Through this passion for theology and a deep sense of love, care, and empathy for people, I hope to have laid the foundation with this certificate for what will eventually be a biblical counseling degree or certification of some kind.

Throughout this shifting and refining journey over the last few years, one of the doctrines that has most captured my heart is the doctrine of Union with Christ. Lord-willing, in the days to come, I look forward to taking what I’ve learned to help pastor and plant “Grace Union Church” here in my hometown, where, by God’s grace, we will be a family of fellow broken people gratefully embracing fellow union with Christ.

I remember having a conversation with my assistant pastor at the time about affordable seminaries that held strong biblical and theological positions. RBS was the first one that came up. I was encouraged to give it a try by a former church member who told me, “We gotta get you out of that quarry and do what God has called you to do!”

We arrived in Peru in August 2012, ready to do great things for the Lord, but we learned that there was so much more to learn not only culturally but also biblically. In 2014 our sending church pastor was studying at RBS and encouraged me to take some classes. That has been one of the best investments that I have made.

The pastor told me once, with little irony, that the most important thing in church planting is “to know what you believe about everything.” This impossible task rang in my ears even as God overcame my stubborn heart to embark on formal theological studies.