If I showed you a snapshot of my life on two different days of the week, you might think that I was telling you about two different people: one who is a Bible college graduate working in a local church, the other an overwhelmed science student at the local university. But to be honest, if you had shown me those two snapshots a few years ago I would have thought the same thing – and I would definitely not have guessed that either of those pictures would soon represent a day in my life!
I still don’t have a definitive answer about why I chose to study a Bachelor of Ministry, but certainly as I look back it makes a lot of sense. When I applied to study at BST I was really just acting on a hunger that I’d been experiencing for awhile to have a better foundation in God’s word and be more fully equipped for whatever He had in store for me. Now, after four years of Greek, Hebrew, Theology, Apologetics, Exegesis, Hermeneutics and lots of other big words and exciting concepts, I can sit back and see how it’s all working together in my day-to-day life.
So, back to those snapshots of a typical day in my non-typical life:
The first snapshot is of my life working for a church. During my time at BST I was offered paid employment by the local church that had adopted me when I moved to Brisbane to study, and throughout my degree my involvement in that ministry increased, leaving me with a really great job once I graduated.
A day in that part of my life has involved a huge range of things, from visiting the elderly, connecting with mums at playgroup and mentoring young women, to preparing sermons, planning music ministry and organizing a 24-hour prayer event! And each of these activities has been enriched by what I learnt at college. Being a pastoral assistant in a growing church family has felt like the practical outworking of those many hours I spent in the library and, to be honest, I’m not sure if I could have done this kind of ministry without the solid foundation of my studies.
The second snapshot I showed you, the one of the overwhelmed science student at university, well that one was definitely a surprise for me! While having the privilege of digging deeply into God’s word during my studies I was captured by God’s heart for the lost and the broken, I was spurred on by the stories of those who have taken great risks to shine light in the darkness and I was burdened by the statistics in places around the world that were ripe for the harvest but desperately lacking labourers.
Going on cross-cultural mission trips as a part of my degree opened my heart to new ideas and started a whole string of questions that eventually brought me back to the books – I’m now studying part-time for a degree in an allied health profession, with the plan of eventually working in a mission context somewhere overseas. So for now, every other day sees me in front of a very large textbook filled with very foreign biological concepts, sitting in lectures or laboratories and connecting with some of my 47,000 fellow students who spend their days oblivious to the fact that there is a God who loves them more than they could ever imagine.
Thankfully I also learnt the importance of balance at BST. So on the odd occasion you see a snapshot of another day in my life and I’m reading in the sun, or at the beach with good friends, you’ll know it’s the result of a college that encouraged me to live a life that brings glory to God in all that I do, whether work or rest, every single day.
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