Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity (1 Tim 4:12).
The day I became a Christian I remember going home that night and diving in to read all of Genesis and Revelation. I wanted to get the overview of what happened in the beginning and what was to happen in the end. It was the most logical thing to do at the time. I was 15 and it sparked my curiosity to know the Bible more deeply.
By the time I was close to finishing high school my friend Sean Taylor was at BST and he encouraged me to apply. I sat in on my first lecture, which happened to be with Alan Stanley, followed by an interview with Johan Ferreira (former principal).
My OP score was not high enough to get into the Bachelor program so I started off with the Diploma of Ministry. I spent so much of year 12 reading up on theology and church history on Wikipedia, leaving very little time to study anything else and so naturally my grades suffered. I started at BST in Semester 1 2012. As a 17 year old going into college, I really didn’t know what to expect but I was determined to learn more of the Bible. I worked hard and was able to upgrade my Diploma studies to the Bachelor of Ministry in my second year.
I lived on campus from 2013 and love every aspect of it. I remember waking up the first morning and Christian music was blaring from someone’s room down the hall and a fellow student was on the couch reading the Bible. I didn’t grow up in a Christian home, so this was an exciting new environment for me. I knew I was in the right place.
When I first moved in to BST I did not have my license, so one of the perks of living on campus was that my fellow residents would happily let me drive to the shops or travel a much further distance, like college camp. This allowed me to clock up some hours so I could eventually get my license. I’m so thankful for people like Dale, Stu, Stephen and Chris for being gracious and trusting me enough to be in the driver seat.
As I look forward to my graduation ceremony on 17 February 2015, I reflect back on the quality of biblical teaching and ministry training opportunities that I have been exposed to. I’ve now seen so many treasures in the Bible that I know many other people have not yet seen and I want others to be exposed to it – I want them to know the beauty in the face of Christ. Key lecturers like Alan Stanley and my mentor John Coulson have deeply contributed to my growth and maturity in Christ over the last few years. I have learned so much from these faculty who not only know the word of God but are able to bring the word to bear and apply it to daily life in ways that are helpful. It has also inspired me to pursue pastoral ministry further. My church, Sunnybank Church of Christ, has also given me plenty of opportunities to preach over the past year which has helped to put my knowledge into practice more regularly and develop a style of expository preaching.
But my time at BST is not over yet as I’ve decided to continue on with further studies and do an extra year (the Bachelor of Theology gets added on as a double degree). I also look forward to sitting in on the expository preaching lectures with Mike Raiter later in the year.
Another huge plus in choosing to study at BST was meeting my fiancé Courtney Moore. I didn’t intend to meet a wife at Bible college, but by God’s grace we met! Courtney will also graduate at this upcoming ceremony, and four days after that we will be saying our “I do’s” in front of family and friends. Alan Stanley will be marrying us, quite poetic really given that it was his lecture that I first attended at BST. Courtney and I have almost finished our pre-marriage counselling with Alan and his wife, which has been so invaluable in preparation for our marriage. We’re both thankful for the loving support of our college community and the amazing friendships we have formed with fellow students, faculty and staff.
“I have gotten to know Jason pretty well since he’s been here and in that time I’ve watched him mature, to the point where I have said to him that I could only hope that when my own boys get to his age that they would have such a heart for God and respect for people—and his manners! What a journey: he came here a boy, found a girl, soon they’ll be ‘man and wife’.”
[banner text=”Study with Alan”]
[banner text=”Graduation”]
