about

vision statement

“We exist to love Jesus and love people by knowing Him and making Him known. God is growing us into a large, “all-sorts” family from across Leeds that impacts Woodhouse, the city and the world. Come and join the adventure!”

our values

There is much we value, but the five memorable phrases below help summarise some of the culture we seek to sustain at Gateway.

  1. We keep the main thing, the main thing. We are a community gathered around our love of Jesus Christ and His good news, so keep secondary issues in their place.
  2. We don’t do “have to’s” we do “get to’s”. We want grace to propel everything we do, with not a whiff of legalism.
  3. Word and Spirit together help us grow. We love enjoying God both through the Bible and His Holy Spirit.
  4. It’s okay to not be okay (it’s just not okay to set up home there). Vulnerability is valued, as we share our lives and support one another.
  5. We can do more together than apart. We love working together as a community and with others to see the Kingdom of God come.

 

meet the team

Chris Frost

Chris Frost

Elder (on staff)

Chris’s job is to lead Gateway into wider Kingdom influence; he has worked for Gateway full time since 2008.

Chris is married to Jo they have two kids. They have a passion for intimacy with Jesus, eating out and family swims!

Read Chris’s blog here.

Sam Evans

Sam Evans

Elder (on staff)

Sam’s job is to lead Gateway into deeper Kingdom faith and relationships with God and one another. He started working full time for Gateway in 2017.

Sam is married to Hannah and they have three daughters. They are passionate about seeing people grow in God’s word, seeing people set free and healed by God. They also love cooking and eating good food.

David Lloyd

David Lloyd

Elder

David Lloyd is an elder at Gateway, but he works as a GP in the local area.

David is married to Pippa; they have two children. They are particularly passionate about worship and discipleship as well as travelling and hanging out with friends.

David Cole

David Cole

Elder (on staff)

David’s job is to love God and others through overseeing the day to day running of Gateway church life. He has worked for Gateway since 2015.

David loves sport, especially football and NFL, and enjoys getting out into nature with friends and family whenever he can. He is married to Heather and they have three kids.

Tim Green

Tim Green

Elder

Tim is an elder at Gateway and works as a teacher locally in one of Leeds four Universities. He’s a PE teacher by training and works with those wanting to follow the same career path.

Tim has been married to Bethan for over 30 years and they have three grown up children, all of whom have now left home! They are both passionate about the difference the community of the Church can make to individuals and localities and they love joining in with the plans Jesus has for Woodhouse and Leeds. They enjoy camping, cycling, eating lovely food, walking in the Dales and visiting friends.

Chris Boxall

Chris Boxall

Elder

Chris is an elder at Gateway and works for a company that help charities with managing their donations. Chris has been in Gateway since 2009 and loves cycling, running, swimming and time with friends. When it comes to church he loves to see people find freedom from the worlds demands and find fulfilment in Jesus.

Chris has been married to Bec since 2014 they have 3 children together. They love to host and get alongside people wherever they’re at, reminding them God is with them whatever life brings.

Esther Davy

Esther Davy

Finance Officer

Esther is employed to steward Gateways finance and employment compliantly and effectively. Esther also manages Gateway Community Café in a voluntary capacity.
 

Esther loves spending time with friends & family, exploring new places, and watching the latest drama series on TV.

Bethan Green

Bethan Green

Admin Worker - Bookings and Hospitality

Bethan’s role is to create and maintain a safe, organised and welcoming space for people to meet and experience the love of God through His community. She is responsible for bookings, general admin and maintaining the building. She started working for Gateway in 2019.
 
Bethan loves meeting new people, being active, the outdoors and having fun. She loves spending time with her husband Tim, their three children and their spouses and being hospitable.
Sarah Woodger

Sarah Woodger

Design and Communications Officer

Sarah’s role is to make sure Gateway’s internal and external communication happens in an effective way and that the data we hold is compliant with legislation. She started working for Gateway in 2019.

Sarah is passionate about building community, freedom in worship and the creative arts. She is married to Gabriel and they have two boys. She enjoys camping, running and charity shopping.

John & Lesley Davy

John & Lesley Davy

Pastoral Associates & Deacon

John and Lesley were part of Gateway Church from the beginning and were members of the original leadership team for the church plant. Having spent 10 years living and working in China, John and Lesley are now voluntary staff members.

Both of them have a long-standing desire to see Gateway develop as an “all sorts” church, welcoming people of all ages, ethnicities and social groups. Lesley is eager to encourage growth in prayer, provides pastoral support within the church, and likes to write encouraging testimonies, poems and devotional articles. John serves as leader of CreationCall, an initiative of ChristCentral Churches  encouraging a biblical response to current environmental challenges.

Amy Sprenger

Amy Sprenger

Children & Families Worker

Amy’s job is to to facilitate opportunities for Gateway children to encounter God and grow in him.  Amy oversees our Sunday Gateway Kids provision, as well as other events that involve children and families.

Amy is married to Gareth and they have 3 children. She enjoys chatting with friends, walking in the mountains, running and being creative.

 

 

Hannah Clark

Hannah Clark

Youth Worker & Deacon

Hannah’s job is to oversee the Youth work at Gateway. She is passionate about developing the spiritual and personal lives of young people and reaching the local community. Some of Hannah’s time is also spent supporting the children’s and student work, as well as managing Gateway’s foodbank outlet on Mondays.

Hannah loves spending her time walking and sitting in coffee shops with a good book.

Simon & Esther Davy

Simon & Esther Davy

Deacons

Simon and Esther are deacons at Gateway; Simon is also a Software Engineer, and Esther is the Finance Officer at Gateway. Simon is passionate about music and leading people in worship. Esther leads the Gateway Community Café and is excited about showing people the love of Jesus.
 
They have two children, and together they enjoy being silly, having adventures, and making friends.
Josh Bissell

Josh Bissell

Deacon

Josh works with our Students and 20s ministry at Gateway, as well as acting as a contact with our church partners in Northern Uganda. He loves to study and teach.
 
Josh works for a safeguarding consultancy in Canada where he is from and lives locally in Hyde Park with his wife Esther. Josh appreciates a good cup of coffee, tabletop games with friends and a long chat.
Antony and Faith Tembo

Antony and Faith Tembo

Deacons

Faith and Antony have extensive experience in church planting, church leadership and navigating cross cultural issues, having lived in several countries.

They are passionate about supporting internationals and seeing God’s kingdom come in workplace. Faith and Antony have been key is supporting our links with Uganda and other Leeds churches.

statement of faith

As an evangelical Church, we are a member of and subscribe to the doctrinal Basis of Faith of the Evangelical Alliance. We believe in:

The one true God who lives eternally in three persons – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

The love, grace and sovereignty of God in creating, sustaining, ruling, redeeming and judging the world.

The divine inspiration and supreme authority of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, which are the written Word of God—fully trustworthy for faith and conduct.

The dignity of all people, made male and female in God’s image to love, be holy and care for creation, yet corrupted by sin, which incurs divine wrath and judgement.

The incarnation of God’s eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ—born of the virgin Mary; truly divine and truly human, yet without sin.

The atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross: dying in our place, paying the price of sin and defeating evil, so reconciling us with God.

The bodily resurrection of Christ, the first fruits of our resurrection; his ascension to the Father, and his reign and mediation as the only Saviour of the world.

The justification of sinners solely by the grace of God through faith in Christ.

The ministry of God the Holy Spirit, who leads us to repentance, unites us with Christ through new birth, empowers our discipleship and enables our witness.

The Church, the body of Christ both local and universal, the priesthood of all believers—given life by the Spirit and endowed with the Spirit’s gifts to worship God and proclaim the gospel, promoting justice and love.

The personal and visible return of Jesus Christ to fulfil the purposes of God, who will raise all people to judgement, bring eternal life to the redeemed and eternal condemnation to the lost, and establish a new heaven and new earth.