THE WAY CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Newburgh, Indiana
New name. New season. Same Word.
The stone out front, and the stones set around it — one for every family that came with this church in 1983.
New name. New season. Same Word.
The stone out front, and the stones set around it — one for every family that came with this church in 1983.
Disciples are not made from a stage. They are made across a table — over shared meals, in small rooms, by people who know your name and will carry your burden with you. You cannot grow by yourself. None of us can.
The church you may have known as Gateway Baptist is stepping into a new season as The Way Christian Church. Same body. Same Book. Same Lord. New season.
The name is new — and it was hiding inside the old one the whole time. A gateway is a gate that opens onto a way. The Lord who said “I am the gate” (John 10:9) is the same Lord who said “I am the way” (John 14:6) — and before anyone said “Christian,” His people were simply called the Way (Acts 9:2): not a place they went, but a road they walked together. For forty years this church has stood at the gate. Now it steps through, onto the road. [Gabe ok?]
This isn’t a break with the past. It’s the next chapter of it — old things have passed away, and new has come. God isn’t done with this house. He’s just getting started.
“Be ready for change — we are growing, moving, following a new direction God has given us.”
John Tooley · Chairman of the Deacons · 47 years [confirm w/ John]This church doesn't belong to us. It belongs to Him. He built it — and everything that happens in this house, from the teaching to the worship to the school down the hall, runs through one thing and one thing only: His word.
Disciples aren't made from a stage. They're made across a table — Life Groups, shared meals, people who know your name and will hold you accountable. You can't grow by yourself. None of us can.
Your greatest growth won't happen on Sunday mornings. It happens in the trials — one faithful step, then the next one. We're not selling your best life now. We're walking the long way home, together.
This isn't a slip-in, slip-out church, and it isn't a country club. We don't count heads and call it a good day — a report card written by men isn't the one that matters. The question here is never "did you show up?" It's the one worth asking: is your life bearing fruit?
“We’re a family — it’s like a second home, and everyone’s welcome no matter who they are.”
Jessica · Childcare Lead [confirm w/ Jessica]There is a ditch on either side of this road, and a church can end up in either one without ever meaning to. We are not in either ditch. We are on the road between them, and the road is the Word of God.
The ditch on one side: chasing whatever wind the culture blows, and rewriting the Book every time the times change.
"What we agree to is this. And only this. The Word of God."
The ditch on the other: bolting the doors on how-we've-always-done-it, and guarding the tradition harder than the truth.
“We are a band of misfits. You can step into a big church and see a well-oiled machine — but no community. Here there’s a community.”
Param Pamphile · retired soldier · first-generation Haitian-American [confirm w/ Param]No dress code, no spotlight on visitors, no pressure. Just come.
“I guarantee you: when you walk in that door, somebody is going to talk to you.”
Belinda Tooley · 47 years at this church [confirm w/ Belinda]Sunday school, the way it should be — age-grouped classes for children and youth, and adult groups where the relationships actually form.
Singing, prayer, and straightforward preaching from the Bible. Expect about an hour, and expect to be welcomed — not singled out.
Fill out the connect card below, or just find a person when you arrive. Someone will point you (and your kids) to the right room.
Send a connect cardBoth are offered by members of this church rather than paid staff, so on a rare Sunday one may not be there. If you are counting on it, send us a note or call and we will tell you straight whether it is covered that week. And Kreyòl is not an add-on here — it is a family language at The Way, spoken by members who serve on the worship team and teach in the school down the hall. [confirm wording]
7564 W State Route 66, Newburgh, Indiana · Where is it? →
This campus is home to two callings. On Sundays it’s a sanctuary; on school days it’s Warrick County Christian Academy — an independent K–12 Christian school and our ministry partner, where classes stay small and every child is known by name.
The church and the school are deliberately separate — each does its job better that way. In the classroom, Scripture alone is taught, no denominational doctrine; the school answers to its own leadership, and the church remains a sanctuary. Two callings, one building, no confusion about which is which.
Ask how a church this size ends up with a school down the hall, and the answer is the whole story of this place: "We were faithful — and walked in the direction He said walk."
If your family is looking for a school where every child is known by name, start at wcca.academy.
These are drafts, written from what has actually been preached here — not carried over from the old site. [Pastor: three articles below are deliberately left empty. Nothing in the sermons settles them, and we would rather show the gap than guess. Supply your wording for those, and confirm or rewrite the rest — the board will carry your words verbatim.]
God made you, and made you for Himself. Every person carries His image — which is why life has weight and you know it.
Sin broke everything. Ours, not just Adam’s. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) — and the wage of that is death.
Christ paid what you couldn’t. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Jesus lived the life we couldn’t, died the death we deserved, and rose again — conquering sin and the grave.
Repent and believe. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9). Not church membership. Not being good enough. Him.
Disciples are not made from a stage. They are made across a table — so every one of these exists for the same reason, and none of them is a program you attend. Find your place. [confirm this list matches what is actually running]
Small groups walking through the Word together — where names get known, burdens get carried, and somebody notices when you are not there. You cannot grow by yourself. None of us can.
Find a group →A great deal goes into a child’s ears in a week. Here it is the Bible — taught in ways they can hold onto, by people who love them, in rooms where they are safe and known.
Ask about check-in →Growth and mentorship for students — real questions welcomed, real answers straight from Scripture. [who leads this?]
Connect a student →Singing the truth together is one of the ways a church gets strengthened, not just entertained. If you play or sing, there is always room for one more servant.
Join the team →Spiritual and practical support for single young women facing an unexpected pregnancy — a church that shows up instead of looking away. [confirm program continues under The Way]
embracegrace.com →Our school ministry — small classes, Scripture at the center, every child known by name. One campus, one ministry, cradle to graduation.
wcca.academy →There is no ladder on this page. One name sits above it, and it is not any of ours. Everyone below stands at the same height — same box, no ranks, no lines running between us — doing different work in the same house. These are His undershepherds: fallible folks, just like you, pointing the same direction.
[Pastor: confirm the wording on the card above — and whether you want “Pastor” or something else on yours] [this list is incomplete on purpose — only names confirmed so far. Add the rest, with roles, spellings, photos and a verse each, from the interviews.]
The office keeps this board current from the admin panel — every card below is editable in place.
Life Groups at 9:00 AM, worship at 10:15 AM. First time? Come a few minutes early and we'll help you find your room.
Pickleball is coming this fall — church family and neighbors alike. Bring a paddle, bring a friend. Details to come. [confirm day/time/location]
The Van Winkle family is stepping up to carry more of the Sunday service. That's how this house works — the body serving the body. [confirm wording & which parts of the service]
Enrollment is open at our school ministry down the hall — K–12, same campus, same mission. Learn more at wcca.academy →
Requests go straight to the pastors. Choose to share yours — first name or anonymous — and once a pastor approves it, the office posts it here so the whole church can carry it with you. [Before launch: Netlify → Forms → enable detection, and route the notification email to the pastors' inbox — not RD's]
"Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." — 2 Corinthians 9:7
Every dollar stays in the ministry — the church, the school, and the people this campus serves.
GIVE ONLINE [inert until the Stripe payment link arrives]Card or bank transfer through Stripe — one-time or recurring. Payments are processed entirely by Stripe; we never see or store your card number.
The offering box is available every Sunday. Cash or check — no envelope ceremony, no plate pressure.
Checks to The Way Christian Church, 7564 W State Route 66, Newburgh, IN 47630. [confirm payee name for checks]