As first reported here, Gateway Church is going through a large and significant downsizing of staff, expenses and programs. This is happening after a year of lavish spending on political activities. Although there is no mass uprising yet as was seen at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, some members and remaining staff are beginning to question the stewardship of the existing leadership.
The following video was made by a Gateway Church member who would like to see less lavish spending on leadership and more on ministry. The video contrasts the words of lead pastor Robert Morris with information about Gateway’s revenues, attendance and activities. Watch (for iPhone users, a Youtube video and link are at the end of the post):
I am hearing from more and more Gateway members and staff who are increasingly concerned about the direction of the church. I think the political push of 2016 combined with no transparency on financial matters is fueling these concerns.
There is a deja vu all over again feeling about this. In my early days of writing about Mars Hill Church, I advised the leaders to become more transparent. As we know, they continued to spin and obfuscate and then lost members and money. Gateway has a much larger base and budget which insulates them against some of those losses. However, I doubt the church is too big to fail.
Also can watch here.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me2_vBhtVRs&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]