Honolulu, HI — The Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention (HPBC) is celebrating a new partnership with Gateway Seminary that will bring accredited theological education closer to pastors and ministry leaders throughout the Pacific region.

After the HPBC Executive Board voted on August 22, 2025, to empower Dr. Craig Webb, HPBC Executive Director-Treasurer, to form a partnership with Gateway, on October 15, 2025, Gateway Seminary’s trustees approved the establishment of a new regional campus in Hawaii, with classes beginning in the fall semester of 2026. The partnership will provide accessible, accredited theological training to leaders serving in HPBC churches across Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand.

Gateway’s Hawaii Pacific Campus will be centered at the HPBC offices on Oʻahu, with classes offered there as well as at other HPBC ministry locations throughout the islands and the convention region.

Craig Webb, Executive Director-Treasurer of the HPBC, shared his excitement about the partnership:

“For too long, Hawaii Pacific Baptist pastors and ministry leaders from Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand have had to leave their homes and ministry contexts to access theological education. This partnership with Gateway Seminary changes that. It will strengthen our churches by equipping servant leaders in their own contexts—pastors, elders, disciplemakers, and missionaries—trained where they live to serve where God has called them. I’m personally thrilled about this and praying that within the next decade, every Hawaii Pacific Baptist church will have leaders raised up from their own congregations to serve in their communities or be sent out to the nations for the sake of Christ.”

Dr. Adam Groza, President of Gateway Seminary, expressed similar enthusiasm:

“Starting this campus is a major initiative that extends access to all the churches of the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention. We look forward to a long and productive partnership to support local pastors serving churches in Hawaii and the broader Asia-Pacific region.”

This new regional campus represents Gateway’s first expansion since 1996 and marks a significant milestone in HPBC’s mission to support pastors, strengthen churches, and expand the Kingdom across the Pacific. 

The Hawaii Pacific Campus of Gateway Seminary will offer four academic tracks—ranging from the Certificate Program (Gateway Advance) in cooperation with the Oahu Bible Institute, to master’s level classes, to a Doctor of Ministry cohort—along with scholarship opportunities supported by HPBC, Gateway Seminary, and others.

“This partnership is a generational investment in the future of ministry leadership,” Webb said. “By equipping leaders where they live and serve, we are helping our churches flourish today and preparing new leaders for tomorrow.”