We are a group of people following Jesus in the Missoula area that desire to see God's kingdom come in Missoula. We know that when REAL PEOPLE meet the REAL JESUS they experience REAL CHANGE.
The Marks of the Church are the four pillars of who we ARE and who we are BECOMING as a church.
We expect to be continually changed. We read the Bible because it’s the best way to know Jesus and experience change.
We work out our faith by loving those God has put near us but may be far from him. It is our mission to love those around us!
We share our homes and lives with people to bring glory to Jesus and to change lives for the better.
We love seeing families thrive and grow. We help build strong families so we can bring grace to hurting families.
You can contact our Elders by emailing Elders@churchatthegates.org
The Bible is the one and only, infinite God´s revelation to His finite Creation. Without His revelation, we would be groping around in the dark inventing false gods conjured up in our own imaginations. It was penned by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. Because it is inspired by God, it is truth without any mixture of error. It is the ultimate source of truth and authority for Christian beliefs and living. It gives us all the information we need to faithfully live out what God wants us to think and do.
God is the ONE Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three persons known as “the Trinity”: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These are three distinct persons who are co-equal and co-eternal and are still one God.
Mankind is made in the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in character and spread His life-giving rule throughout creation. They are the supreme object of God´s creation. Although they had tremendous potential for good, they have become spiritually dead through humanity’s ongoing rebellion against the holy, infinite, perfect, eternal God. Consequently, if they are going to know God and be restored to Him, God has to make them spiritually alive through the power of the Holy Spirit by His will.
Man was created to exist forever. He will either exist eternally under the wrath of God separated from God by sin or in union with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life. Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence not just states of being or mind.
Salvation is an infinitely expensive gift offered freely from God to man. Man can never make up for his sin by self-improvement, good works, right thinking, or an absence of desire. Jesus Christ (the holy, infinite, eternal, perfect Son of God) is the only, singular, sole, narrow, exclusive payment for sin. Jesus Christ is the only One with the singular, sole, narrow, exclusive authority to forgive sin. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God´s offer of forgiveness can man be saved from sin´s penalty. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-eternal and co-equal with the Father. Jesus lived a sinless human life in historical space and time and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a wooden Roman cross. Before dying on the Cross, He absorbed the full weight of the wrath of God against the sins of humanity. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven´s glory where He now reigns in authority over all things, people, places and times. Jesus will return again to reign as King of kings, and Lord of lords.
The Holy Spirit is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son as God. He is present in the world to open people’s eyes to their sin and make them aware of their desperate need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, power for doing what is right, and gifts for building of the Church of Jesus Christ. The Christian seeks to live under the authority of God’s Word (the Bible) by the Holy Spirit every moment.
Baptism by immersion in water is a symbol God commands in the New Testament for those who have personally accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Its purpose is for the individual believer to volitionally identify with Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection by that Christian’s own choice. It is also a symbolic picture of the Christian’s own personal death to the slavery of sin, burial of the old self, and the commitment to walk in the new life given by Christ. Baptism does not save a person because that would be salvation by works and not by faith.
As with Baptism, Lord’s Supper (or Communion) is a symbolic act to be observed only by those who have genuinely become followers of Jesus Christ. Partaking of this ordinance symbolizes the breaking of Christ’s body and shedding of His blood on our behalf. Christians should take Communion with an attitude of humility and self-examination, as a symbol of our continued dependence on Christ’s grace, and our unity with other believers.
Because God gives man eternal life through Jesus Christ, the believer is secure in salvation for eternity. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives this security. Faithfulness is the result of salvation; salvation is not the result of faithfulness, as that would be salvation by works.
Marriage is a sacred covenantal union between one man and one woman for life. This covenant is meant to display the love that Christ himself has for the church. Sexual activity is intended only for marriage and all other sexual activity (pornography, sex outside of marriage, homosexuality, fornication, adultery, etc.) is outside of God’s design, harmful to our lives and society, and a sin against God.
Genesis 2:24, 2 Corinthians 6:14, Romans 1:27, Ephesians 5:32, Hebrews 13:4, Romans 1:27, 1 Corinthians 6:18, Matthew 5:28
As part of his good design, God created two genders: male and female. We are called to glorify God in the gender he has assigned us by His infinite love and wisdom at birth. To pursue any sort of gender reassignment procedures, therapy, surgeries or related efforts is to reject the good design of our Creator and harmful to us.
Gen. 1:27, 5:2; Matt. 19:4; Mark 10:6
The Bible teaches that men and women are equal and complementary. Men and women are both created in the image of God and equal in value. Men and women are both called to work out the mission of God in the world together. God has given men and women different, complementary responsibilities, in both the local church and the home. Qualified men established as elders, are responsible for the primary leadership and authority in the local church.
Genesis 1:27, Genesis 2:18-25, 1 Timothy 2:8-15, 1 Timothy 3:1-6, Titus 1:5-9