ONTARIO, Calif. — Trustees approved a $13,560,000 budget for the 2025-2026 academic year during the spring board meeting May 5-6 in Ontario, Calif.
The upcoming budget represents an increase of 5.1% over the previous academic year and reflects rising inflationary costs as well as expected income from the sale of the seminary’s Fremont, Calif., property and expanding fundraising initiatives for scholarships.
“Gateway is growing and while our budget is simply a means to support our growth, it is still an exciting indicator of God’s provision for this seminary,” said Gateway President Adam Groza.
The trustees also approved a new $3 million scholarship that will be allocated from the sale of the Fremont property, which is currently under contract and expected to be finalized in September.
“We are grateful for these new scholarship funds. My dream is to never turn a student away from preparing for ministry due to a lack of funds,” Groza said. “These resources move us a step closer to realizing that dream.”
Trustees approved three faculty members to begin in fall 2026. David Johnson is rejoining Gateway as director of the doctor of ministry program and professor of leadership formation. Johnson previously served as director of Gateway’s Arizona campus and has often taught as an adjunct in Gateway’s D.Min. program. He is retiring as the executive director of the Arizona Mission Network. Jim Wilson, the previous director of Gateway’s D.Min. program, is currently serving as the inaugural head of the Jeff P. Iorg School of Christian Leadership.
Jordan Williams will lead the seminary’s counseling program and serve as professor of biblical counseling. Williams earned a Ph.D. in biblical counseling and an M.Div. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS). He brings experience in discipleship-based biblical counseling and the establishment of church-based counseling services.
Allan Loder has been approved as associate professor of New Testament studies. Loder has served at Gateway as director of online education since fall 2024, replacing Kristen Ferguson after she became vice president of enrollment and student services. Loder earned a Ph.D. in New Testament and a Th.M. in practical theology from Southern Seminary. His research interests include Matthean studies, Synoptic Gospel studies, Rhetorical Analysis and more. He recently completed his work on a new 4,500-page Greek-English lexicon titled, “Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament: Scholar’s Edition.”
Groza also reported on the addition of two faculty members by presidential appointment who will be voted on at the next trustee meeting in the fall. Josh Matthews was appointed in April as the associate dean for educational effectiveness and professor of Old Testament. Previously, Matthews was serving as the dean and vice president at Western Seminary. Matthews earned his Ph.D. in biblical studies from Gateway in 2011 under John Sailhammer.
Paul Jo was a second recent presidential appointment reported to the trustees. Jo is serving as the director of the Korean-English bilingual program and associate professor of New Testament studies. After earning a Ph.D. from Mid-American Baptist Theological Seminary in New Testament Studies, Jo is currently a Ph.D. Candidate at Gateway in systematic theology. Jo also has 20 years of pastoral and church planting experience in Korean church contexts in New York and California.
Groza reported on growing partnerships with trustees, including the creation of a new degree, the master of biblical and theological studies, to support the 4+1 program with California Baptist University. Additionally, the seminary recently began offering a Spanish-language degree, including a Spanish-language certificate in church planting in partnership with the North American Mission Board. The seminary continues to work with Slavic communities through both a teaching site serving Ukrainian and Russian immigrants in Sacramento and direct partnership with Ukraine Baptist Theological Seminary in Lviv, Ukraine.
“Partnerships are a priority at Gateway because they help us accomplish our mission of shaping leaders who expand God’s kingdom,” Groza said.
“Without good partners, the scope of our mission would be severely limited — instead we have the blessing of an opportunity to train believers for ministry leadership across multiple languages and in locales around the world.”
Three faculty members will retire at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year: Gary Arbino, professor of archaeology and Old Testament interpretation; Debbie Steele, professor of Christian counseling; and Eddie Pate, director of the Kim School of Global Missions and professor of evangelism.
