Gateway Church: Celebrating 25 Years with the Chamber

By Michael Anderson, the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce

Some consider the Outerbridge Crossing as the gateway to Staten Island’s South Shore. And at the foot of that span, you’ll find another gateway: Gateway Church.

So, while that name seems ideal given its location, that wasn’t always the case.

Realizing the population boon after the opening of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, Pastor Daniel Mercaldo originally purchased a 1.2-acre lot in Oakwood in 1967 and erected Gateway Cathedral (now known as Gateway Church). The congregation outgrew its 200-seat church center, and over a decade later, a larger worship center with a capacity for 400 was completed on the Oakwood site in 1978.

However, a bigger move and expansion came in 1989, when the church purchased its current 17-acre wooded site in Richmond Valley. Four years later, a Family Life Center with seating for 800 opened on the grounds, and a school, Gateway Academy, was added in 2003.

Sadly, Pastor Mercaldo passed away in January 2021 due to complications from the coronavirus (COVID-19). But his legacy and forward-thinking lives on. After coming out of retirement to serve as interim pastor, he moved to Florida in July 2019 before tapping a familiar face for senior pastor in January 2020.

“Pastor Mercaldo was an amazing, visionary man. He really saw what was coming up ahead here on the South Shore of Staten Island before many others did. He came upon this property and said, ‘What would it look like to have a church here?’” said Pastor Michael Luciano, the current pastor of Gateway Church. “This was before the developments of major shops in Charleston. This was before Page Avenue really expanded the way it has. He just had a forward-looking mindset, and we’re so thankful for that.”

“I grew up in this church (when it was on Clarke Avenue). It was Pastor Mercaldo who led me to the Lord when I was a 9-year-old boy, teaching me what it means to know and trust in the Lord for hope and forgiveness. I saw through him -- and his leadership -- a love for people, a love for our community, and a passion for the men and women of our Island to know and follow God,” said Luciano. “He reached out to me (while working at a church in midtown Manhattan for 12 years), and we started talking about the potential of coming back home to help love and lead this church family. It was a real full-circle experience for me.”

While Luciano was excited for his new role, COVID-19 restrictions imposed unique challenges just 33 days into his tenure. Yet, the pastor focused on the upsides.  

“I think this season has taught us new ways to love and reach people. We developed online services. We developed online content. We did grassroots phone call efforts, reaching out to every member and attendees from our church by making hundreds if not over a thousand phone calls. We partnered with different churches and organizations in various COVID-19 outreach efforts both on Staten Island and globally,” said Luciano. “I really saw the season that we came through as a unique challenge and opportunity to reach more people with our message of hope in Jesus – reaching generations for Christ here on the South Shore of Staten Island to the ends of the Earth.”

Luciano was also proud of the hard work and dedication of the school staff – led by Head of School Rev. Christopher P. DeSanctis -- at Gateway Academy, which offers daycare, pre-school, pre-K for all, and elementary through high school. Throughout the height of the pandemic, Luciano said Gateway Academy offered five days a week of in-person learning for its 250-plus students by being “stringent with our safety protocols while following CDC standards.”

While Luciano has only been back at Gateway Church for less than two years, he said it’s easy to see why Pastor Mercaldo joined the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce in 1996, and the congregation is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

“Pastor Mercaldo loved our Island. He was committed to our church, but also to our community, seeing Staten Island thrive and flourish,” said Luciano. “By joining the Chamber, I believe Pastor Mercaldo wanted us as a church to say, ‘We’re part of this community. We care about Staten Island. We care about seeing it flourish in all the ways we want our society, city, and country to flourish. We want to see people connected in their families and people growing in their businesses in ways that are truthful and honest and committed to the common good of all.’”