“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18–19
In 1996, Dallas native Preston Morrison was 18 years old and scouting a college in Scottsdale. While there, God spoke clearly to him and said, “Preston, you will spend the greater half of your life serving this Valley, ministering to this Valley and sacrificing for this Valley. This is where My anointing for you rests.”
Four years later, Preston was wrapping up his time in college and interning for a church outside of Scottsdale. Out of the blue, he received a phone call that changed everything. It was a pastor from Dallas named Robert Morris, who was starting a new church, Gateway. He wanted Preston to return home to be the part-time youth pastor. Preston was honest with Pastor Robert about the calling he received in the Lord’s message to him, about serving the Valley in and around Scottsdale for the greater part of his life. But Preston returned to Dallas, submitted his timing to the Lord and told Pastor Robert that he would never bring it up again. Years passed, and no one said anything about Scottsdale for quite some time.
After seven years, Preston became comfortable with life in Dallas, working for a senior pastor, and thinking less about becoming one himself. He was completely content to stay safely in the shadow of Pastor Robert. However, this was not to be.
In 2009, Pastor Robert said these words to Preston, for which he will always be thankful “It’s time for you to leave, Preston. It’s time to ready you for stewarding the move of God that is waiting for you in Scottsdale.”
Gateway’s first church plant—Gateway Church Scottsdale, opened its doors on September 9, 2012, marking a day that God had on His calendar since the beginning of time.
Anointed in the scripture of Hosea 2:15, “… transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope,” Gateway Church received its name. We believe that God speaks, and that you can hear Him. It is our heart that you would receive a word from God, spoken clearly, each time you are with us, and that through your personal growth, spiritual development, and relationship with God, collectively with the growth of our Gateway community, together we would have the greatest impact toward transforming this Valley of souls.
2 Cor 10:15 “… we hope that your faith will grow so that the boundaries of our work among you will be extended.”
