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Gateway Church gathers
for
worship Sundays
at 10:30 a.m.

Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd.
(Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia.

For directions, click here.



Ministry of the Word:
Recent sermons



Our quarterly e-magazine
Gateway Today


For the Gateway family
Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail


Our mission


Simply put, our mission at Gateway is helping people experience God, through vital worship, biblical truth, positive relationships, and hands-on ministry.

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.


Our vision

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.


Our ministries

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.


Our leaders

Jerry Varnado
Pastor

In 1980, Jerry Varnado was a broken man. Though a well-known and popular attorney in Athens, his life was in shambles.

Pastor Jerry
Columns
by Jerry

Sermons
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."

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


Beverly Varnado
Worship Leader

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).


Nancy Fajardo
Secretary

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
Web servant

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


Clergy-in-Residence


Rick Bonfim
United Methodist General Evangelist

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.

 

Gene Acuff, Ph.D.
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Retired

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.



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