The Narrow Gate
Matthew 7:13-14
13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
The 2011 theme for the Gateways Beyond Northwest Training School is The Narrow Gate, which has become a declaration for the eight students that have gathered from different states. These students are forerunners for their generation, as well as being apart of the first class of GBNW, our Northwest expression in the Gateways Beyond family of communities. It marks the path that the students have chosen, a path to life!
Treasure Hunt
Monday, January 31 was the kick-off GTS Northwest’s local outreach. First, the staff team including Matti, Rachel, and Xaundelle imparted wisdom from personal experience, taught Biblical teaching on evangelism and outreach, and gave basic instruction on “how to” and “what not to do” in an evangelism situation. The staff shared a supernatural evangelistic approach called “treasure hunting.” Then the students were challenged to go out and practice what they had just learned in the classroom. Students and staff prayed for their treasure maps which included a long list of colors, clothing details, names, and even faces! The team hit the mall with their “treasure maps” (a list of words of knowledge) and found many treasures in their 90-minute excursion!
Calvin, a student born and raised right here in Spokane, shared his first-hand experience of the treasure hunt to the community before worship the following morning. After explaining his map was full of bright, REAL purple he explained how he has been contending to see a miracle since the beginning of the school. As his group trotted through the mall he shared his desire to see a miracle and the 3-person group was up for the challenge! After hunting for the color purple according to Calvin’s treasure map, the group found themselves at Sears where they spotted an elderly woman with a cane! Xaundelle, the team leader jumped at the opportunity for a healing miracle and after praying and encouraging the woman, she explained how her knee had been hurt from a fall. Xaundelle and Berna, a Dallas student, placed their hands on the woman’s knee as Calvin interceded and the fire of God’s presence fell! The woman quickly proclaimed the pain had left and her knee felt better! Calvin witnessed his first of many miracles that day and all 4 groups came back to “The Gate” (the name of our building) full of faith and expectation!
Life at “The Dude Mansion”
by Alicia Williams
It’s not really a mansion, but it is FULL of dudes! My husband, Seth, and I are honored to house GBNW’s five male students (Nathan, Elijah, Tim, Calvin & Brad) and their resident advisor, Matti, in our new Hillyard home! And with our 4-month-old, Israel, added to the mix, I am outnumbered 8 to 1. Thankfully, I’ve grown up with brothers, so I feel at home. And I am even more thankful that the Lord gives such abundant grace! So when people ask with uncertainty how things are going in a house with 8 boys, I can sincerely reply that it’s a joy to have an army of world-changers living in my home! There’s always something to laugh about! And although my washing machine is getting lots of mileage these days, these guys keep my floors mopped clean and my window ledges well dusted. Rock on!!
Way better, though, and even more refreshing, is the simple hunger these guys have for the things of God! Day and night, there are conversations recounting the lives of men of faith, and about the supernatural works of the Holy Spirit, and about the things we see the Lord doing among us from day to day. Thank you, everyone, for joining with us in prayer for our students! The Lord is on the move at “The Dude Mansion.” How awesome it is that mighty men of God will be commissioned from this place into the world!!
