About Gateway Stories
We invite the marginalized people in our area to our home where we love, serve and share with them our personal stories of struggle.
Then we help connect them with one of our strategic partners (ministries and churches in the area) so that discipleship can continue and people can find community, hope and a place to share their own story.
Since August of 2015 we have had the blessing of hosting hundreds of different guests in our home and sharing with them the love of Jesus through a meal, a message, and music.
As God continues to bring us divine appointments each month, we are overwhelmed by the response. There are so many people out there who are hurting and in need of community.
Gateway Stories is a HUB
We connect ministries and people to ministries. We help people tell their stories so lives can change. We unite people with those who can walk with them on their journey, help them become activated in their purpose, and connected with community.
About Joey & Erin
Joey and I married in 1992 after meeting in at the Baptist Student Union in College Station, TX. Ever since we became believers, we have had a deep love for the Lord and have felt a strong calling from him. For the past 30 years Joey has been writing music as an expression of his love for the Lord and his desire to share Christ. We knew from early years that God wanted us to be faithful at home, shepherding our kids, working quietly with our hands, and serving in our church.
In summer of 2014 when Joey turned 50 he suddenly and unexpectedly broke his hip. Life came sharply into focus at that point. We knew that God wanted us to do something with this music we just didn’t know what. So, a year later, after his hip had healed, in August of 2015 we invited 7 couples to our home, people we knew, loved, and respected, and he shared his musical gift. We asked them to write down their thoughts and let us know what we should do. They gave US great encouragement and inspiration to keep playing. So, then in December of 2015, we hosted another night, where we served a potluck dinner and Joey shared his testimony and his music. God moved, and we began then to write a list of everyone we knew. Though we had been serving in a very small congregation for 12 years, we had a long list of people that we knew in different circles of influence. That January of 2016 we began hosting groups of people every month. Each month we would invite different guests. Our kids would invite friends, friends would invite friends, and God kept bringing us an audience.
We decided very early on that we just wanted to give, to use what we had been given, our home, our family, and our music, to share the gospel and love on the guests God sent us. Like David when he went to battle Goliath, he threw off Saul’s armor and used what he was familiar with five smooth stones and a slingshot. Joey picked up his slingshot, which was his acoustic guitar, what he was familiar with, and began to share his music to anyone who came. We weren’t looking for a record label, or a producer, just an audience that we could share with in an intimate setting.
Thanks to an incredible team of volunteers, faithful coalition of supporters, and godly board of directors we have been able to host hundreds of guests and numerous GATEWAY events free of charge while we continue to tell our story.
We believe that everyone has a story to tell and we want to help people find the Lord, find their voice, and use their talents for his kingdom. Once our events ended, we began to have multiple ministry opportunities as a result. Some people needed prayer, some needed mentoring, and some needed resources.
We began to see that we had begun to grow a network of believers from all walks of life and we wanted to connect people with churches and local businesses helping them find jobs, and a church community. Our tribe was forming. We see that everyone has a gift to give, something they are familiar with that can benefit the kingdom of God.
Our Mission and Goals
Generosity
Authenticity
Community
“Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story!” Psalm 107:2
Gateway’s Impact
1000s
of Songs Sung and Stories Told
1000s
of Prayers Prayed
1000s
of Connections Made