Looking for Communinty?
I grew up in a town called Whiteside Missouri, population 123. I remember that my dad was elected mayor when I was in Junior High. His duties included everything that you could think of. He was in charge of the streets, he was the dog catcher, and I guess he was the law in our little town. But, it was a pretty easy job because everyone knew everyone else, and there wasn't any trouble that I ever remember.
We moved to California to a town of about 50 thousand when I was a freshman in high school. My freshman class had 700 students in it. Wow, what a change for a country boy who knew everyone.
After high school, I joined the Air Force and my wife Becky and I lived in several different places. We lived in Riverside California, Wiesbaden Germany, Denver Colorado, and El Cajon California before moving to Walnut Grove Missouri. All of the above mentioned cities, (except Walnut Grove of course) were major metropolitan cities. The friends we had in Riverside and in Germany were the Air Force people we worked with. When we moved to Denver, and again to California, we started going to church and soon found that the church provided the community relationships we were looking for.
The church provided a place where we could grow in our relationship with God, but it also provided us with a community of people that we could share our lives with. In Denver, for example, we would go to Wally and Glenda's and watch the Broncos play football while we shared together in food and fellowship. We went with church friends skiing in Estes Park. We participated on softball teams together, had church picnics together and just had a lot of fun being with each other. When our children were sick, we prayed for each other. When our son was in the hospital, people encouraged us and prayed for us. The point is, when we lived in a large community, like Denver or El Cajon (San Diego area), we found community through the church.
In 1985 we moved to Walnut Grove, a community of about 600 people. It was definitely culture shock to my wife and kids, but having grown up in a small town, I adjusted quickly. Its interesting, but it makes sense to me now that people who move to a small town often feel alienated and unaccepted by the community. I have known many people who told me they lived 10 to 20 years in a small town like Walnut Grove and never felt like a part of their community. I think a lot of it is because people who have never experienced that small town community living don't know how to adjust to it. They have lived so long without ever getting to know the people next door that they don't know how to become that person next door and a part of the community.
But, being an extrovert and a pastor in a small town, I was soon accepted in Walnut Grove and began to experience the kind of small town, everyone knows everyone else community, that I grew up with. I became involved at the school where I got to know most of the kids and many of their parents. I served on the city council, and got to know many more people. I was a part of several different community organizations, and of course, was active in the minister's alliance.
Most big cities do not offer this kind of community. Instead, social organizations, schools, work, churches, and now electronic communities have replaced the small town community for many people.
Gateway Christian Church is a small community of believers that live in and around Springfield. The primary connection that we have with one another is a like faith in Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of our lives. But our community has other connections as well. A large percentage of our members are ex-military. We have a very large percentage of our members who work in the health industry in one way or another. We have several families who have moved here from Iowa and even more who are from California. Some of us are Techies, many are animal lovers. We all like to get together and eat!!! We have several families who are retired, and we have several who have young children. We have a number of people who are musically talented. I'm sure that there are a lot of other connections that Gateway has that make us unique to other churches, and some that are not so unique.
The point is this; If you are someone who is looking for a deeper connection to community than neighbors that just wave at you when you are outside, for a place that you can become connected with people who will share in fellowship with you, and where you can seek to have your spiritual needs met, then come and check us out.
Yes, Gateway is a church, but it is much more than a place to worship God. Gateway is a place where you can become involved in community.
If you would like more information about Gateway Christian Church, please take a few minutes to explore our website, and or e-mail or call me and I'd be happy to answer any questions that you might have!
Pastor Bill Nichols