"A year ago we were thinking about how we might celebrate the centenary of a church at Alder Road in 2025. One hundred years ago a group of faithful believers began to gather on the Alder Hills and there constructed a building to be used for the worship of God. That we are still here a century later is something to celebrate!
Then other events overtook us. Conversations with our friends at Parkstone Church soon developed into a decision for that congregation to merge with us. This happened in January 2025 and that meant we spent less time looking back and instead pressed forward as we became a church that gathers in three services on Sundays.
A key prophetic theme for us this year is that we are being recommissioned.
The addition of a third location means we are being recommissioned for gospel multiplication. Over 400 people now attend our Sunday services. We have seen our youth ministry grow significantly and it has been wonderful to baptise a number of people over the last year. But we are hungry for more! We want to be obedient to all that the Lord is calling us to and the desire to plant more churches is increasingly on our hearts. What might God do in and through us over the next ten years?!
Way back in 2008 we received a prophetic word that said,
I believe that God recommissions you to be a mighty army in the community. God wants you to touch Poole by the power of the Holy Spirit and be a gateway into the Kingdom of God.
17 years later we want to again step into that commission and calling. We want to be a gateway, and not in name only. We believe the Lord is enlarging the gateway so that more people can come in.
This review provides some highlights and snapshots of life at Gateway Church. As you read it, ask the Lord to stir your heart. We have much to celebrate for all that Jesus has done among us this past year. I hope you find encouragement as you read this review and let’s dare to ask Him for more as we press into his recommissioning of us."
Matthew Hosier
TESTIMONIES
CONNECTING TO COMMUNITY & SHARING THE GOSPEL
Over the course of the year we hosted a number of events and activities that those new to church could easily connect with. A quiz night was followed by the Light Party and hog roast. After that came Taste the Nations which then led into our Christmas carol services. This then culminated in running an Alpha course in the new year.
This year we will be running a similar sequence of events to which we can invite our friends. Let’s look for every opportunity to invite people into the community of the church!
Kids
It’s been a year of change behind the scenes for kids at Gateway. We said a big ‘thank you’ to Carlos and Becky Bertrand for their amazing years serving in leading our kids team, releasing them into other areas of serving. But we weren’t left rudderless - in fact we now have three staff (one day a week each) focusing on facilitating and leading our kid’s ministry across all three services. Abi Hanmore started in September, and Chris and Becky Clarke both started in November.
We have been blessed to welcome new children into the church and have also welcomed some fantastic new Kids Team members too.
The highlights for the children have been the church weekend away, working with ‘Power Pack’ (the wonderful volunteers that come to run our kids program) and learning about God as a refuge, and the light party. This year the light party was immediately before the hog roast, and saw nearly 300 children and parents playing games, singing songs and hearing a gospel message of Jesus the light of the world. The family service at Christmas also brought a smile to everyone's faces as the children brought the Nativity to life. The children have also been so supportive and encouraging while watching some of their peers get baptised - everyone was excited to see them receive Jesus as their saviour.
The children enjoyed joining in the family carol services and we’re looking forward to celebrating Easter together!
Youth
We also said a big thank you to Hannah Pavey as she completed her two years leading our youth team, handing on to Alex & Emily Doidge and Tom Parratt.
It is such a privilege to serve our young people. We love to have fun in all that we do: we play lots of games, have introduced eating together regularly, worship and pray together and have heard many powerful talks about how good our God is.
A highlight of our year is Newday. Last year we saw some of our young people healed and filled with the Spirit.
Since September we have gone through many changes: to our youth team structure, from meeting on Wednesday to meeting on Friday, and a change of time to facilitate us spending longer together. We have seen God’s gracious hand in all of this and have felt a sense of momentum as He builds His youth ministry here at Gateway.
Recently, we have been working our way through the youth Alpha course. It has been great to see some new faces come to hear about who God is, while reminding those who have been with us for a while of foundational truths.
A particular recent highlight has been our staycation 2025 where we spoke about, heard from and saw many filled with the Holy Spirit. We long to see more of this in the coming year as we continue to pray for growth spiritually and numerically whilst being obedient to God’s calling on our young people. Here’s to an even bigger 2025/26.
Students and 20s
We have had a great year with the students and 20’s group. The group has changed and evolved. We have sadly had to say goodbye to some but have also welcomed new members too. We still have a good mix of students and those now in work, with lots of different backgrounds and cultures represented.
We have cooked together, worshipped together, prayed together and studied God’s word together as well as group members getting together to go to the cinema, out for a meal or going for country walks.
It has been a privilege to spend the year together, getting to know each other and God better.
Sermon Series
We love the Bible! Every word of it is inspired by God and is fully reliable in fact and doctrine. The Bible speaks with final authority and is always sufficient for all matters of belief and practice. Hearing the Word of God preached is a central part of our services. We need to keep being recommissioned by the Word!
Over the past year we have taught the following series:
TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH &
THE DEPTHS OF OUR HEARTS
Being involved in meaningful gospel partnership with others around the world is essential to who we are called to be at Gateway. This means that we send resources to help plant and strengthen churches and we regularly receive friends from other contexts to minister among us, as well as going to them.
We love working alongside other churches in BCP but our primary partnership is with Advance, a movement of churches that exists to plant and strengthen churches. Our lead pastor, Matthew Hosier, is a member of the Advance global team and leads the Advance UK team. In his role on the Advance team Matthew, with Grace, has been involved in strengthening visits to a significant number of churches, from Newcastle to Truro, and from Zug to Cape Town.
Over the past year we have received strengthening visits at Gateway from:
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Alan & Rynelle Frow, from Southlands Church, California
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Ryan Marshall and Donnie Griggs, from One Harbor Church, North Carolina
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Pete & Nicky Cornford, from Redeemer Church, London
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Josh Eldridge, from Monument Church, Maryland
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The intern team from One Life Church, Houston
In November Gateway hosted the Advance UK conference. This was a wonderful time of learning and worshipping together.
It is the vitality of Gateway Church that makes it possible for this wider ministry to take place.
We also celebrate the ends of the earth dynamic of our faith by all those who have come from other nations and now call Gateway their spiritual home. More than twenty nations are represented in our congregation.
Our annual Taste the Nations event at which we celebrate food from around the world is always a highlight, as are our international carol services. With different languages, food, clothes and customs we proclaim our unity in Christ and his good news to the whole world.
TRAINING
Seeing disciples trained and equipped is a core part of our mission. As well as all the normal activities and ministries of the church there are a number of courses we run that help us in this.
Advance Theology Course:
This a two year Bible course, taught by Andrew Wilson, covering Genesis to Revelation. We meet once a month on a Saturday morning to work through the material together.
Graduate Diploma in theology:
On Thursday morning we host a learning community for this excellent course run by Union School of Theology.
ACPC:
The Advance Church Planting Course is a two year course that helps train those who feel a call to be involved in church planting.
If you are interested in joining any of these courses please get in touch with the church office.
CHURCH WEEKEND & NEWDAY
Two highlights of our summer are our church camp in July and then our young people going to Newday in August. These are times of building friendships, hearing from God, and enjoying being together.
The church camp is a great moment for the whole church to come together, from across our services. This year we have Terry Virgo, founder of Newfrontiers, joining us as our guest speaker. To book in for the weekend click here.
Nearly 10,000 young people attend Newday, which takes place at the Norfolk Showground. It is amazing to see so many teenagers caught up in worship of God.
Finances & Giving
We give generously to the mission of Jesus because we love him, we love partnering in his mission to reach and save the lost and bless the poor, and because we want to reflect the generosity that he shows us through the gospel.
Giving of our finances is a significant act of faith, and a mark of a disciple of Jesus. All that we have, we receive from Jesus in the first place. Whatever the economic conditions and geo-political pressures, the people of God are called to fight fear with faith, and trust him to meet our needs as we trust him with our finances.
Here are some of the ways that we have met that challenge in the last year. Our General Fund is how we pay for our day to day operations. Last year our Vision Fund was used to finance the Alder Road rebuild but we now need to go again and build up this pot for ways in which we feel God calls us to respond to his plan for us for the future. This means that we need to pay for the Alder Road mortgage this year from the General Fund, which is indicated in the graphs below. Let's excel in this area!
To find out more about how to give, click this button
INcome And Expenditure
* £84k of this was money held from previous years to complete the Alder Road building, get us started at Ringwood Road and pay for some Operational Costs
How we Used our money
Budget For 25/26
The elders and trustees have set another faith-filled budget for 24/25. As we seek to serve more people in more places and reach further and further with the gospel, it is important that we place our trust in God for his provision in every area of our need - finance being just one of them!
Areas we’ve been able to bless through our giving
Just as we encourage church members to give ten percent (a tithe) of their income to God’s mission through the church, we also give away ten percent of our income at Gateway. We use this to bless other ministries, to help plant and strengthen churches, and to serve the poor.
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£15k to Refined Generation Church in Ghana to complete their building project
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£3k to Tana City Church in Madagascar to support their church plant in Anntanarivo
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£6k to Bridges Retreat Centre in Cape Town to support their Education Camps for under-resourced communities
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£5k to One City Church in Durban to help to complete their building project
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£1500 to support medical costs for a pastor in India
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£21k to support planting and strengthening churches within the Advance movement
Serving Our Community
Gateway church and our members bless BCP and beyond in many ways. Here are some examples of areas in which we serve the wider community.
Gatehouse | Community Hub
Our Ashley Road building is open on Thursday and Friday mornings for hot drinks, cakes, games, and arts & crafts. Many people are lonely and Gatehouse offers a safe place for friendship and conversation.
Gatehouse | Tots
Adults and their children meet on Thursday mornings at our Alder road building for a fun morning of crafts, play and snacks.
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I am Confident
This course reaches isolated and struggling women and helps bring them into community run by Hayley Stephens and Catherine Hunter. It takes referrals from Social Subscribers, doctors, BHCA, Steps to Wellbeing and Help and Care. We also partner with Faithworks and CAN to reach more women.
They now have their own website (www.iamconfidentsessions.com) and Instagram/ facebook page (@iamconfidentsessions).
TRuth Be Told
TBT sees preschool children and residents of care homes coming together to hear stories, sing, and experience the love of Jesus. TBT is used in a variety of settings, including care homes, toddler groups, ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) groups, and women's refuges, and has gone as far as Taiwan.
