Gateway Baptist Church

About Us

Who We Are

Gateway Baptist Church is a relatively young church for Lake City.  Organized in March of 1999, Gateway has become a church family large enough to provide the kinds of quality ministries that are so needed by those in our community seeking a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  Those who are striving to grow in the Lord will discover many opportunities to journey into that next step of their relationship with Christ and to exercise their souls for His glory. Our church is multi-generational and enjoys a dynamic mix of new, growing and mature followers of Christ. 

Gateway services include Sunday morning worship, Sunday evening worship, and Wednesday evening fellowship meals, discipleship studies and prayer gatherings.  A strong feature of our church is her youth and children’s ministries! Blessed with ample property and facilities (14 acres of land and over 14,000 square feet of ministry space including worship, educational, multi-purpose, nursery, kitchen and office areas) to accomplish her mission and ministries in Lake City and beyond, Gateway is a Christ-centered, Biblically grounded, evangelistic, joyful and grateful congregation.

Our Mission

We are a family of believers who has a heart to see their community impacted by the love of Jesus. We believe our mission is to reach people with the love of Christ, and to see them living out their purpose. Our worship is contemporary, casual, biblically grounded, and Spirit empowered.

Our Vision

At Gateway we try to reflect Christ in every way. We strive to love and serve like Jesus, Matthew 11:28 says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened.”. Our mission as a church is to always have an open loving door for any that seek refuge through Jesus Christ.

We are On Mission for Christ to bring the Gospel to the world, disciple believers in spiritual growth, and empower families to stand firm in the truth of Scripture.

Our Three-Fold Strategy:

  1. Bring the Gospel – Acts 1:8
  2. Disciple Believers – Romans 1:15-17
  3. Empower Families – 2 Corinthians  5:17

Our Values

We value the Father’s love, the lordship of Christ, the filling of the Holy Spirit, the written and spoken Word of God, experiential worship, wholehearted discipleship, every believer as a minister, inclusiveness and unity with other believers, authentic relationships, prayer and intimacy with God, the goodness of God, Kingdom focus and vision, demonstration of the power of God, release of spiritual gifts, creativity and the arts, team leadership, apostolic and prophetic foundations, and empowered evangelism.

Our Core Values include:

  1. Transformation Truth – John 17:17
  2. Authentic Relationships – Acts 2:42
  3. Persistent Prayer – Jeremiah 33:3
  4. Urgent Evangelism – Mark 16:15
  5. Joyful Generosity – Hebrews 13:16 
Thompson family 2023

Meet our Pastor

Pastor Drue was called to serve as Senior Pastor at Gateway Baptist Church in October of 2023. Prior to that, he served as Senior Pastor at churches in North Carolina and Georgia as well as serving as a Battalion Chaplain in the U.S. Army.

The attributes that best describe Pastor Drue are passionate preaching, strong leadership, committed desciple making. His passion for preaching is born out of a love for scripture and a desire to see people grow in their walk with Christ. His strong leadership is currently leading Gateway through a time of reviatilization and being On Mission for Christ throughout Lake City and its surrounding areas.

He received a Masters of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He previously graduated from Leavell College with a Bachelors in Christian Ministry and has extensive training and additional schooling with the U.S. Army.

He married his lovely wife, Ashleigh, in 2011. Together, they have a sweet daughter named Sadie.

Pastor Drue strives to live his life verse which is John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Rhett Dillhyon

Associate Pastor of Student Ministries

Ginny Zuberer

Ministry Assistant

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