Dr. Eric Bryant serves with Gateway Church in Austin, TX as the team leader for the Central Austin region, the South Austin campus, and as part of the teaching team. Known for their mottos: “no perfect people allowed” and “come as you are but don’t stay that way,” Gateway has created a church out of the culture by helping a spiritually diverse group of people connect, grow, and serve.
Recently, Eric teamed with Bethel Seminary and other friends to help students earn their doctorates while Becoming More Effective On Mission.
From 1998-2010, Eric served as a catalyst, navigator, speaker and elder with the leadership team at Mosaic in Los Angeles, a church known for its creativity and diversity. The four years prior to that he helped plant a church in Seattle, WA.
Eric serves as part of the The Origins Project, a movement of people committed to Jesus, Humanity, and Innovation.
Eric earned his Doctorate of Ministry in Entrepreneurial Leadership with Bethel Seminary where he leads a doctoral cohort on Missional Effectiveness. He has taught at the Southern California campuses of Golden Gate Seminary and Fuller Seminary. Trained in Gallup’s StrengthsFinder, the Myers Briggs Temperament Indicator, and the Birkman Method, Eric has coached leaders in the ministry, non-profit, and business sectors.
Eric’s book, Not Like Me: A Field Guide for Influencing a Diverse World, helps Christ-followers overcome the negative Christian stereotype by embracing the people Christians “love to hate.” He is also one of the co-authors of The Uprising Experience, a workbook developed for Promise Keepers based on Erwin McManus’ book Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul.
Eric lives with his wife, Debbie, his son Caleb and his daughter Trevi in Austin, TX.
"Eric Bryant did a fantastic job presenting important concepts and raising difficult questions at our city-wide event, Peppermint Phoenix. His blend of humor, anecdotes, and Kingdom perspective were refreshing and powerful. Being a great author does not always translate into being a great speaker. Eric navigates the transition with ease. We are looking forward to working with Eric in the future." - North Phoenix Baptist Church
"Eric's visit to Detroit was the highlight of our summer. His gentle candor, spirited humor and piercing insights called us to rethink what it means to salt and light in a bland world. Skeptics, seekers and lifelong Jesus followers all connected with the message at the core of “Peppermint-Filled Pinatas”. We eagerly anticipate the time when he can come again!" - Lead Pastor, Genesis: The Church, Royal Oak, MI
I have discovered faith, love, and hope through my relationship with God through Christ. I was blessed to have been raised in a Christian home; therefore, going to church multiple times a week was a normal part of my life. In that context I chose to follow Christ at the age of 10 years old. I was asking deep questions about life and death as a result of my grandfather’s death. At the age of 17, I sensed God calling me to actually follow Him rather than simply just believe in Him. I really believe that it was then that I began to understand that Christ died to offer me life – not just life after death.
After graduating from Baylor University, my wife Debbie and I moved to Seattle to help start a church in 1994. Serving in ministry in Seattle for 4 years and now in Los Angeles for the past 10 years at Mosaic has created opportunities for me to interact with people from a plurality of religious backgrounds and spiritual persuasions. I am in awe of the transforming power of Jesus in the lives of such a diversity of people.
I believe that God is actively pursuing people, and each of us can find a genuine relationship with God through Christ by asking for forgiveness and committing to follow Him as our Leader. Those of us who choose to follow Him find our desires begin to change to match His desires for our lives. We begin to love others. We look for opportunities to share our faith. We begin serving in a church using our gifts and talents. We grow as disciples as we make other disciples. We seek to grow closer to the Lord through the Scriptures, prayer, worship, service, and relationships with others. We find our lives by losing our lives in serving Christ by serving others.
I completed a Masters of Divinity degree at Golden Gate Seminary at the Northwest campus in 1997. Currently I am pursuing a Doctor of Ministry with Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.