John Burke, Lead Pastor

Prior to starting Gateway, John was the Executive Director of Ministries at Willow Creek Community Church.  Prior to Willow , John and his wife Kathy were on staff with a campus ministry in California. John completed his undergraduate work at the University of Texas and his graduate work at Trinity University in Chicago.  Kathy is also active around Gateway in a multitude of ways. John and Kathy have two children.

Theresa Rozsa, Executive Assistant to John Burke

Theresa moved to Austin from Seattle in July 2004 to join Gateway's staff as the Executive Assistant to John Burke. In addition to previous experience working at a graduate school, she spent over 10 years on staff at Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago. Enjoys scrapbooking and spending time with her husband, Greg, and their three kids and three dogs.

Bruce Gilson, South Campus Pastor

Preceding his work at Gateway, Bruce received his degree in pastoral ministry and bible and theology from Mid-America Christian University in Oklahoma City. In college Bruce trained with LifeChurch.tv in small group leadership and multi-campus strategy. This life experience has come in handy building the groundwork for what is to become, Gateway Church South Campus. Bruce and his wife Amy have one son.

Betty Blake Churchill, Communications Director

Betty Blake previously worked with the college ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ for sixteen years. In addition to working directly with students, she was the Regional Conference Director. Also, she served as a writer, editor, and art director for the media and publishing arm of the campus ministry.

J.J. Plasencio, Music Director

J.J. came to Gateway after many years of studio work and touring with Sixpence None the Richer and Plumb. J.J. is an accomplished solo musican and songwriter and creates many new songs with the Gateway band. Check out J.J.'s solo work on his website. J.J. is married to Tonia, and they have two children.

Matt Patterson, Creative and Technical Arts Director

Matt's background in Independent Film, Theatre, and Business Management help him organize the creative teams that produce the weekend and 180 services. Matt earned a degree from Pepperdine University in theatre directing and a degree from the Los Angeles Film School in film directing, minoring in cinematography and sound design. Matt, Amanda, and their daughter are extremely happy to be at a church and city that rock!

Tom Schmitt, Technical Director

Tom joined the Gateway staff after 35 years of broadcast production and management. His experience includes live sports, news, and commercial production. Tom and his wife Suzan have one son.

Justin Girdler, Video Director

Justin has a plethora of experience in videography. You'd be wrong to assume that he has a master's degree in design from UT. Justin actually graduated with a degree in vertebrate zoology from Texas A&M. Soon after graduating, Justin realized that his true calling was not zoology, but in "videology". When Justin can pull himself away from editing film he enjoys rock climbing, running, and spending time with his wife Cindy.

Charles Dishinger, Director of Operations

Prior to joining the Gateway staff in September 2003, Charles had worked as a business consultant and consulting director. A proud graduate of BaylorUniversityTexas State University. Charles now uses his expertise to manage Gateway's business/financial operations, staff management, and future facility projects. Charles and his wife Raquel, who have both been around Gateway since day one, have a young daughter and a newborn son.

Heidi Sjoerdsma, Executive Assistant to the Director of Operations

Heidi is extremely passionate about people and loves to help them get connected. She has over 20 years of experience connecting and coordinating volunteers. It's a good thing Heidi knows how to multi-task, because she assist Charles and Kenny in addition to managing Gateway's Front Desk. She and her husband, Tom, enjoy spending time with their two teenage daughters.

Andrea Otis, Office Manager/ HR Administrator

Andrea joined the Gateway staff in summer 2004, after several years of serving and leading groups at Gateway while working in the business world. Andrea, who grew up in Houston, graduated from the University of Houston where she studied corporate communications. When she isn't busy bringing organization to the Gateway office, Andrea enjoys spending time with her husband, Matt, and playing with her dog.

TJ Cummins, Campus Operations Director

TJ served and led a number of ministries at Gateway since 2002 before joining the staff in late 2005. His staff role includes overseeing Gateway's campus and event process. Prior to coming on staff he worked in real estate and finance. His passions include ministering to and shepherding others towards a more meaningful relatinoship with Christ and using his musical gift by playing guitar in Gateway's band. He has a beautiful wife, Renee; a precious baby boy, Cade; and a twenty pound Bengal cat, Kamikaze.

Justin Williams, IT Director

Justin and his wife Danielle recently moved to Austin from their hometown of Toledo, OH. Justin is experienced in IT, marketing, communications, project management, video production, and graphic design. He has a degree in visual communication technology from Bowling Green State University. Justin and Danielle have a stuffed dog named Rowdy.

Britney Parcher, South Campus Administrative Assistant

Britney is currently woring on her undergraduate degree in human relations, in addition to assisting in the south campus launch. Before joining Gateway staff, Britney worked to help several startup companies get off the ground which is just one of the many reasons she's the perfect fit for her role. Britney's a true Austin Southie, born and raised.

Kenny Martin, Director of Involvement

Kenny became a Gateway staff member in early 2002. Kenny's passion is seeing unconnected people find fulfilling relationships as they connect into small groups and serving opportunities. Kenny earned an accounting degree from the University of Houston and a MBA from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas. Kenny's biggest fans are his wife, Suzie, and his daughter, Hannah.

Karen Parchman, Mobilization Director

Karen joined the Gateway staff in January 2007 to build out Mobilization efforts in Austin and around the world. A graduate of Fuller Seminary School of Intercultural Studies, she is passionate about moving the church out of the building and into the community. She and her husband Wayne are proud parents of Will, a Baylor senior. in their spare time, they hit the Town Lake Hike and Bike, run as many local races (for the t-shirts) as they can, and watch Baylor football (someone has to).

Christine Pareja, Small Group Connections Coordinator

Rick Shurtz, Spiritual Formation Pastor

Rick has a tremendous passion for authentic spirituality lived out in the real world. He has a master's degree in religion from Trinity International University and has served in a variety of ministry positions over the years. Most recently he led a church in Denver, Colorado; prior to that he worked at Willow Creek Community Church.

Sherilyn Villareal, Gateway U MInistry Lead

Gary Foran, Small Group & Leadership Development Pastor

Gary brings passion and experience to his role of directing the Small Group mission at Gateway. He led his first small group 25 years ago and he's been hooked ever since! Prior to coming to Gateway, Gary was at Kensington Church in Troy, Michigan, where he served as the Director of Adult Ministries and as a coach to pastors starting new churches. He enjoys running and taking Hill Country drives with his wife, Bobbi. They have two adult children.

Kirby Holmes, Small Groups Pastor

Kirby's spiritual journey has been deeply influenced by relationships he developed through small groups, and he seeks to help others find the kind of connection also. Prior to joining the Gateway staff, Kirby worked with Campus Crusade for Christ, first leading students at the University of North Texas and then in the former Soviet Union. Kirby attended Texas Tech University where he earned a degree in communication. He loves sports, outdoor adventures and dessert after every meal. Kirby is married with four kids under the age of ten. His wife, Meredith, spends most of her time corralling Hudson, Elliot, Hannah and Pierce!

Becky Laswell, Leadership Development Assistant

Becky has been active at Gateway since moving to Austin in 2000, and she joined the staff in 2002. She's a graduate of South Dakota State University, where she earned degrees in history and communication studies. Becky assists Gary Foran with leadership development activities. Becky loves to quilt and together with her husband Matt, enjoys cooking, fantasy football, and travel.

Haley Carter, Small Group Administrator

Mark and Shauna Alexander, Community Leaders - Northwest Couples Groups

Jan Shurtz, Community Leader - Women's Groups

Paul Crocker, Community Leader - North & Northeast Groups

Doug Runyan, Community Leader - North Groups

Jennifer Carson, Community Leader - Womens Groups

After many years with Campus Crusade for Christ, Jennifer's heart for helping women grow gets lived out in the context of women's bible study groups, the women's retreat, and various other Gateway events. Her "free time" is filled with life with the Carson men: Bob, her husband, John and Ian, ages 9 and 6, and Dash, the family dog.

Marty Gilmore, Community Leader - North Singles and Merge Groups

Marty has called Austin home ever since he was a student at The University of Texas, except for a brief two-year hiatus in Orlando. He spent almost a decade in college ministry at UT with Great Commission Ministries. As a huge Longhorn fan, Marty's favorite time of year is the college football season. He also enjoys all things sci-fi and fantasy, be it books, movies, or video games.

Doug and Angela Peeler, Community Leaders - North & Northeast Groups

Tommy & Kandy Toles, Community Leaders - West & Northwest Groups

Tommy and Kandy have been at Gateway since 2001 and have provided leadership in several roles before becoming Community Leaders in the fall of 2005. They show support Small Group Leaders in West and Northwest Austin. Kandy is a domestic professional and Tommy works in sales for AMD. They were married in 1994 and have 3 children. Tommy is a proud Texas Aggie and an avid water-skier. Kandy likes to cook and have parties.

Michael Warden, Community Leader - Central & South Singles Groups

After a serving as a youth pastor during and following college, Michael served as editor for a Christian publishing house in Colorado. During those years, Michael worked closely with many Christian leaders to create training materials to support and train them in their ministries. These days he works full-time as a professionally-certified coach, with a special emphasis on supporting and empowering Christian leaders and their teams. Michael has published several books and contributed to more than 150 books and magazines, and is working on completing his fantasy fiction trilogy called teh Pearlong Refounding. In addition to coaching and writing, he enjoys adventure travel, sports, and outdoor activities.

Caitlin Allbright, Community Leader - Support & Recovery Groups

Caitlin is an ordained Stephen minister and has a great deal of experience in teaching, leading workshops, and counseling. Caitlin has a passion for supporting people in healing their brokenness and discovering peace and joy. She also has a passion for cooking, dancing, and racquetball. Caitlin and her husband, Bob, are recently married and between the two of them they have six children and eight grandchildren.

Erica Menchaca, Children's Director for South Campus

Erica was born and raised in San Antonio, TX. She moved to Austin and got involved at Gateway in 2000. Her husband Hector became a Christ-follower at Gateway, and they were both baptized shortly after. She loves working with children and has been doing so for the last 8 years. She loves their enthusiasm and ability to see God so clearly. She and Hector enjoy hiking & fishing, walking their Great Dane, Blue Bell, and reading.

Sarah Echelberger, Early Childhood Director

Sarah directs Gateway's early childhood ministry programs. She holds a psychology degree from the University of Texas and a Master's in education from Concordia University, and taught pre-kindergarten prior to working part-time at Gateway and being a full-time mom! Sarah enjoys teaching aerobics and traveling. Sarah and her husband, Nate, who is active in several other areas at Gateway, have two sons and two dachshunds.

Andy Baxter, Student Ministries Leader

Andy has been working in student ministry since graduating from high school in 2004. He is currently a senior at the University of Texas. Prior to being a part of the Gateway Church community, Andy served in the Northwood Student Ministry in Keller, TX. He has now attended Gateway for two years and has served as both youth volunteer and student ministry intern before being called into youth ministry. In his spare time, Andy keeps up to date with the latest in fiction and film.

Tony Harrison, Music Ministry Trainee

 A native of Cocoa Beach, FL..now based in Austin Texas.  Tony has been playing and performing professionally since the age of 16. He has been serving at Gateway now for 3 years.  He will be heading music and worship at the new Crave series downtown. Tony is soon to be married to Jennifer Eurom.

Jen Atkins, e-Program Manager

Jen happily moved to Austin in 2003 after being a loyal Gateway e-listener for two years. She now serves as the Program Manager for GatewayChurch.com. Jen and her husband, Jonathan, love the never ending search for the best food in Austin.