the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). However, Gateway is also here for purpose in Swindon and the surrounding areas, so we've been shaped by many prophetic words over the years that speak to our context. Particularly about why we're here, who we are to be, and what we should be giving ourselves to going forwards.

This is our vision; what we believe God will do in this town and the nations if we seek him and follow the path he has set out for us. This vision is what we set before us in all we do - believing that God can and will do this.

This is our mission. It's intentionally broad, but, amongst other things, it means:

• Equipping our church family to follow Jesus - to be with him, become like him and do what he did. This is so that we bring the love of Jesus wherever we go, serving our communities practically, seeking social justice, and working for the good of Swindon and the surrounding areas.
• Sending our church family to strengthen other churches and organisations, plant new churches, and start businesses and charities with Kingdom values across the town and the nations.
• Partnering with other churches in Swindon and across the nations. Working together in unity to see people come to know Jesus and bring transformation to society with an impact we cannot make on our own.
• Resourcing other churches, organisations, ministries, and people - with time, people, finances, administration, etc. - so that they too can be who God has called them to be and do what God has called them to do.

Our vision, mission, and values go hand-in-hand. If our vision is our destination and our mission is how we'll get there, then our values are how we want the journey to feel on the way!

God sends. He sent his Son into the world to save, and Jesus has passed on that mission to us (Matthew 28:19).

That means we don't focus on doing things 'our way', but instead, we encourage each other to serve where we live and be the Church in our community.

We sacrifice our own time, finance, profile, and success so that others will benefit.

This means we want to equip each person, including our children and young people, to be as effective as possible in the things Jesus has called them to do.

We believe that where trust and unity exist, God moves. Hope for Swindon and the nations is found in the unity of his followers.

So we seek to actively support, work with, and love other churches in Swindon and the surrounding areas, the UK, and across the world. Love and unity on display in the Church is one of our most effective tools.

We're intentional about raising leaders from other cultures, different social backgrounds, male and female, young and old. We want to learn to serve and love those from all backgrounds better.

Society longs for unity and inclusion, but it lacks the power to achieve it. What society is unable to do, God can do through the power of the gospel and His Spirit.

One of the characteristics of a follower of Jesus is that we reflect God's extravagant generosity. Faith-filled generosity allows the disadvantaged to be cared for, the gospel to be preached, and the Church to be strengthened.

We want to be known for our generosity - as those who contribute and not just consume.

We desire that every follower of Jesus lives in the fullness of life in the Spirit, for the full range of spiritual gifts we read about in the Bible to be exercised amongst us, and for all people to know they are valued members of the church and have something to contribute.

We're also committed to the faithful preaching and teaching of the Bible and aim to shape all we are and do by it.

The Church is not a club or a business but a new kind of family. Therefore, we pursue community-forming activities and gather together regularly.

We train, raise, and release men and women into leadership. We also value the importance of biblical eldership - a team of men who seek to father the local church by serving it with humility.

We delight in the natural expressions of family. We celebrate biblical marriage and see raising children as a responsibility not just for parents but for the entire church community. We also celebrate singleness and celibacy, believing that human flourishing isn't dependent on sexual intimacy and knowing that love, deep relationships, and family are found through God and the local church, not just a spouse.

We are a people of grace because God has poured his grace upon us. We want to be a church that expresses God's grace to one another and the world around us. Freely we've received, so freely we will give.

We have a wide-open front door for anyone to come through and, motivated by grace, seek to go towards everyone we can. Jesus ate with the people his society despised and we want to live the same way. No matter where people come from - beliefs, sexuality, gender, social background, culture, or life circumstances - we want them to encounter the love and grace of Jesus.

God has placed us in Swindon, and all we are and do seeks to bring about the transformation of our town and the surrounding areas.

We encourage people to serve in every area of society, seeking its blessing and transformation - whether it's local government, business, healthcare, charity, or something else - knowing that they bring the love and presence of God with them as they serve.

We seek to continue the directive of the New Testament to 'remember the poor', knowing that we serve a God who 'raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people' (Psalm 113:7-8).