Pastor Michael Luciano is a native Staten Islander, born and raised at Gateway Church. It was here where he placed his faith in Christ as a 9-year-old, was the first person baptized at our current location as a 12-year-old and was called to ministry while worshipping and growing in his faith as a teenager. Pastor Michael received his ministry and pastoral training at Word of Life Bible Institute, Moody Bible Institute (B.A.), Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M.), and Drew University (D.Min.).

Before accepting the call as Senior Pastor at Gateway Church in February of 2020, Pastor Michael served on staff at Calvary Baptist Church in Midtown Manhattan as Pastor of Young Adults (2007-2015) and Executive Pastor (2015-2020). Serving in this diverse context enabled him to lead, teach, and serve his neighbors in a way that is accessible to people of various religious, socio-economic, ethnic, and generational backgrounds. An avid student of God’s word and skilled communicator, Pastor Michael’s greatest joy in ministry is seeing lives transformed by the power of the gospel. Gateway’s mission of Reaching Generations for Christ is personally meaningful for him, a fourth-generation follower of Jesus Christ from his family on Staten Island.

His interests include reading about history, theology, and pastoral leadership, as well as playing golf with friends and family. He is also a passionate NY Giants fan. Pastor Michael married his college sweetheart, Mandy, in 2003, and together they are raising two spirited, fun-loving sons, Anthony (b. 2008) and Isaiah (b. 2010). After years of training and ministry experiences in NYC and around the globe, Pastor Michael is thankful for and excited by the opportunity to serve the Lord at his home church as its Senior Pastor.