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Location:
6425 Jefferson Rd. For
directions, click here.
Our
mission To the
degree that we demonstrate God's grace and
truth in our worship, our teaching, our
personal relationships, and through the
ministries of the church, people will
experience the character and presence of
God. We
envision a renewal of Christian life and
commitment throughout the Church of
Greater Athens, as well as widespread
spiritual awakening among those who have
yet to believe the gospel. Our
vision: seeing Greater Athens become a
habitat for Divinity. We
minister the love and power of Christ in
many ways, including through corporate
worship, Bible teaching, music, prayer
ministry, small groups, and Holy
Communion. Gateway
members participate in Walk
to Emmaus
(a renewal ministry), Kairos
(a prison ministry), and the Lay Witness
Mission movement. Once a
month, a team from Gateway Church conducts
worship services at Lee
Arrendale State
Prison
in Alto, Ga. Gateway
members also conduct services weekly for
Alzheimer's patients at Arbor Terrace, an
assisted living facility in
Athens. In
addition, Gateway helps support a number
of local ministries, including
Covenant
Care
Services
(a crisis pregnancy and adoption
ministry), Overcomers
(a ministry to people overcoming
addictions), The Sparrow's Nest (providing
clothing to the needy), Athens
Urban
Ministry
(an outreach to the homeless, the
disabled, the working poor, and the
lonely), and the Food
Bank of Northeast
Georgia
(distributing food to those in
need). We also
provide support for mission work in
Brazil,
Ethiopia, and India. Jerry
Varnado In 1980,
Jerry Varnado was a broken man. Though a
well-known and popular attorney in Athens,
his life was in shambles. Jerry
eventually gave up practicing law and
became a pastor. A dynamic Bible teacher
and preacher, he has served Gateway Church
since 1985. Since
June 2007, he has also served as pastor of
Ray's United Methodist Church, a growing
congregation in the Watkinsville, Ga.
area. Jerry is
on the boards of the University of Georgia
Wesley
Foundation,
Cross
Over
Athens,
Rick
Bonfim
Ministries,
and the Athens
Area Emmaus
Community. He is a
member of the United
Methodist Renewal Services
Fellowship,
Good
News,
and the Confessing
Movement Within the United Methodist
Church. He and
his wife, Beverly, an accomplished
songwriter, are the parents of two
teenagers. An adult daughter and her
husband live in the Atlanta
area. E-mail:
pastor@GatewayUMC.org God has
put music in Beverly's heart and it flows
out freely to bless people who need a
touch from Jesus. Bev is
involved in the Lay Witness Mission
movement as well as in the Athens Area
Emmaus Community. She has recorded two
collections of her compositions: One
Word (1988) and By a Cross
(1995). After
serving many years on the staff of the
University of Georgia, Nancy now handles
many of the administrative tasks for
Gateway. She is also a talented
artist. Nancy is
married to author and speaker,
Roque
Fajardo. E-mail:
office@GatewayUMC.org Peggy
Jo
Stanley Peggy
became Gateway's Web servant in June
2007. Born in
Indiana, Peggy has been in teaching in
school for more than 30 years, starting in
Texas and later moving to
Georgia. She
currently teaches at Eagle's
Landing Christian
Academy
in McDonough, Ga. E-mail:
webservant@GatewayUMC.org Sometimes
referred to as "a walking revival," Rick
is on the road much of the year, preaching
and singing the life-giving good news of
Jesus Christ. In addition to
his
ministry
in the U.S., Rick preaches frequently in
his homeland of Brazil. Rick and
his wife, Mary Lucy, have three grown
children: Rick, Sammy, and
Sandy. Formerly
a college professor and pastor in
Oklahoma, Dr. Acuff has "retired" to
Georgia. Gene and
his wife, Marion
(a widely published author), live in
Watkinsville, just south of
Athens.
Gateway
Church gathers
for worship
Sundays
at 10:30 a.m.
(Hwy. 129) in Athens,
Georgia.
Ministry
of the
Word:
Recent
sermons
Our quarterly e-magazine
Gateway
Today
For the Gateway family
Pastor
Jerry's Weekly
E-Mail
Simply
put, our mission at Gateway is
helping
people experience
God,
through vital worship, biblical truth,
positive relationships, and hands-on
ministry.
Our
vision
Our
ministries
Our
leaders
Pastor
Then
he had a life-changing experience with
Jesus and learned first-hand about One who
can "bind up the brokenhearted" and "set
the captives free."
by
Jerry
Sermons
Beverly
Varnado
Worship
Leader
Nancy
Fajardo
Secretary
Web
servant
Clergy-in-Residence
Rick
Bonfim
United
Methodist General
Evangelist
Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ),
Retired