What does missions mean to us?

It is the fulfillment of the Great Commission to go into all the world preaching and sharing the Good news that God loves humanity and has provided a way for relationship through salvation for all mankind in a cross-cultural way.

We understand that in order to accomplish the Great Commission we need a three-fold emphasis towards reaching the lost.

1. Evangelism: Spreading God’s Word
   It is reaching the heart of every tribe and people group on the earth. This includes Bible translation and distribution, church planting and outreaches in all areas.
2. Training: Equipping and preparing Christians to reach others with the Gospel.
   Understanding the tasks before us, mentoring, discipling and training are vital components towards our goal of seeing that all may come to know Him.
3. Mercy Ministries: Demonstrating God’s Love through practical assistance.
   The Gospel must be accompanied by a loving, practical response to the needs of the poor and oppressed.

We further understand that missions, as being part of the greater commissioning of the church, carries the idea of a cross-cultural aspect. For where the church is called to the Great Commission at large; missions is that aspect that reaches across barriers. (Language, culture, social and geographical boundaries.) This is our response, reaching out to those around us (our Jerusalem), those near us (our Judea) and those far from us (the uttermost parts of the earth) with the love of Christ as a church family.

Honduras Missions: 2005 – present

Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, is a city of over 875,000 people that is plagued with economic hardship. Honduras is, by far, the poorest of the Central American countries with a high percentage of homeless and hungry children. Our teams work primarily with these children and leadership at local churches and two feeding centres which provide care, meals and clothing for local children on a regular basis. One of our first teams presented a day camp similar to the one we have here every summer. Teams have also focused on marriage and the specific needs of women by holding conferences and seminars.

Student Mission Trips: Ongoing

These trips have significant value in a student’s life and we have seen exponential spiritual growth in students who take part in these trips. We believe mission trips are important in their walk with Jesus and try to do one each year. Our trips have taken us to Newfoundland, northern Ontario, New Orleans, Kyrgyzstan, Mississippi, Trinidad and Honduras.

Missions At Home

Visit the “Outreach Programs” section of our Programs page for details about our local missions endeavours.

Gateway Church & Compassion Canada: Partnering with Purpose

We are excited to partner with Compassion Canada through a focused approach to child sponsorship in Honduras and working with the pastors of four Compassion project churches. Gateway Church families sponsor more than 90 children from these four churches and look forward writing and receiving letters from them and watching them grow spiritually as well as physically. It is our privilege as a church family to pray for them and their families.

We have the privilege of sponsoring Rosa Vasquez, one of Compassion’s first students enrolled in the Leadership Development Program (LDP) in the country of Honduras. The Leadership Development Program has been designed to recognize qualities of excellence, invest in the students who possess them, and then filter those students back into the communities to help others. We believe this is a valuable asset to our missions endeavours and fulfills the core values of missions at Gateway Church.