Ron Francis, Director of Student Ministries

Ron Francis, Director of Student Ministries at Church at the Gateway, has quite a colorful background…

In 1972, Ron was part of a commando unit that was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit.  Of course, Ron and the others promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade and ended up as part of the Los Angeles underground.  Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune.  If you have a problem that no one else can help with, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire them … Oh wait, that didn’t happen to me.  That was the A-Team.

Now I remember…  I was born in 1970 right here on Staten Island.  I became a Christian as an eight year old when I prayed to receive Christ and began a relationship with Him. I grew up right here at Church at the Gateway.

Late in my teen years, I began to forget who I was and who I belonged to and made some bad decisions with my life.  After a few years of acting like a knucklehead, God graciously reached out His hand and set my path straight once again.

I knew God wanted me to become a youth pastor to help teenagers, so I decided to attend Liberty University to earn my master’s degree.  Since then, I have spent eight years as a youth pastor at Pantego Bible Church in Arlington, Texas and an additional five as a youth pastor at New Life Community Church in Sayville, Long Island.  God brought me back to Gateway as the Interim Director of Student Ministries in July of 2009.

A few things you might need to know about me:

• I love chicken and anything that tastes like chicken.
• My favorite color is green, which is good because my favorite superhero is Green Lantern and my favorite place is Ireland.
• I’m a lifelong Mets, Giants, and Knicks fan and I have never switched allegiances from my favorite teams.
• I have two older brothers and two older sisters and 10 awesome nieces and nephews.  I love my great big weird family very much.
• I am passionately in love with Jesus and can’t wait to see Him face to face.
• I count myself privileged to work with all the awesome teenagers God has placed in my path.