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.
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.
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.
Word and Spirit together help us grow. We love enjoying God both through the Bible and His Holy Spirit.
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.
We can do more together than apart. We love working together as a community and with others to see the Kingdom of God come.
Our Story
Gateway church’s story is a small part of a much bigger story; a story that goes back far beyond when each of us was born. It started with a series of promises that God made to a broken planet. Christ Jesus is the turning point of that story. He is the pivotal figure in the plot. Everything before Him points to Him and everything after Him points to His coming again.
We are now living in the crucial, last chapter of this incredible story, where through ordinary followers of Jesus, gathered in faithful church communities around the world, God is revealing himself.
Having led the formation of a new church in Bedford in the early 1990’s, Tony and Kay Smith were called by God, in partnership with New Frontiers churches, to launch a new church community in Leeds. Starting with a handful of people meeting in a home on Street Lane, north Leeds in September 2000, the name “Gateway” was soon adopted when it was prophesied at a Leeds church leaders’ prayer meeting.
Over the years, our Sunday morning meeting venue moved from a small warehouse to an agricultural centre, from City Varieties theatre to the Eleanor Lupton Centre and then from Abbey Grange school to Notre Dame College. We eventually moved into the renovated St Mark’s building in Woodhouse in March 2014.
During our journey we have had the privilege of playing a significant role in the formation of new church families in Doncaster (2004), Harrogate (2010), Bradford (2012), Liverpool (2013) and Halifax (2014).
Now gathering around 200 people at our Sunday gatherings, we have a vision to continue to see the Lord Jesus made much of in Woodhouse, Leeds and the nations. We continue to work in partnership with ChristCentral Churches which is a part of the NewFrontiers family of churches and we also enjoy strong relationships with many other churches in Leeds.
Meet the Team
Chris Frost
Elder (on staff)
Chris’s job is to lead Gateway into wider Kingdom influence; he has worked for Gateway since 2008. Chris serves churches across the UK and more widely as the UK team leader for ChristCentral Churches.
Chris is married to Jo they have two kids. They have a passion for intimacy with Jesus, eating out and family swims!
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
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
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
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. 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
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
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
Community & St. Mark's Coordinator
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
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
Pastoral Associates & Deacons
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
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
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
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
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.