Gateway Seminary Bible Teaching Conference Will Equip Church Teachers

Gateway Seminary’s 2027 Bible Teaching Conference is designed for the people who regularly open Scripture in the life of a local church: pastors, small-group leaders, Sunday school teachers, children’s workers, counselors, and lay teachers. The in-person event takes place Saturday, January 30, 2027, at Gateway Seminary, 3210 East Guasti Road in Ontario, California. The official registration page describes the conference as a focused opportunity to develop the skills needed to deliver biblical truth faithfully to a congregation. Philip De Courcy, senior pastor of Kindred Community Church and teacher on the daily media program Know the Truth, is the plenary speaker. The listed program brings participants together for main sessions and gives them a choice of two breakout periods. The subject matter reaches beyond sermon delivery alone. Featured and listed sessions address biblical exegesis, hermeneutics, pedagogy, Old Testament teaching centered on Christ, preaching, discipleship, counseling, the history of the Bible, truth in the home, children’s teaching, cultural intelligence, and ministry in Spanish, Mandarin, and Korean contexts. That breadth makes the gathering relevant to churches bringing a team rather than sending only one pulpit minister. The conference’s central commitment is clear: Scripture deserves careful interpretation, faithful explanation, and thoughtful application. Participants should use the official registration page for the current schedule and any session updates. Because the event serves church teachers from many ministry roles and languages, it offers a nationwide invitation even though the physical gathering is in Southern California. A congregation seeking stronger Bible teaching could send several leaders, compare notes across tracks, and return with a shared plan for improving preparation and delivery.

The practical value of a teaching conference appears after the last session, when participants apply what they learned to weekly ministry. Faithful Bible teaching involves more than collecting inspirational thoughts or repeating a commentary. Teachers must understand the literary and historical context of a passage, trace its argument, relate it responsibly to the whole counsel of Scripture, identify its theological weight, and communicate its meaning to real people. They must also know the limits of their expertise, especially when a class touches counseling, trauma, family conflict, or complex ethical questions. The Gateway program’s mix of interpretation and teaching method allows participants to strengthen both content and delivery. A pastor might concentrate on preaching and Christ-centered Old Testament interpretation. A small-group leader might prioritize discipleship, cultural intelligence, or communicating truth to new believers. A children’s worker could choose sessions aimed at teaching major truths to younger listeners. Multilingual churches can also identify sessions offered in Spanish, Mandarin, or Korean. The strongest approach is to attend as a team with defined questions. Before traveling, leaders can review their church’s present curriculum, identify recurring weaknesses, and assign breakout sessions so the group gathers a wider range of tools. After returning, the team can share summaries, revise lesson-planning templates, establish a peer-review rhythm, and practice moving from text to explanation and application. The recommended companion book, Tony Merida’s The Christ-Centered Expositor, extends the same word-driven emphasis beyond the event. Whether a participant teaches five adults around a table or a full congregation, the goal remains the same: handle Scripture honestly, point people to Christ, and serve the church with clarity, humility, and disciplined preparation.