ONTARIO, Calif.—In a unanimous vote April 15, Gateway Seminary trustees elected Adam Groza as the seminary’s eighth president during their spring 2024 meeting. His term begins May 13.
“I came back to California in 2010 to be part of Gateway Seminary because I believe raising ministry leaders in the western United States is a necessity for Southern Baptists,” Groza said.
“I still believe in this mission, and I am humbled to be entrusted with this responsibility.”
Groza, 48, was born in Pasadena, Calif., about 30 miles west of the seminary’s campus in Ontario. He grew up in Arizona and graduated from Northern Arizona University with a bachelor’s in political science. Then he earned a master of divinity from The Master’s Seminary in northern Los Angeles.
Product of SBC investment in the western U.S.
“Dr. Groza is a product of Southern Baptists’ investment in the western United States, and we are extraordinarily blessed to have a new leader who will continue Gateway’s mission of developing leaders in the West for the world,” said Phil Kell, Gateway trustee and retired president of the Baptist Foundation of California.
“With nearly two decades of leadership in academia and a deep commitment to serve Southern Baptist churches, Dr. Groza is poised to further shape the seminary into a leading training center for the next generation of pastors and ministers.”
Groza earned a Ph.D. and a Master of Theology degree in philosophy of religion at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. While in seminary, he was ordained for ministry at Fairview Baptist Church in Rhome.
Before joining Gateway in 2010 as vice president for enrollment and student services, Groza served Southwestern Seminary and Scarborough College as director of admissions.
Groza was announced as the official nominee April 2 by the chair of the search committee, J. Robert White, who served 26 years as executive director of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.
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“It was clear from our first interview with Dr. Groza that he possesses the integrity, godly character and academic experience to lead Gateway Seminary into the future,” White said.
In addition to serving as vice president at Gateway, Groza is also an associate professor of philosophy of religion. He also serves as a research fellow at the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, a teaching fellow at the Agricola Theological Institute in Finland and teaches regularly at California Baptist University.
Groza and his wife of 23 years, Holly, who is also a southern California native, have four children, Cosette, 19; Charlie, 17; Christian, 15; and Cate, 13.
Trustees also approved Groza’s nomination of Kristen Ferguson as vice president of enrollment and student services.
Ferguson joined Gateway in 2016 as director of online education and associate professor of educational leadership. In 2022, she was appointed associate dean of educational effectiveness.
Ferguson serves as chair of the SBC’s Committee on Resolutions and is a research fellow for the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
Trustees also approved the 2024-2025 academic budget of $12.9 million, an increase of 3 percent over the previous year.
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