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 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!
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, 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
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.
Lizzy Bird
Finance Manager
Lizzy’s job is to steward Gateway’s finances and employment compliantly and effectively. She has worked for Gateway since 2008.
Lizzy is married to Nick and they have two boys. She loves knitting, sewing, baking, musicals and most other girlie things.
Bethan Green
Admin Worker - Bookings and Hospitality
Sarah Woodger
Admin Worker - Comms and Systems
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
John and Lesley have a passion for cross-cultural work in Gateway and beyond, John also takes a lead in helping to shape Gateway’s response to environmental issues and Lesley provides pastoral support and leadership. They have been volunteer staff with Gateway since 2017 and are also part of the leadership team of our 11.30 Sunday gathering.
John and Lesley were founding member’s of Gateway in 2000. They worked in China from 2006 to 2016. John is passionate about Gateway’s vision for God’s kingdom coming through our daily work; Lesley enjoys getting alongside people to encourage them.
Amy Sprenger
Part-time 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
Part-time Youth Worker
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.
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.