Gateway Church seeks to bridge gaps

Some people leave Southeast Missouri with dreams of going to greener pastures, where things are happening and popping. Not everyone gets the opportunity to do so, and those who do don't usually return with a larger dream to make this area better. Pastor Ben Porter would be an exception. He returned to Cape Girardeau after 30 years; he could not remain in Washington, D.C., when God had called him back home.

Saying that God spoke to both him and his wife -- separately -- to return, Porter explained his unique style of ministry through Gateway Church, the church in South Cape he started in 2015 when he and his wife, Rose, returned with their 7-year-old, Kiersten.

Porter has a bold vision, which doesn't entail "church as usual." In fact, the outreach literature he disperses in the community doesn't mention church at all.

"You don't know it's a church associated with it," he told the Southeast Missourian's Jeff Breer. "Like I tell people, 'I'm not trying to get anything from you. I'm trying to get something to you.'"

His methods are unconventional. This is not your grandmother's kind of church activities, but it sounds like the kind of atmosphere that could really take off in South Cape: 3-on-3 basketball tournaments, Hip Hop & Jock Showcases and dance crew presentations, for example.

Porter described Gateway's music and overall style as "urban contemporary," and said the target age group he seeks to attract is 15 to 35. By urban he doesn't mean "black." He recognizes that this is about culture, not color. Porter didn't return to Cape to put up walls. He came to tear them down. He said that "his dreams include unity of churches and races."

"There's a segmentation that isn't healthy. We're sensing that God is saying that we're going to be that bridge, that social-gap bridge, that race-gap bridge," he added.

Porter is uniquely qualified to make a difference in the community. Years here, along with his own life experiences, enable him to relate to others on the south side, and he dived right in when he answered the call to return.

He knows he cannot do it alone. It's great that Crossroads Fellowship, under the leadership of Pastor Brian Anderson, has helped. Too often, churches do their own thing, perhaps feeling a need to compete. That's not Porter's intention, which is wise because his vision is so large, he's going to need the proverbial village to get the job done. He foresees a center with classrooms for career training, dance and music studios and various activities, including skiing, swimming and basketball. He knows this is a sort of "utopia," but why come back 900 miles if you're not going to dream big?

We welcome the Porters home and desire their success because their success in this undertaking is everyone's success.