Brian from Washington

After attending a Younglife camp after my Freshmen year, I heard a message about Jesus with an important piece I somehow had never really heard before. That Jesus wanted a personal relationship with me. Not a legalistic one. Rather, one that found joy in him and His saving grace. I couldn't believe it; it was such good news. I started sharing my faith and how amazing Jesus more than ever before in my life. I couldn't help but make sure every person I knew heard about Him. After a few years of being active in Bible study and Younglife, I was approached about being a student leader.

From then on, my desire to be in ministry and share the love of Christ with others has been a call on my life. Even in the hardest times when most of my prayers were lament and brokenness, I couldn't let go of the push in my heart that God had plans for how He wanted to use me in sharing His gospel with others. Over the last few years, God has started me on a path to begin preparing myself for the plans he has for me. This started with a cohort group for future ministry leaders and pastors. Seminary felt like the next thing through this process but was hard to figure out how it could be possible.

Redemption Seminary changed all of that. As a husband and father of 3 kids, I finally found the chance to grow towards the ministry calling on my life without risking my career, relationships or sanity. I am excited to be able to connect with courses from top scholars and work through them in a way that isn't about filling bubbles on a test sheet. I love that it’s about my competency, understanding and ability to communicate what I am learning about scripture, as my measure for success. This coupled with the personal care for its impact on my heart and spiritual formation make the perfect seminary experience for my needs.

Daniel from Arizona

After being converted in 1999, I immediately became involved in the local church ministry. My father was attending Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, where I too began to attend. I started to serve on the ushering team where I was responsible to seat service attendees, serve communion, answer basic questions about the church’s facilities, etc. During that time I was asked to take over as head usher and was responsible for leading a team to provide security and standard usher services.

Later, my wife and I decided to find a local church in our area that was similar to our doctrinal positions. Calvary Chapel seemed to be the best fit so we joined Calvary Chapel Wildwood. There I developed a “call” to ministry. I eventually was asked to lead the Acts 242 ministry where I oversaw all of the small groups. I ultimately decided to jump back into ministry where I took on the role (not the title) of a pastor, but due to some conflicting doctrinal beliefs (primarily, my view on soteriology), my wife and I were forced to leave a church that we loved.

Based on the advice of some close confidants and pastors, I enrolled in the Applied Theology Program and California Baptist University. It was there that my love for theology and scholarship blossomed. I also applied at a small, local Southern Baptist Church where I was hired as the director of Children’s and Young Adult Ministries. I preached my first sermon in front of a church full of people who were very gracious to a young (and immature!) aspiring pastor who had no business preaching in front of farm animals let alone human beings. During that enriching time, my wife and I found out that she was suffering from low blood pressure and was unable to work her standard hours and I needed to find full-time employment in order to pay our bills. I ended up resigning from my position and took a full-time position outside of the church.

My hope is that, through acquiring a MABS through Redemption Seminary, I will be able to provide a higher level of training/teaching to the local church. Many people within the local church are unable to enroll in Bible college, seminary, or even a certificate program. Therefore, I’m eager to help equip the church in a way that most don’t have access to.

Jeff from Texas

I began in ministry and preaching at the age of 17 in my home church in Illinois. I was in this church from the age of four until I moved to Dallas at age 36. I never held an official position in this church. The church ran around 150 on Sundays. The only ministry positions were the father and son pastors. I was content in the role for many years, but after visiting Dallas, I began to feel a call to plant a church in the Dallas Metroplex. It took a couple of years to work through this calling. Eventually, our family moved to the Dallas area to work with a church that had a vision of becoming a multi-campus church.

My desire is to plant a church where corporate worship is centered around the public reading of Scripture, congregational singing, corporate prayer, and expository preaching. I realize this may sound highly idealized (and it no doubt is), but I believe the redemptive purposes of God will be most effectively fulfilled in churches that honor his Word. 

I have been exploring several options to further my education. I did not want to be part of a program that allowed me to earn a degree without actually helping further my personal spiritual development. I’m excited to be part of a seminary that will not only help me earn a degree, but is also interested in helping me grow personally and spiritually. 

I appreciate the model that Redemption Seminary offers in terms of aligning continuing education with the pursuit of ministry. Rather than treat a theological education like a secular pursuit, the concept of having students work with mentors that can help guide and coach has a great deal of appeal with me. 

I would encourage students who are not familiar with Redemption Seminary to compare Redemption’s model to other seminary models to determine what is the best fit for them. I suspect there are a lot of people in the same position as me, working full-time jobs and unable to attend weekday classes that most seminaries offer. 

David from Colorado

I choose Redemption Seminary to help me grow my confidence in ministry once again by providing mentors who can encourage me along the way and education to assist me in answering questions that arise concerning the Bible and the Church. They also make this education very affordable so that people who are providing for a family can attend seminary.  This is a dream I thought would never happen.

Donors can help students begin to reach their full potential in Christ through education and mentorship.  These are not only young men and women, but individuals like myself who have been in ministry for over 20 years and could never afford a seminary education until now.

What excites me about earning a degree through Redemption Seminary is the potential to grow in my relationship with God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.  Lord willing, I will gain a more complete knowledge of Him so that I may assist others along their spiritual journey. I am also excited for the surprises learning will bring.