Welcome to Bethel where we Love God, Love People and Make Disciples.  We are a member of the Every Nation family of churches where the vision is to reach Every Nation in Our Generation.

Our mission is to reach the Phoenix Metro area to touch the world. We look beyond our church and city so we can touch the rest of the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ through:

Devotion. We value worship, prayer and the Word. Our foundation is Jesus Christ alone.

Diversity. We are a multi-ethnic, multi-generational church. Being part of Bethel is like getting a little taste of heaven on earth.

Discipleship. We are a spiritual family. As we follow Christ, we help others follow Him too. As we know Him, we make Him known.

The Lord is a name giving and name changing God.  Names in scripture are often closely associated with personal destiny or character. Jesus was to save. Peter was to be a rock. Abraham was to be a father of many nations.

Our name, “Bethel” means “house of God” in Hebrew. It is a place where heaven reaches down and touches earth. A place where ministering angels ascend and descend as they did in (Genesis 28:12). It is a place of name change and of promises given by God (Genesis 35:10-12). Bethel is a place of encounter with our God.

When we launched our church in 2007, we chose the name Gateway because of the location where the church was to be founded. At the time, it was in the Gateway neighborhood of Chandler. We sensed that the Lord was opening a door for us. It was a wonderful name for us as we started out on a new journey.

Twelve months ago, the Lord brought me a clear message…”re-launch!” It was as if a brand new season for our church was coming upon us. During this time, we had moved our church from Hamilton High to our current home at CDAJ, but that too was not the extent of what God was about to do. Even before this time my wife, Julie, and I had felt the Lord bringing us back into fellowship with our spiritual family at Every Nation. This is where we had both spent much of our ministry years.  However, this word “re-launch” was stronger than simply re-joining Every Nation.

Through many conversations and prayers, and over several months talking with men like Rice Broocks, Jim Lafoon, Kevin York, Dave Polus and our own leadership, it became clear that the Lord was going to change our name. He was changing our name to Bethel.

Bethel, is the name of the church where Julie and I were married, where I was ordained, where we had served together and where we had been sent out from to plant a church in Arizona.

The Lord had spoken through the voice of a prophet that we were about to have a “unique homecoming.” We could never have guessed how fitting that word would be.

What a joy to have God move us from a place of entrance into a place of abiding and changed lives. A place of great promises and even more blessings.

May our church family truly be living stones in the house of God as we continue our mission to Love God, Love People and Make Disciples.

Pastor Mike Gowans