Our Purpose
To show and tell the gateway to life… Jesus Christ. We do this by knowing Christ (Connect/Grow) and making Christ known (Serve/Go).
Our Staff
Pastor – Ross Pethybridge his wife Janet and daughter Natalie
Ross is married to Janet, and they have two adult children plus Natalie living with them. Ross comes to Gateway from Dalby in Queensland where he worked for many years as a senior pastor
Pastoral Assistants - Evan Barnes & his wife, Alicia & daughter, Sophia
Evan is married to Alicia and they have a young daughter, Sophia. Evan and Alicia’s lives were changed forever in their youth when each of them put their trust in Jesus. Having seen how God used youth ministry to help them so much, they've been devoted to seeing young lives transformed by Jesus ever since.
Evan is our Kids Minister, helping our church to partner with parents to help children to know and trust in Jesus.
Alicia is our Youth Pastor, helping Gateway to equip youth to know and follow Jesus for all their days.
Our History
Before 2003 we met as St Stephens Presbyterian Church Nelson Bay. A congested parking lot led some visionary people to consider relocating the Church. Before too long the current site at 43 Gan Gan Road was bought and building commenced. Our first service at the new location was led by Robin Turner on Easter Sunday 11th April 2004. The official opening was on 16th & 17th October 2004.
On the 16th February 2014 we celebrated the opening of our extension which provided lots of multi-purpose rooms for Kids Church, Bible Studies & Office Space.
Under God’s grace Gateway Presbyterian Church has enjoyed steady growth and is now made up of something a bit over 250 people ranging from 0 to 93, with an average age of 35.6 years.
How We Run / Governance
As a Presbyterian Church, we are governed by a group of elders known as a Session, that includes the Pastor. They are responsible for the leadership and spiritual oversight of the church.
A second group, the Committee of Managment, is responsible for the financial management of the church under the direction of the Session. Members are elected each year.
What we believe
As a Presbyterian Church, we hold to the same values and beliefs as stated by the Presbyterian Church of Australia, NSW.
The Supreme Standard of the Church is the Word of God contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. The Subordinate Standard of the Church is the Westminster Confession of Faith read in the light of the Declaratory Statement.
We are Protestant, Evangelical and Reformed.
We believe that there is One God who is the Creator and Judge of the world. In the fullness of time He has revealed Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- God has made Himself known in His infallible word, the Bible.
- We believe that human beings are created in God’s image. However, when Adam sinned, that image was stained and tarnished. We inherit Adam’s fallen nature.
- The penalty for sin is death, leading ultimately to the second death which is everlasting judgement.
- The law reveals that we are sinners but does not save us.
- Christ is the Lord from heaven who came to lead a sinless life, and offer Himself up as the sinless sacrifice to pay the death penalty which we deserve.
- We cannot earn salvation. We can only receive it when the Holy Spirit enables us to have faith in Christ alone.
- Trusting in Christ and not our own merits, we seek to live godly lives, loving God and our neighbour.
- We seek to serve Christ in the fellowship of the body of His people, the Church. Our joining this body is signified by baptism, our ongoing commitment to Christ is signified by taking part in the Lord’s Supper.
If you have any questions please contact us.
