PORTLAND, Oregon — Trustees of Gateway Seminary approved the establishment of a new regional campus in Hawaii beginning in the fall semester of 2026.

“Starting this campus is a major initiative that extends access to all the churches of the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention,” said Gateway Seminary President Adam Groza.

“We look forward to a long and productive partnership to support local pastors serving churches in Hawaii and the broader Asia-Pacific region.”

The campus will be housed in the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention (HPBC) building in Oahu with classes at the Pu’u Kahea Conference Center. Craig Webb, executive director-treasurer of the HPBC, said this new educational effort will make a generational investment in future ministry leaders.

“For too long, Hawaii Pacific Baptist pastors and ministry leaders from Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Thailand have had to leave their homes and ministry contexts to access theological education,” said Webb.

“This partnership with Gateway Seminary changes that. It will strengthen our churches by equipping servant leaders in their own contexts — pastors, elders, deacons, disciple makers, ministry leaders and missionaries — trained where they live, to serve where God has called them.”

This campus is the first new Gateway regional campus since the Rocky Mountain campus launched in 1996 and is the fourth regional campus to be located in a Southern Baptist state convention office. The Arizona campus, Pacific Northwest campus and Rocky Mountain campus are respectively housed in the Arizona Mission Network, Northwest Baptist Convention and Colorado Baptist Convention buildings.

Trustees also approved Gateway faculty to work with accreditors on a series of changes in Gateway’s missions programs. A new 36 credit-hour master’s degree that can be completed in one year will be offered in fall 2026, pending accreditation. This degree will be offered in a similar format to the 4+1 program in which college students can complete the program in two semesters and a summer term.

“This new, condensed missions degree is designed for students in nursing, business, education and other bachelor programs who are interested in pursuing a career in missions,” said Groza.

Additionally, the master of theological studies will receive a new missions concentration to prepare students for advanced doctoral work in missions. Also, the master of global engagement will be revised and the master of arts in intercultural studies will be ended.

Trustees also elected three faculty members who had previously been serving under presidential appointment:

• Josh Mathews is associate dean for educational effectiveness, accreditation liaison officer and professor of Old Testament studies.
• Paul Jo is director of the Korean-English bilingual program and associate professor of New Testament studies.
• Cameron Schweitzer is director of the Bay Area Campus and associate professor of historical theology.

“These three men have proven their Christian character and commitment to scholarship and have already contributed to the strong faculty at Gateway Seminary,” said Groza.

Trustees received the inaugural issue of The Gateway Journal of Theology, a biannual academic journal published by Gateway Seminary. It features articles from Gateway faculty, alumni and other academics on theology, church history and biblical studies. This issue will be available this winter.

The Seminary had a particularly strong year of giving, having received more than $9.6 million, including $2 million for the GoGrant Endowed Fund. The GoGrant provides full funding for every qualified Gateway student to go on a short-term mission trip during their studies. The GoGrant Endowment has a value of more than $4 million. 

“It is a blessing to be able to invest back in students by equipping them with hands-on experience in cross-cultural contexts,” Groza said.

During the 2025 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting, two motions were made by messengers that were referred to all SBC entities. The first had to do with the promotion of prayer, to which Gateway trustees unanimously adopted a statement that recognized the instruction Gateway students already receive related to the faithful practice of prayer and listed the ways the Gateway community practices corporate prayer.

The second motion addressed the promotion of ethnic diversity through a biblical perspective. Gateway trustees unanimously adopted a statement that spoke to Gateway’s recognition as one of the most ethnically diverse seminaries in the world, as well as the role the Beyond Program, Gateway’s fully-funded short-term mission trip initiative, serves as a means of developing deeper appreciation and love for the nations among students.