Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   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 A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO An inviting church Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA February 2, 2003 Main Scripture text: John 1:29-51. Our text illustrates the pattern of discipleship, or the pattern of church growth: 1) A person meets Jesus and becomes a disciple; 2) That person share his story with someone and invites him to meet Jesus, too; 3) That someone meets Jesus, becomes a disciple and the process repeats Itself. The common thread is invitation. Each invitation we see in John 1 was a serious invitation. The disciple not only invited someone to meet Jesus, he often took that person to Jesus and wouldn't take "no" for and answer. I call it "invitation with an attitude!" Most people who become Christians do so because of the testimony, deeds, and encouragement of someone they trust. And that is our mission: helping people experience God. Being the church, the body of Christ is more than just showing up on Sunday. The Bible says we are "ambassadors for Christ." Being an ambassador is a 24/7 job! Being an inviting person and an inviting church isn't something that just "happens." It is something we must intentionally work toward. Let's set our minds on being an inviting church. Supporting texts: Luke 14:23 | Nehemiah 8:10 | 2 Corinthians 5:20 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here. (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of this sermon is available free of charge (U.S. requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 030202a: An Inviting Church. © 2003 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us