Register here for Foundations 2025: We Are The Church. Foundations is a one-day conference for churches and leaders hosted by ADVANCE and IESBA.
ADVANCE
ADVANCE has been dedicated to Gateway Seminary’s mission to equip leaders who expand God’s kingdom around the world for more than 40 years. ADVANCE centers are located across North America and internationally, providing ministry-focused education at a post-high school level in order to train effective Christian leaders for the benefit of local churches.
Depending on location, Gateway ADVANCE centers have offered classes in a variety of languages, including: English, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, Burmese, Hmong, Karen, Mongolian, Nepalese, Thai, Lao, Vietnamese, Swahili, Russian, and Arabic, among many others.
ADVANCE offers three levels of education: 12-hr certificates, 24-hr diplomas, or 48-hr leadership diplomas. Click below to learn more.
HISTORY
The ADVANCE program of Gateway Seminary was established in 1980 at the request of Dr. Oscar Romero, vice president of the Language Missions Division of the North American Mission Board (formerly Home Mission Board) of the Southern Baptist Convention. Dr. Romero and Dr. William Pinson (GGBTS president), along with other partners, created the Ethnic Leadership Development program (ELD). In 1998, the program was renamed Contextualized Leadership Development (CLD) and in 2003 became the sole responsibility of Gateway Seminary (formerly GGBTS). The most recent development came in 2017 when the program was renamed ADVANCE and was updated to focus on the three core principles for ministry leader training: accessible, contextual, and expansive.
Directors of the ADVANCE (ELD/CLD) program have included: Dr. Joshua Grijalva, Dr. Donald Sewell, Dr. Dwight A. Honeycutt, Dr. Delbert Fann, Dr. Jaime Prieto, Dr. Jeffrey Curtis, Don Beall, and Dr. Warren Haynes (2016-present). Dr. Haynes’ passion is to inspire people to expand their leadership capacity, make disciples, and sharpen their communication skills.
DIRECTOR
Dr. Warren Haynes
Director of ADVANCE
Associate Professor of Leadership Formation
www.warrentalks.com
Let’s connect! Schedule an appointment with me on Calendly here.