Great Ideas From Great Churches (Pt.2)

This past weekend I took some of our Early Childhood staff to visit three churches in the Dallas area. I enjoy going to conferences for ideas and inspiration, but I also get just as much out of visiting churches that are getting the job done and making an impact in their community. We picked up some great ideas from these three great churches. Today's post is about the second church we visited.

Gateway Church was started 11 years ago. God has grown the church tremendously with over 20,000 people attending this past Easter. They just moved into an amazing new facility at their Southlake Campus. We visited their North Richland Hills Campus where they have transformed a former grocery store into a beautiful facility.














  • They place bracelet bells on the preschoolers during worship to encourage them to get involved in worship.
  • They have smaller doors inside the preschool doors that the kids can enter through.
  • They hand each preschool child a small Bible to begin Bible lesson time. Inside each Bible is a sticker of Jesus. The kids look for Jesus inside the Bible. When they find Him, they hug Him and tell Him that they love Him.
  • Each new preschool family receives a DVD that tells them about the preschool ministry.
  • They give each preschooler a small, unbreakable mirror during worship time. They look into the mirror and say "Jesus loves me."
  • They use a diaper provided by the church instead of the ones in the parent's nursery bag. They said you never know when a family may be in need and providing that extra diaper can mean alot.
  • They are involved in public school outreach with www.kidsbeachclub.org.
  • Their nursery rooms have lights that dim to help create a calm, peaceful atmosphere.
  • They just started a new ministry for 5/6th graders. They have created a really cool environment for this age group. 
The people of Gateway Church are passionate and committed to their mission. I look forward to seeing what God will do through this ministry in the years ahead.