Our Mission
Gateway Seminary shapes leaders who expand God's kingdom around the world.
Essential Leadership Competencies
In pursuit of our mission the Gateway faculty has identified a series of competencies characteristically held by successful ministry leaders. The concern to enable students to achieve these competencies shapes the curriculum of the Seminary and should guide the student’s learning and growth while at the Seminary. However, the following list of competencies does not assume that students come to the Seminary bereft of prior spiritual commitment or formative spiritual experience. On the contrary, Gateway only admits persons who are already followers of Jesus who are called to serve God as leaders of faith communities and godly ministries. As a result, admission requires a personal statement of faith and an articulation of a call to serve the Kingdom of God and the people of God. Admission also requires endorsement by a faith community in which the student has already served and which has seen evidence of a personal faith, a divine calling and a capacity to lead.
Also, Gateway understands that the time students spend at the Seminary is preparatory to a lifetime of faithful learning, living and leading. Seminary studies are neither the beginning of one's faith walk, nor its climax. Rather, it is a period during which a committed individual engages in a directed and focused effort to expand and enhance their capacity to serve as a Christian leader, acquiring understanding, disciplines, knowledge and skills that will serve them well in their present and future ministry endeavors. Seminary builds on prior, enables current, and sets the stage for future personal, spiritual, intellectual, and professional growth.
The competencies listed below highlight knowledge, disciplines, and skills acquired, exercised, and enhanced while at Gateway. However, the educational pursuit of these competencies operates with the understanding that such behaviors are revelatory of Christian character. Love for God and others reveals itself in the commitment to serve, in the concern to evangelize, in the desire to do the work of the Kingdom. Personal godliness is evidenced by embracing and living out the Seminary's code of conduct. Personal integrity is expressed through diligence and honesty in the completion of assigned educational and ministry tasks. Persistent engagement in the preparation for and conducting of ministry, perseverance through difficult circumstances and personal hardships reveal a passion for service and a godly courage. In these and many other ways the things that we do, the behaviors that characterize our lives, reveal who we are.
With this understanding of the nature and context of its task, the following listing of Essential Leadership Competencies expresses the primary competencies essential for one prepared to lead a community of faith in service to God and to the world to the glory of God.
A well-prepared ministry leader should be:
- Self-Aware - Performs ministry with an awareness of personal calling, gifting, and theological reflection.
- Biblically Literate - Faithfully interprets and applies the Bible.
- Historically Grounded - Ministers out of an historical awareness of the faith and its expressions.
- Theologically Grounded - Ministers based on theological convictions expressive of evangelical thought.
- Ethically Grounded - Grasps evangelical convictions to confront moral issues.
- Apt Teacher - Teaches using approaches that are biblically and educationally appropriate.
- Educational Leader - Prepares programs and personnel to provide for the teaching ministry of the church.
- Financial Manager - Manages personal and ministry finances well.
- Strategic Planner - Leads others in planning and execution of plans with foresight and flexibility.
- Worship Planner/Leader - Engages in and leads worship that is biblical and meaningful.
- Disciple Maker - Able to practice and teach spiritual disciplines for life-long spiritual growth and health.
- Communicator - Communicates the biblical message clearly.
- Pastoral Leader - Ministers in the context of a relationship with God, self and others.
- Counselor - Counsels others out of a personal faith, compassion, and theological reflection.
- Missionally Committed - Develops mission strategy based on biblical, historical, and contemporary principles of missions.
- Culturally Intelligent - Exegetes culture and worldview of a people group with application to life and the contextualization of the gospel.
- Personal Evangelist - Communicates the gospel clearly and persuasively.
- Relational Leader - Manages ministry and personal relationships well.
- Well-Informed Minister - Adept at the discovery, evaluation and use of information pertinent to ministry.