Welcome
A Welcome from our Minister
I would like to welcome you to the website of Gateshead Presbyterian Church (GPC). We at GPC want to make known the good news of God's free grace, to nurture the family of faith and to enjoy together the unsearchable riches of Christ. We identify with the worldwide community of evangelical and reformed churches, and we welcome people of any and all backgrounds to join us.
If you are a local Christian looking for a church home, perhaps you will want to look through this site to get some feel for our church. I hope you will then want to visit us at one of our Sunday services. We are thankful to God that visitors have noticed things such as the beauty of a simple worship service, the central place given to God's Word, and the warmth of our fellowship. Come and see what you think.
If you are not yet a believer in Jesus Christ, then you would probably have no compelling reason to visit us other than curiosity. The world is filled with religions and philosophies that want to help people to be better, hopefully good enough to carry on in some better world beyond this one. Trying to be good enough to save ourselves is the default setting of the human heart, and many churches encourage this way of thinking. But GPC is not one of them. We want to tell people the truth, and the truth is that trying to save yourself is a hopeless proposition.
Most of us realise that we are not as good as we ought to be. We do not even live up to the standards we set for other people, much less God's standards. We just hope that God, if he exists, will be understanding. But our problem is we are what the Bible calls sinners, those who fundamentally estranged from our maker in everything we are. God's standard is absolute perfection without the slightest margin for error. And our sins are not like getting a speeding ticket meted out by robotic cameras and paid through the post. We have offended a living, personal God by serious criminal activity, and the day is coming when we shall have to stand before him. When we do, we shall find that God is a righteous judge who will keep his promise to send sinners to a state of torment forever.
If that were the end of the story, than I would be looking for the nearest entertainment or substance to distract me for the time I have left here. But the good news is that Jesus Christ came to save sinners. Although we do not physically trade places with him, in a very real exchange he takes our sin and suffers the consequences for us on the cross. He then gives us his clean slate of sinless perfection, through which we not only escape hell but are made his "brothers" or "bride" to joyfully be with him forever. This transaction happens as we are united with him through faith. The Bible says "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved."
Whatever your situation, please know that we at GPC pray for the people of this city, and know that you will always be welcome among us.
Warmly,
Bill Schweitzer