ONTARIO, Calif. -- Trustees on the presidential search committee have nominated Adam Groza, vice president for enrollment and student services, as the candidate to serve as Gateway Seminary’s next president.

“After a thorough selection process, we are thankful to be able to unanimously present a candidate to the full board,” said J. Robert White, chair of the search committee.

“Adam Groza has demonstrated capable and godly leadership during his service at Gateway these past 14 years,” White said.

Groza joined Gateway Seminary in 2010 as vice president. He previously worked as director of admissions at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS) and Scarborough College. He has served a number of churches in California and Texas, most recently supporting a number of local churches as interim pastor. 

Groza earned his Ph.D. at SWBTS in philosophy of religion in 2009. He is currently a research fellow with the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention and a teaching fellow with the Agricola Theological Institute in Finland, and has taught at California Baptist University, Korea Baptist Theological Seminary and Logos College in Kerala, India.

Gateway’s board will vote on Groza’s presidential nomination at its regularly scheduled meeting on April 15-16. Board chairman Phil Kell appointed White to serve as chair of the presidential search committee during the fall 2023 trustee meeting. The trustee committee consisted of vice chair Kevin Carrothers, Daniel Atkins, Gilroy Chow, Steve Davidson, Rally de Leon, Andrew Dyer, Marsha Gray, Vincent Hayes, Phil Kell, Chuck Morton and Kevin Scott. 

The search committee’s six-month selection process included a survey of current Gateway students and face-to-face dialogues between committee members and seminary faculty and staff, and the Western State Executive Directors.

The planned transition of Groza to the presidency will take place on May 13 when the current president of Gateway, Jeff Iorg, enters his new role as president of the executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention. Iorg’s final day as president of Gateway is May 12, after the last graduation service of the spring semester.

“Dr. Groza has my confidence as a leader. He is spiritually mature, firm in his theological convictions and committed to serving Southern Baptist churches,” Iorg said.

“I cannot imagine a more qualified person to lead Gateway and I am thankful for the opportunity I have had to work alongside him these past fourteen years.”

Go to gs.edu/adamgroza to learn more about Dr. Groza. 

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