Gateway Church Across the Austin Area
Gateway Church meets in three physical locations across the greater Austin area: North Austin on McNeil Drive, South Austin off West Gate Boulevard, and Buda south of the city. It streams both Sunday services online from a fourth campus. Founded in 1998 by John and Kathy Burke and now led by Senior Pastor Carlos Ortiz, Gateway has built its identity around a simple phrase: "No Perfect People Allowed." The atmosphere is intentionally informal. Visitors are told to wear whatever makes them comfortable, doubt and questions are welcomed from the stage, and the church's central mission is to help people "explore God and become a unified community of growing, multiplying Christ followers."
After a quarter-century in Austin, Gateway remains a local, independent church. Leadership has made clear that Gateway Church Austin and Buda are completely separate from the larger Gateway Church based in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, with distinct leadership, governance, and vision.
"Come As You Are" and the Heart of the Church
The phrase "Come as you are" is more than a slogan at Gateway. The church describes itself as "a community of people who are in process," and frames everything from the worship room to the small-group leader's living room as a place where questions are welcome. "Whether you're exploring faith for the first time, coming back to church after a long break, or looking to deepen your relationship with God, you belong here. Questions, doubts, skepticism: bring it all!"
That posture has shaped Gateway's publishing and preaching for years. Founding Pastor John Burke wrote three books while leading the church: No Perfect People Allowed, Soul Revolution, and Unshockable Love. Each was built around the idea that imperfect people are exactly who God intends to use. Burke's later bestselling works, Imagine Heaven and Imagine the God of Heaven, grew out of the same conviction that honest seekers have a place at Gateway.
From an Apartment to Four Campuses
Gateway's story begins with a leap. John and Kathy Burke arrived in Austin in 1997 with a vision "to create a church for people who don't go to church." In February 1998, the church held its first gathering in an apartment with ten people. The early years were a scramble: Gateway moved between six different venues in its first two years, sometimes changing locations weekly. Volunteers cleaned butter spills out of carpet and covered up Exorcist movie posters before Sunday services. "If you can find us, you can come" became the unofficial motto.
Stability arrived in 2000, when a chance encounter at a neighborhood brush fire led the church to a home at the Bull Creek Synagogue. Over five years at Bull Creek, the congregation grew from about 200 to more than 2,000 people, with more than half making a first profession of faith during that period. In 2006, Gateway opened its permanent North Austin campus on McNeil Drive: a building with an open-air layout, a large auditorium, and outdoor spaces that have been used for everything from picnics to outreach projects.
New campuses followed: South Austin launched in 2008, an Online Campus broadcasting from North Austin began in 2010, and Gateway Buda opened its doors in January 2020. A Pflugerville campus launched in 2021 but became an independent church called Union Church in 2024. Today, three physical campuses remain under the Gateway name along with the Online Campus.
On May 7, 2023, Gateway marked its first major leadership transition. Carlos Ortiz, who had served as Executive Pastor since 2020, became Senior Pastor. John Burke stepped into the role of Founding Pastor to focus on writing and broader ministry. The church notes that Ortiz is one of central Texas's few ethnically diverse megachurch senior pastors.
Sundays at Gateway: What to Expect
Gateway runs two Sunday services at each campus: 9:15 am and 11:15 am. Both services are broadcast online at the same times. Services are contemporary in style, with lyrics projected on screens so newcomers do not need to know the songs. There is no pressure to sing along, and no expectation that visitors contribute financially; a "Journey to Generosity" teaching is part of the service for those who call Gateway their church home.
Parking is free at every campus, and arriving ten to fifteen minutes early is recommended for the best spots. Team members are positioned to direct traffic and greet arrivals. Dress runs the full range: shorts and t-shirts sit alongside business attire, and the church explicitly says it cares more about a visitor's heart than their outfit. After services, Connect Spots around the lobby are staffed for anyone who has questions about faith or wants to know more about getting connected.
Children are welcome in the services, but age-appropriate programs are offered during both services for babies through fifth grade. Check-in opens at 9:00 am and 11:00 am, fifteen minutes before each service, and kids' areas stay closed until that point to keep volunteers ready. New families can register online ahead of time to save a few minutes on Sunday morning. All children's ministry volunteers are background-checked and trained.
Each campus offers one ASL-interpreted service. Gateway Buda and Gateway South Austin interpret the 9:15 am service; Gateway North Austin interprets the 11:15 am service.
Gateway Kids, Students, and College
Gateway Kids is split into three age groups. Babies from birth to 23 months are held, rocked, and read Bible stories. Preschoolers (2 years through Kindergarten) sing, dance, learn a Bible story, and do a craft. Elementary children (Kindergarten through 5th grade) enjoy music, games, and interactive lessons that help them apply Scripture to everyday life. Two special programs shape the older kids: Born to Lead, a leadership and discipleship track for fourth and fifth graders built around four habits (gathering, growing, giving, and going); and Child Dedication, celebrated twice a year as a public commitment by parents to raise their child to know Jesus. Kids baptism classes run before each baptism Sunday.
Gateway Students serves middle and high schoolers in grades 6-12. The ministry describes itself as a place where a new generation can meet Christ for the first time or go deeper with Him, and it meets at each campus on its own schedule. North Austin students gather on Sundays at 11:15 am and Wednesdays at 7:00 pm, both in "The Garage." South Austin meets Sundays at 11:15 am and again from 4:30 to 6:00 pm. Buda students meet Sunday nights from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Three student pastors lead the work across the city: Isaiah Struve in North Austin, Peter Shenk in South Austin, and Adrien Ropert in Buda.
Gateway College is a separate ministry aimed at undergraduate and graduate students navigating independence and purpose. The church also runs a back-to-school prayer initiative each fall that walks through seven days of prayer covering elementary students and teachers, middle and high school students, college students, and college faculty.
enCourage Preschool, a Christian preschool partnering with enCourage Preschools, is set to open at the North Austin campus in January 2027. The school plans to serve children from six months old through Pre-K, regardless of whether their family attends Gateway, with a Christ-centered curriculum, small class sizes, and security procedures designed around child safety. Families can join an interest list to be notified when registration opens.
Life in Groups: Small Communities Across Austin
Gateway's small-group ministry is built around life stages and runs through every campus plus an online option. Coed groups meet in homes, on church property, and in neighborhood spots across the city. Specific tracks include coed, men's, and women's groups for the 20s and 30s, meeting weeknights around Austin, Buda, Manchuria, and Cedar Park; coed groups for the 40s and 50s, for singles, dating, engaged, and married people; groups for active adults 60 and older; a couples group for parents navigating the teen years; and online groups, including a virtual coed 50s group. Most groups use the church's weekly "Digging Deeper" study to extend the Sunday message into the week. A free group finder helps visitors choose a campus and connect with a leader.
Alpha: A Free, Eight-Week Path for the Curious
Alpha is Gateway's entry point for anyone with big questions about life, God, or meaning. The eight-week course meets at each campus on weeknights from 7:00 to 8:30 pm, with new semesters beginning in January and September. Each evening includes dinner, a short video exploring a Christian topic, and small-group discussion in groups of four to six. A one-day retreat happens between weeks six and eight. Alpha is completely free and explicitly welcomes every perspective.
Gateway also runs Freed Up Financial classes in the spring and fall, a curriculum on managing money through biblical wisdom.
Serve Our City
Gateway partners with several local nonprofits to serve refugees, the food-insecure, and the uninsured. The Serve Our City ministry lists five primary partners:
- More Than Welcome (North Austin): supports refugees and asylum seekers in Central Texas.
- Reveal Resource Center (North Austin): a faith-based food pantry providing essential resources with dignity.
- Ancora Ministries (Buda/Kyle): feeds more than 800 food-insecure children across weekends and school breaks in 39 central Texas schools.
- Grow Together Garden (North Austin): a community garden on the North Austin campus.
- Hope Clinic (North Austin): free primary healthcare for refugees, immigrants, and uninsured residents.
On-campus volunteer opportunities include Guest Experience, Arts and Production, Kids and Students, and Campus Operations.
What Gateway Believes
Gateway's statement of faith centers on a high view of Scripture, the Trinity, salvation by grace, and the local church. The church teaches that the Old and New Testaments are "given by God's inspiration" and are the "unique and final authority on all matters of Christian faith and practice." It affirms one God existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It holds that Jesus Christ is true God and true man, born of the virgin Mary, crucified for sins, raised from the dead, ascended into heaven, and acting now as the only mediator between God and people.
The Holy Spirit's ministry is described as applying the saving work of Christ: bringing conviction, regenerating the heart, permanently indwelling the believer, and guiding, instructing, and empowering godly living. Humanity is created in God's image for relationship with Him but has rebelled; the fall is reversed through faith in Jesus Christ.
Salvation is by God's free grace, received through faith in Christ. Gateway believes in "one true Church universal composed of all people who have asked Jesus Christ for forgiveness," with each local expression of believers free under Christ to govern its own affairs. The church teaches that spiritual growth requires intentionality; Gateway's pathway, called "The Way of Christ," centers on loving God, building character, loving people, and being the body.
The Journey of Generosity and Baptism
Gateway frames giving as a five-step journey: First-Time Giver, Intentional Giver (recurring), Proportional Giver (a 10% tithe), Sacrificial Giver (above 10%), and Legacy Giver (planned gifts in wills or trusts). Giving is available online, by texting a designated number, or by mail at the North Austin address. The finance team can also handle stock, crypto, wire transfers, or gifts-in-kind.
Baptism at Gateway is treated as a milestone after a personal decision to follow Christ. Baptism classes run at each campus, and baptism Sundays take place several times annually. Anyone who has trusted Christ is welcome to be baptized; Gateway has no formal membership requirement, and people from other churches are encouraged to celebrate with their own congregations if they have one.
Leadership
The leadership team is led by Senior Pastor Carlos Ortiz and Founding Pastor John Burke, with Executive Pastors Justin McCarty and Charles Dishinger (who also pastors the Online Campus). Campus pastors include Eric Bryant in South Austin and Ricky Echeona in Buda. Suzie Martin serves as Executive Director of Staff, and Sarah Meares as Project Management Director.
Each campus carries its own ministry leaders. North Austin: Maddie Carson (Kids), Isaiah Struve (Students), Paul Joung (Creative Arts), Brian Brunson (Groups), Kenny Martin (IT and North Connections), Haley Carter (Groups), Marty Gilmore (Operations), Temia Kerley-Rowald (Kids Early Childhood and Ops), and Matt McHugh (Guest Experience and Groups). South Austin: Norman Garcia (Groups and Connections), Peter Shenk (Students and Guest Experience), Melanie Ortiz (Kids), and Carlos Jordan (Creative Arts). Buda: Katie Foster (Kids), Kurt Foster (Groups and Connections), and Adrien Ropert (Students and Guest Experience).
Gateway is overseen by a volunteer Board of Directors chaired by Tommy Tucker and a separate group of Spiritual Overseers chaired by Al Alonso. The Board oversees stewardship of resources; the Spiritual Overseers provide wisdom on matters of belief and practice.
A Church for the In-Between
From an apartment gathering of ten people in 1998 to a multi-campus ministry with services on three physical campuses and an online audience, Gateway Church has stayed close to the same brief: a place for people who do not go to church. The "Come As You Are" culture runs through its welcome, its preaching, its writing, and its willingness to host skeptics at the Alpha table. With Carlos Ortiz now in the senior seat, John Burke still teaching as Founding Pastor, and a generation of Gateway-raised young adults sending their own kids to Gateway Kids, the church enters its third decade in Austin with the same posture it began with: that imperfect people, in process, are exactly who the gospel is for.