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.
Brian from Washington