See John’s note above!

From the time that Carlos served as Gateway’s North Campus Pastor and then most recently as our Lead Executive Pastor, John, the Spiritual Overseers, and Board of Directors watched and observed his strong leadership. Carlos and Libby were then asked to walk through an extensive vetting and interview process that culminated in God’s clear affirmation to John, the Overseers and Board that Carlos would step into the Senior Pastor role. 

Carlos has vast experience leading large churches as an Executive Pastor and Teacher.  Prior to Gateway, he was on the Leadership Team at Life Church, the largest church in the country. He led the entire staff as an Executive Pastor of Hope Fellowship Church, a 7000-person church in multiple campuses with a similar mission to Gateway. He also led a large church in Seattle with a culture similar to that of Austin, so he understands how to lead a church reaching people in an unchurched city. Carlos is a gifted teacher and communicator and an empowering leader. He is vulnerable and understands our No Perfect People Allowed culture, is a man of integrity who walks with God, listens carefully to God's Spirit, and is humble in his strengths. As our Lead Executive Pastor this last year, Carlos’s honest and forthright leadership has been a great asset for Gateway.

The transition period will be from August 2022 until May 2023. During this time John will be bringing Carlos up to speed and John will officially step into the role of Founding Pastor and Carlos into the Senior Pastor role on May 7, 2023.

As Founding Pastor, John will continue as part of our teaching team on Sundays and coach our leaders as needed. He and Kathy will be an extension of Gateway’s mission through writing and speaking, and as their outreach expands around the globe, they will guide people they reach towards community with the Gateway Online Campus.

Yes, Gateway Church will continue to be John and Kathy’s home church, and they’ll enjoy attending with their kids and grandkids. They desire to serve at Gateway and support Carlos and Libby, the staff, and leadership to continue helping people explore God and become a unified community of growing, multiplying Christ-followers. 

In this season, Carlos will remain as the North Campus Pastor. As we move forward, decisions will be made about how the North Campus Pastor role will be filled. After the transition in May, while Carlos will be visiting our other campuses and leading our campus pastors, he will continue to be a very present leader at North Campus.

No, we do not. Carlos has already been operating as the Lead Executive Pastor leading the staff all year. If there were transitions that needed to be made, Carlos would have already made them.

We are in a healthy financial position post-Covid, thanks to the faithfulness of so many people through the ups and downs of the past few years. This transition should not affect our financial situation, as we believe people are giving towards the mission and vision of Gateway rather than a specific leader.

In preparation for this transition, John has spent the last two years coaching Carlos and has seen firsthand Carlos’s strong leadership capabilities. John has full confidence in the current Executive Team and Campus Pastors, under Carlos’s leadership, to lead Gateway forward to make it better than it’s ever been.