This is Why We Do This!
November 9, 2011 | 
Author 
The other day I was at the YMCA for my morning “work out” when a man approached me and asked if I was the pastor who met at McDonalds with youth and young adults in our community. After a brief discussion he thanked me for what we were doing. He shared that he recognized the great need to reach the next generation, and that it was a difficult ministry financially to maintain. I agreed.
Gateway is a fantastic ministry to be a part of, because we have the opportunity to reach many in this Next Generation, and we are doing just that. Through non-traditional approaches we are able to engage many “outsiders” to Christianity, build relationship with them, and introduce them to biblical teaching while engaging them in critical dialogue.
One of the ways we accomplish this is through mentoring young Christian leaders to engage their own peers. We primarily accomplish this by modeling our relational methods side-by-side with young leaders. We also elevate young leaders in our ministry who have proven themselves in life, by displaying godly character and making good choices. These “elevated” leaders teach in our services, lead small groups during our discipleship times, and are leading the way in other areas of ministry. Youth listen to youth. We communicate respect to these young leaders while giving them a platform to stand on. This is a magnate for the Next Gen future believer.
This type of Next Gen church needs our support, because it is on the cutting edge of reaching the person who is yet a Christian. This young generation is less likely to gather in our traditional inter-generational church to begin with, so how will they hear unless we get their attention?
Gateway is such a church. We are getting their attention. If you could financially support what we do go to www.paypal.com and use the Send Money feature. Send your gift to PastorForAll@gmail.com. Your gift is tax deductible! Thanks!
Pastor Matt Thomas
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Ninja Encouragement
Minding my own business, I stood in the lobby of the church gymnasium while my daughter and I waited for her Upwards basketball coach to arrive. Suddenly a gentlemen walked briskly through the door like a man who is very busy with 100 things to do, but as he walked past me he stopped, looked me in the eye and said, “I just spoke to a couple of your guys recently. You are needed in our community,” and then he walked away.
His words were unexpected as well as refreshing. I actually didn’t realize how much I needed to hear his affirmations, but they sunk deep into my spirit like a deep heat on tired achy muscles.
Encouragement lifts us up. It causes our head to rise, our shoulders to relax, and our countenance to soften. It’s one thing to know its coming, like when you are about to receive an award at a sports banquet. “And now for the MVP award, which goes to …” You saw it coming and you faked surprise, but what I call “Ninja Encouragement” comes without warning. It takes the recipient by complete surprise, and yet is timely spoken.
This gave me pause to consider who I could offer some Ninja Encouragement to myself. What unsuspecting soul might I bless with a gift of honest and considerate words. Perhaps someone who is often overlooked or under-appreciated. I am on a mission…inspired by my own encounter with a Ninja Encourager…thanks by the way.
Why Do We Take Communion?
by Rev. John Render
If you have ever been to a church within the Christian faith you have at one time seen or even taken communion. The question is why do we take communion? What does the bread mean? What does the juice mean in the cups? What is this that is called The Lords Supper? The Lords Supper was instituted in the book of Matthew 26:28 and Mark 14:22-24. In the book of Luke chapter 22:19 this is what Jesus says “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” This bread that is broke is a representation of Jesus body. “Remembrance of me” is relating to the ULTIMATE sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Luke 22:20 states “In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” This is the new convent with Jesus’ blood also representing the final sacrifice for all of mankind. The symbolic representation of communion bread and grape juice are to become the actual body and blood of Christ.
- The bread and the grape juice are unchanged elements, but Christ’s presence by faith is made spiritually real in and through them.
- The bread and the grape juice are unchanged elements, used as symbols, representing Christ’s body and blood, in remembrance of his enduring sacrifice.
In this service of communion it shows us his physical incarnation, his sacrificial death, resurrection and the coming Kingdom.
Communion is a practice that is meant to be observed throughout the life of a Christian. It is a holy time of worship when we corporately come together as one body to remember and celebrate what Jesus Christ did for us. In taking Communion we are remembering our Lord and savior Jesus Christ and all that He has done for us in his life, death and resurrection: “And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me” 1 Corinthians 11:24. In taking Communion we are proclaiming His death until He comes. It is, then, a statement of faith: “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” 1 Corinthians 11:26.
The Blessed Life
The Thomas Family
The blessings of family are too innumerable to count. Often times, for many people, family brings with it sadness that is the result of relational strife. Even as I write this blog I am in a restaurant where two tables away a woman is bemoaning the problems in her family caused by those members who have made poor choices…alcohol, drugs and rebellion against authority. I am thankful that I have not experienced those problems first hand.
This past Christmas season was a time of enjoying the love between family members and experiencing our Christmas traditions together in the midst of peace and love. As our children are growing up, Bev and I realize that we may not have many more opportunities to have all the kids together like this. Children graduate college, get married and begin to establish their own homes and traditions. Our family will expand with the addition of new sons and daughters by marriage and eventually grandchildren…and although this too will be good…these present moments are precious to us.
We enjoy seeing our children’s excitement over the decorations, Christmas Eve games, the Christmas Story on Christmas morning, sharing gifts with one another (the Christmas carnage we call it), dinner with the grandparents, and watching a new movie together…blessings of family.
Do I feel bad that others experience the hardship of relationships due to bad choices made? I am sad for them, but in no way feel guilty for my blessings. Blessings are the result of good choices made. Sure in some families the children suffer because of the bad choices parents have made. Perhaps the whole family suffers because of one family member has chosen sin over obedience. This is not fair to the innocent…this makes me sad for the innocent…and it motivates me as well.
First, I can be thankful for the blessings God has given us because we have chosen to follow Him. Secondly, I can be motivated to help others experience these blessings first hand, teaching them to follow God’s Word by example and instruction.
Perhaps you have not been shown this life of blessing by your parents. But this doesn’t mean that you can’t experience it for yourself, or that you can’t establish a life of blessing for your own future family. How do you live a life of blessing? Work hard, make right moral choices, and love others.
Work hard. I know too many young people and young adults today who are waiting on someone else to do it for them. Their hand is out wanting something instead of putting a hand out to help someone instead. God will bless the work of your hands done honestly and for the right reason.
Make right moral choices. As you love God and follow the Teachings of Christ you will know what is morally right. Then you must choose it…everyday. If you hang around friends who are making bad choices, getting in trouble with the authorities all the time…eventually you will too. Find new friends who love God and who do what is right…and it will be easier to do right too.
Love others. When you show love to other people you will never be alone…and you will inspire others to do the same. It is easy to hate or “dislike”…love is sometimes harder, but always better. Look for ways to be nice to others in what you say and in what you do.
Focus on these three things and you are on the right track for living a blessed life. Now…this doesn’t mean that you will never experience hardship or that you will never have family problems…sometimes those things come for other reasons, but a person who lives the blessed life knows how to work through them…to resolve them the right way…which is also a blessing.
A One-Sided Rivalry
We have a family tradition in the Thomas household ’round the 3rd weekend in November….THE GAME between Ohio State and Michigan! We are avid BUCKEYE fans to say the least…and no matter how good the Bucks have done throughout the current football season…this is the game the really matters to us…BEATING Michigan.
Now in all of history of THE GAME…Michigan has gotten the better of the Bucks to the tune of 57 wins verses 44 wins and 6 ties. But the Buckeyes have won the last 7 games…OH YEAH!
Rivalries are fun…they suggest an even match up between opponents…you don’t have a long-term rivalry against an inferior opponent.
This article is about one-sided rivalries…it is purposely titled that to make a point. I can describe the term “one-sided” by discussing a recent experience I had at the YMCA this morning, Friday, November 25th. I went with my wife to simply shoot around whilst she walked around the track. I noticed a young man also shooting and asked if he would like to play one-on-one. A few minutes later I was thoroughly “spanked” about 16-3. I asked Robert who he had played for, to which he informed me that he played for UConn (University of Connecticut) from 2000-03 and had played in Europe as well. He now has a business in Atlanta, GA called Game First, which he teaches basketball skills. Needless to say…I was no competition for this guy, but it was a pleasure to meet him and to learn his heart for mentoring the Next Generation. Robert is also a Christian who desires to point youth towards God and faith.
In your faith experience you will be tempted to think that there is this rivalry between God and Satan…that sometimes God wins and sometimes Satan gets ahead. This is extremely untrue, Satan could not defeat God on his best day…in fact Satan cannot defeat YOU if you understand some basic truths about your Heavenly Father and your relationship with Him.
Here are some crucial TRUTHS we must remember:
- God is all GOOD and all POWERFUL – He is in complete control…He never has a bad day and Satan never wrestles the Keys of your life away from God. 2 Peter 1:3 says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”
- God will NEVER bail on us – God is not waiting for your to mess up so He can dump you. He is long suffering with us, which means He has enough patience to endure our unfaithfulness and He is relentlessly pursuing us for our benefit for us to be in right relationship with God. Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Matthew 28:20 says, “Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
- God will ALWAYS win – God’s record is perfect because He is perfect and does not lose. Actually God does not even think of it in these terms because it is not possible for Him to not accomplish His will. Because God will never lose, if we follow after Him as His children…we also will win through Him. 1 Corinthians 15:25 “For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet.“ Colossians 2:15 also says, “In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.” 1 Corinthians 15:57 “But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
So there it is…through our relationship to God, because of Christ, we are undefeated…we are winners because He has won. No rivalry with evil…no competition…and although it is true that we do struggle…our struggle is mostly because we do not believe these truths. Remember them…write them on your heart…repeat them…remind your enemy of them…remind yourself often! Go and spank your enemy…make disciples!
Pastor’s Blog – Relationships That Work
We all have had (or are having) our experiences with dysfunctional relationships…big word for relationships that are broken. When we come together at Gateway, whether it be for Dollar Menu Worship, Football or our Saturday Night worship gathering, we have the opportunity to practice functional relationships…or relationships that work.
We are not always successful at this, especially on the football field. 
Anyways….we should work hard on building one another up. One of the ways we can do this is to be intentional (doing something on purpose) about encouraging each other by both our example and our words…what we do and what we say.
Let’s take the first one…encouraging each other by what we do. If you were playing say….football and the opposing team was cheating the whole game…holding your receivers…cheap hits on the QB…hits after the play is dead. You would get really frustrated. You would want to retaliate wouldn’t you? You would be like…OK, that’s how it’s gonna be, we can play like that. What would happen in that scenario? Your right…it wouldn’t be pretty. But what if you developed a reputation for winning by playing hard, honest, straight-up good football. I’ll tell you what would happen…your opponents would respect you, and those who were cheaters would lose.
Applied to our lives and how we deal with relationship with one another…if we are straight-up with people…meaning we are friendly, polite, respectful, we take care of our responsibilities, we don’t try to do people wrong…and we do it with a sincere smile on our faces, then we are doing life right. We would be doing life BY THE BOOK…God’s Word.
Secondly, we would encourage each other by what we say. I can give a cheap shot with my forearm as well as with my mouth. One bruises the body, the other bruises the heart…and what have I proved? That I’m better than the other guy, no…I prove nothing accept that I can hurt people. I would be a jerk, and sooner or later no one will want to hang with me except for other jerks. How nice that would be? (insert sarcastic chuckle here)
The truth is that we hurt others because we are hurt. This is not a solution to our problem however. What we need to do is follow the
advice of Jesus, when He said in Luke 6:38, “Give, and you will receive.” If I give an elbow or a verbal cut-down…that is what I will receive. I’ve had enough of those…what I really could use is some positive words. I bet you (the reader) could use them as well. So, let’s get really good at encouraging words…words that build up others. Not flattery, but sincere words of appreciation…real complements. To say it about someone, you’ve got to see it in them. Look for the best in each other and then express what you see. Ask God to help you see the positive in others.
One thing I have discovered about encouragement…is that people shine when you lift them up with words. They become better players, singers, artist, actors, workers…better friends…and so do we!
Pastor’s Blog – The Power of Affirming Words
One day we will stand before our Heavenly Father and He will say, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, 
the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” (Matthew 25:34) To me this would be like God saying, “Good job my son. I am proud of you.”
I long to hear those very words, “I’m proud of you,” from two people; my Heavenly Father, and my father who has been in heaven since I was a year and a half old. To me those moments will be worth every sacrifice and every struggle I have faced in my life. To honor God and the memory of Dad is a strong motivation for serving in ministry.
Saturday night during our service at Gateway I was profoundly reminded of the power of these words. Our worship time stirred up the presence of God and various words were brought forward by several different members, all of which encouraged us in our walk with God.
One young man, JC, was laying on the floor struggling through the anniversary of the loss of his father. As I observed him the Lord spoke to my heart to pray for him, and to encourage him. I shared those powerful words, “I am proud of you, of the choices you have made in serving God. For your perseverance in choosing to do what is right.” I could tell that these words were washing over JC and refreshing his spirit.
As I moved about the room, the Lord impressed me to continue sharing these words to several of the young men in attendance. I could tell that each one was deeply moved, not just by my declaration of affirmation, but concerning the thought that their heavenly Father was pleased with them.
Today, too often, critical words are casually spoken over us. But words of affirmation are like a breath of fresh air after standing in a smoke filled room. Proverbs 10:11 says, “The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain;the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions.”
Words can condemn, and yet they can inspire. Let our words bring life!
Pastor’s Blog
Serving the Community vs. Community Service
Recently at Gateway we began a new Thursday Night emphasis…Ministry Night on the 2nd & 4th Thursday night of the month. Our first Ministry Night was Prayer Ministry at the Fairfield Mall in Beavercreek, which was pretty exciting with many opportunities to pray for the needs of people we met while shopping and hanging out at the Mall.
Our second Ministry Night involved Serving the Community in Huber Heights by picking up trash around the city. We had around 15-20 youth and young adults show up for this and had a great time serving together.
At Gateway we are fortunate to be able to invest into the lives of many youth who are “at risk.” Often we are building relationships with those who have gotten into trouble with the law and have experienced “community service” as a penalty for their bad choices. Now, to me, community service was always thought to be a good thing to do, maybe that’s because I have never been “made” to do it. One young man, when he discovered that we would be “picking up trash” told me that he didn’t want to do that, but he would come to church. I told him that tonight “that is church.”
This incident reminds me of the translation of terms that needs to continually take place between this generation and previous generations. We can’t just get frustrated and give up on them. We can make a difference and affect their lives if we will choose to be patient, pray for them, and continue to build a bridge between our generations.
As Christians, we cannot assume everyone understands what we are talking about when we say such things as “community service.” Now I will admit…not all of today’s youth have been forced to do “community service,” but most may see it as a punishment nevertheless. I believe we can influence them to embrace our values like Community Service as we model these activities with cheerfulness, and work shoulder to shoulder with them. Perhaps we can work to make “Serving the Community” an honorable task for their generation.
Welcome to Gateway Church
This picture is from our summer mission trip to Good Works, Inc. in Athens, OH. The youth pictured here are from 3 churches: Gateway, Aldersgate U.M.C. and New Visions A.M.E. We had a great time together serving alongside the poor of Appalachia. 