How our Church Began

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​With every building there is a foundation. A starting place to build, and here at Gateway Baptist Church our foundation was established in 1984.

The founding pastor of Gateway Baptist Church was

Pastor John L. Camp.

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Pastor John Camp stated how he wanted a gateway to heaven.

Not only for the people of Villa Rica, but also for those in the surrounding communities. After finding a small house located at 9710 Highpoint Road, Villa Rica, GA

the dream began to take shape.

Multiple hands working together, one brick at a time

building what Pastor John Camp envisioned as a gateway to heaven:

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Gateway Baptist Church.

First service held was on Wednesday, February 29th, 1984.

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After four years of pastoring the newly founded Gateway Baptist Church, Pastor Camp stepped down and retired as lead pastor due to his health.

Upon retiring, ​Pastor Larry Argo began to pastor at Gateway Baptist Church.

Further stabilizing the church with fundamentals of the Baptist Doctrine.

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Pastor Larry Argo would continue to pastor Gateway for ten years.

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Following Pastor Argo, in 1998 Gateway welcomed Pastor Jeff Byrd as their new pastor.

As the church aged and congregation grew​, Gateway began to add a few more additions to support the growth. The fellowship hall was expanded, the parking lot was further paved and a new main sanctuary was being envisioned.

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The building of the new sanctuary was not only one that required the Lords blessing but one that required many hard working hands, of all shapes and sizes.

The original sanctuary would continue to be in service through out the build of the new building and would later on be used for Children's Sunday school and Church building. ​

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While building the new sanctuary many people of the congregation can tell you that a lot of sweat went into the structure but what went before the ends were tied were what was the most valuable,

" Prayers written on pieces of paper, prayers and scripture written on wooden beams, and all the prayers verbally spoken... all given with the deepest level of faith and hope for the growth and health of the new building."

All placed and secretly hidden under what you currently see today.

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In April 2010 the new church was finished and was formally dedicated.

The first service in the new church was Sunday evening, April 18, 2010.

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After servicing Gateway Baptist Church as their pastor for nineteen wonderful years, Pastor Jeff Byrd notified the congregation of a path he had prayed sincerely about for quite some time; a path that was not initially easy to share, but one that the Lord needed him to take.

Pastor Jeff Byrd needed to step down as their pastor.

He felt a deep calling to be able to reach more lives that were in need of the gospel.

Lives that he felt he was not able to reach while being steadfast at Gateway.

Before leaving Gateway Pastor Jeff Byrd wanted to try to get another pastor that would be willing to serve the Lord at a place he had called home so for many years. That is when he remembered a young preacher he heard several years before. Pastor Josh Agan.

After introducing Pastor Josh Agan to the church, the church voted in favor to have him further serve as the Pastor of Gateway Baptist Church in April 2017.

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Pastor Josh Agan has continues to serve Gateway Baptist Church with sincere dedication to the Lord's precious word and is driven to continue to fulfill the dream of Gateway Baptist Church:

Striving to show the world the Gateway to heaven is through

our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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