New Gateway Church Senior Pastor Daniel Floyd and his wife, Tammie, were warmly received by the congregation in Southlake, Texas, with a standing ovation on Sunday, a week after the elders announced he had been selected for the role.
“I guess you heard the announcement,” Floyd quipped in his preamble to his first message as the church’s senior pastor, “Some Things Never Change.”
“We really believe the best days are ahead, and we believe that God’s up to something great. We were just praying before we came in with the team, and my prayer was, ‘Lord, let your kingdom come; your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. And we’re believing that Heaven can come to Earth. Not just in our church, but in our city,” he said. “We’re really honored, humbled and grateful for your warm reception and your kindness to us.”
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Tammie Floyd, who shares four children with her husband, including an adopted son, quoted from the book of Lamentations after describing her family as a party in an SUV, not a minivan.
“I just want to echo my husband. We’re so grateful for you. We love you. We’ve actually loved you for a really long time,” she said.
“We’ve been praying for you. And you know the book of Lamentations, which if something good comes out of Lamentations, you should really pay attention,” she explained.
“Lamentations 3 says that the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies, they never come to an end. They are new every single morning. Great is His faithfulness and that’s really what this weekend feels like for us,” she continued.
“We stand on the faithfulness of God and every day and every moment, His mercy will be new for you. Whatever mercy you may need, His mercy is ready for you every day,” Tammie Floyd added as she promised to return to the church with their entire family, including their four children: Owen, 18, Faith, 15, Abigail, 8, and Jonas, 6.
Before preaching his sermon, Floyd told the congregation that “great churches aren’t built by great pastors, they’re built by great people.”
“So we’re just going to say, we need your help, everybody. There’s a lot of people to reach with the love of Jesus, and there’s a lot of work to be done. But I believe, together, we’re going to see God do some amazing things,” he said.
Gateway Church announced Floyd as its new senior pastor nearly a year after founder Robert Morris resigned amid child sex abuse allegations.
Prior to joining Gateway Church, Floyd and his wife founded Lifepoint Church in 2005 with just 50 people. They grew that church to five locations in Virginia, along with church plants in Kentucky and Arizona. They also founded Lifepoint College in 2016.
Floyd earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Southeastern University and two master’s degrees from Liberty University. His wife is also a graduate of Liberty University.
In a video greeting to the Gateway Church congregation a week ago, the couple said they plan to transition to Texas over the summer ahead of the new school year.
“For us, this isn’t just a new assignment; it’s a sacred calling. Twenty years ago, we had the privilege of planting Lifepoint Church in Fredericksburg, Virginia. And it’s been the honor of our lives to shepherd that community. So when we say this next season is a calling, we don’t take that lightly, and we mean it with all of our hearts,” Floyd said.
“Over the past five months, we’ve walked closely with the elders here at Gateway. We deeply honor and we are thankful for their wisdom, their time, their prayer, and their patience. We’ve also sought the counsel of godly mentors and spiritual oversight. But most importantly, we’ve leaned into the voice of the Holy Spirit, and with full confidence, we can say, ‘God has called us here.'”
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