Church at the Gateway's History… and Future
July 13, 2009 by Church at the Gateway
Filed under All Things Gateway
An artist's rendering of Church at the Gateway's future..."Spreading the Seed" for expansion on our current site in Staten Island, NY
In 1965, 16 dedicated people joined Reverend Dr. Daniel Mercaldo and his wife Evangeline to establish an interdenominational Bible church in growing Staten Island, New York. The progress of these past years is a testimony to the timeless truth, “Little is much when God is in it.”
In those early years, the Church at the Gateway, known then as Gateway Cathedral, temporarily worshipped in homes, a Legion Post, a bank building basement, and a rented church building. In 1967, we purchased our first site in the Staten Island community of Oakwood. After nine years of planning, working, and praying, we finally had our first church home in 1974. Within two short years, however, we realized that the 200-seat church center was too small for our rapidly-growing church family.
In 1978, we completed the building of a larger Worship Center that seated 400+, which helped us grow a larger church family. When it seemed we had bought up all the available houses and land around the church, we were confronted with the necessity of a complete relocation.
With God’s help, we were able to purchase our existing 23-acre site in Richmond Valley in 1989. We moved into our Family Life Center, with seating capacity of 700+, in 1993. The site provides us with the space and facilities for dramatic growth and outreach to thousands in our region.
We opened our new educational building in 2003 and are presently in construction of a chapel and Fellowship Mall. Our master plan calls for the future construction of a 2,000+ seat auditorium.
These facilities are an outward symbol of a growing church family that is shining as a “lighthouse of hope” for God in our region. From 16 to a church family of 1,600, our vision is to connect many more people to God and others.
