Greg Stiekes, or “Pastor Greg” as he’s often called, became pastor of Gateway Baptist Church in April 2017. At that time, he had recently stepped away from pastoring a church in North Carolina to join the BJU Seminary faculty, and he and his family were seeking a new church home. The Lord led them to the small but welcoming Gateway congregation, then meeting in rented rooms at another church. Soon after, when Gateway’s interim pastor resigned, Greg accepted the congregation’s call. He began serving part-time while teaching at the seminary, but in 2024, as the church grew, he transitioned to full-time pastor.
Growing up in the Detroit area as the son of an independent Baptist pastor, Greg trusted Christ as a child and, by his junior year in high school, committed himself to a life of preaching and teaching the Word. He studied Bible and Speech at Bob Jones University, later completing an MA in Interpretative Speech while serving four years as associate pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Starr, SC. Upon graduation, he joined the faculty at Northland Baptist Bible College in Wisconsin, where he also helped plant Grace Baptist Church in Iron Mountain, Michigan. During this time, he married his wife, Rena, who also holds BA and MA degrees in Speech from BJU.
After three years at Northland, the Lord led Greg to Fourth Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN, where he served as Youth Pastor while completing his MDiv at Central Seminary. He was ordained by Fourth Baptist before being called to pastor Bethany Bible Church in Hendersonville, NC, where he ministered for nearly thirteen years.
During his years at Bethany, Greg also pursued advanced theological studies, earning a ThM from Erskine Theological Seminary and later a PhD in New Testament Studies from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC. While in Wake Forest, he served as part-time music minister in a small church before returning to continue shepherding Bethany until 2016, when the Lord opened the door for him to join the BJU Seminary faculty full-time.
Greg’s teaching areas include New Testament studies, Greek exegesis, homiletics, apologetics, biblical worship, and theological research and writing. He continues to pursue academic ministry through adjunct teaching, writing, and serving on the steering committee for Biblical Worship in the Evangelical Theological Society.
Greg and Rena have five adult children—a son and four married daughters—now living in various parts of the U.S., along with a growing number of grandchildren. They love being part of the Travelers Rest community and desire to build relationships with the families of TR.
Pastor Greg delights in opening the Word of God each week with the Gateway family. He is grateful for the Lord’s evident working to build His church and desires to shepherd the people through the gospel of Christ to know Him, love Him, and share Him.
Learn more about the history of Gateway Baptist Church here.
