I am not only a pastor because of The Master’s Seminary. I am a Christian, too. God has used The Master’s Seminary in my life in such a profound way as to shape who I am from the inside out.
After a Master’s Seminary graduate named Ken moved to my small Texas town and planted a church, he discovered that one of the greatest ministry hindrances was his inability to get a good night of sleep on Saturday night. Thanks to the young kid who lived down the street from him, who spent Saturday nights on drugs and loud music, Ken regularly spent his Saturday nights lying in bed trying to fall asleep. But he prayed for the salvation of the punk kid keeping him up. Unbeknownst to Ken, the answer to his prayers came through the members of his church. Members of Ken’s congregation were co-workers with his neighbor, and they reached out to that punk kid with the truth of the gospel. I was that punk kid, and my eyes were miraculously opened to truth.
Growing up in an unbelieving family, I had become a stereotypical product of the classic MTV mindset and pursued satisfaction in the things of this world. But as I began my new life at Lakeside Bible Church, I was pastored by a TMS graduate and taught the Word of God. I found greater satisfaction in Christ and my life began to change radically. I was married in that same church, had our first kids there, and after a number of years discipling students in the youth ministry, my wife, Claire, and I began to pray seriously about giving up my career as a graphic artist to pursue full-time work in the church as a pastor.
As Ken taught through the pastoral epistles on Sunday mornings, I saw God calling me to be trained in preaching so that I too could invest deeply in the kingdom of God as a local church pastor. Under the guidance and direction of our elders, we moved our family to Los Angeles to attend The Master’s Seminary.
The cost of living in Los Angeles is no joke. Attempting to provide for my family while also striving for academic excellence in seminary is a gauntlet that I was grateful to run, but it was not easy. Without the spiritual support of my wife, my church, and my fellow students, I would not have made it. Without the financial support of my home church and the seminary’s scholarship program, I would not have made it. But I did make it, because God is faithful, and He used all of those things to provide for my needs according to His glory.
I now serve as a pastor at Canyon Bible Church of Prescott in Prescott, Arizona. Our church was planted four years ago by another TMS graduate, Andrew Gutierrez. A few short months after Andrew planted the church, the elders hired me to assist in shepherding their growing flock. What began as a small church plant just a few years ago is increasing in fruitfulness and in number. We have since purchased land for our own building, added ministries to shepherd our people better, and hired another TMS graduate.
As the college pastor, I have the opportunity to preach the gospel on campus at the local college Bible study. My greatest joy is discipling the young men and women that the Lord brings into our flock. While my primary focus is in our college ministry, I also oversee a number of our other ministries at Canyon including our women’s ministry, men’s discipleship groups, and our Kids of Canyon ministry. In each of these ministries, there have been immeasurable rewards in seeing the fruit that God is producing in people’s lives under our leadership. We are unworthy servants, only doing exactly as we ought.
“I came to TMS to be trained as a servant of the Word, and every day in my ministry, it is the Word that does the work. It is because of the training I received at TMS that I am able to wield the Sword of the Spirit with confidence, knowing that everything—from my preaching to my philosophy of ministry—was shaped by the Word of God through professors at The Master’s Seminary.”