I just have to write about why I love my church so much.

There’s something amazing when you get to be on staff at a church that you’d certainly attend if you weren’t ministry. I’m about to celebrate my 4th year at Gateway and I’m so proud to be at this church.

Two of Gateway’s core values is to be a church for those who are far from God and to place a high value stories. Both of those values were carried out at our Easter services this year.

First of all, the Easter story was told from the perspective of Isaiah. Why Isaiah? Because the prophet foretold the coming of the messiah and the great sacrifice he would make to redeem humanity. This wasn’t done just to offer a fresh and creative Easter story, but because Gateway is a place for doubters and skeptics. A common argument against Christ and his sacrifice is the theory that all the prophecies were written after Jesus’ death in order to validate him. However, the copy of Isaiah found among the Dead Sea Scrolls is scientifically carbon dated to be centuries older than the events in the first century. It’s a great way to introduce the story of Christ’s sacrifice in a way that could be relevant to skeptics and doubters.

Second of all, the Easter story was accompanied by the stories of three people who attend Gateway. There was a story of a man who grew up without a father, was pulled into a lifestyle of anger and violence. There was a story of a woman who struggled with bitterness and anger for years after her mother was murdered by an unknown person. There was a story of a woman who left her family of faith to pursue men, drugs and a lifestyle of dealing and crime. All three stories went the same way, to a place of brokenness and emptiness. However, all three saw that their stories also tied into a greater story that involved Christ and his great sacrifice to bring people back to God.

It was a powerful service of music, art and stories intersecting with God’s Great Story. Below is the promo trailer, I’ll post the video of the service once it’s online.

Easter Promo 2012 from g8waypro on Vimeo.