Welcome to Gateway!
Our programs are intentionally designed to produce the needed skills, attitudes and qualities to make you or your missionary effective!
Training missionaries
Training missionaries must be one of the singular most difficult tasks in the field of ministry preparation. What other profession faces the stress and strain of adapting to another culture, carrying attitudes that build bridges, and skills to learn the language well? What other vocation requires the sacrificial living of strenuous circumstances minimum remuneration and little glory? What kind of character is needed to shine when the going gets tough and too many just get going and leave?
Bible college
Bible college or seminary helps ministry candidates to face the rigors of ministry but not in the context of another culture. Yet, too many missionary candidates leave for the field with little more than a few weeks of missionary orientation presuming that what is needed will be learned on the field. If learned at all, it is certainly learned the hard way.
Perhaps the question
Perhaps the question to ask is not why train missionaries but how should they be trained? Gateway follows a philosophy that is whole person oriented. The training needs of the missionary candidate are seen in terms of the complete person: who a missionary needs to become, what he or she needs to be able to do, and the knowledge or understanding needed in order to become and to do what is expected on the field.
Our Untold Story
Re-imagining the wayFrom the part of beginning
Attrition and Retention Studies and Their Impact on Missionary Training (coming soon)
Get StartedOur Amazing Works
Re-imagining the wayWhole Person Training
Gateway is a unique missionary training community that focuses on equipping the whole person for service in another country or culture. The program is structured to lead a trainee through a process that will enable him/her to face the very real challenges of cross-cultural work. Experienced staff members offer mentoring, guidance and counsel all along the way. Understanding is created through carefully designed study modules. Skills that are essential to the missionary vocation are also developed through practice and hands-on experiences. A well structured and supervised field internship produces maximum learning in a context similar to the one the trainee hopes to serve in. Gateway's dynamic "action/reflection" model of learning is used throughout the program. Trainees move from the context of a caring learning community, to an active cross-cultural experience and then back again to Gateway where they are debriefed in order to promote the greatest growth and understanding. Most trainees will be "field ready" when they complete the course. Those who need extra time or preparation will be well aware of the areas they need to work on. Gateway staff monitors the entire process and assists the candidate to chart a course for successful service.
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A Study Centre
Trainees spend their first months at the Gateway centre in beautiful British Columbia. They work through modules that are designed to produce a foundational understanding of the rationale and strategy of missions, inter-personal relations, team dynamics, missiology, cross-cultural adaptation, communications, and language skills. Growing in these key areas of understanding, attitude and skill development is the essential core of pre-field preparation. Modules covering cross-cultural evangelism and church planting also have extensive hands-on experience that brings theory into the realm of practicality. Courses in Bible are also offered in partnership with nearby Pacific Life College, Christ for the Nations and other schools.
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Hands-on Training
Once the initial residential component is finished, the trainee travels to exciting and challenging internship opportunities that are tailored to meet their geographical and service interests. This is not a typical short term missions experience — it is a well organized and complete learning package. A major portion of the time is dedicated to language and culture learning, utilizing skills that have been developed and practiced during their first months at Gateway.
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A Caring Learning Community
Gateway has a great mix of people. Missionaries in training are invited to join permanent residential staff and visiting missionary trainers. Trainees come from different countries and this multi-cultural component is helpful to learning the art of appreciation for other cultures. The supportive relational environment helps build strong and enduring foundations that will hold up to the stresses of cross-cultural service. Life in Gateway's "intentional community" builds faith, character, disposition, determination and other important attitudes necessary to missionary success.
Our Untold Story
Re-imagining the wayFrom the part of beginning
Usage of the Internet is becoming more common due to rapid advancement of technology and the power of globalization. Societies are becoming more inter-connected. Thoughts from different
Get StartedOur Untold Story
Re-imagining the way
