from the PhD application (part three)

4. TO WHAT AREAS OF SERVICE HAS GOD CALLED YOU AND WHAT ARE YOUR MINISTRY GOALS?

Over the past ten years, I have really felt God’s call to the area of student ministry. I can not seem to get away from my passion for students, even when I have tried. There is a connection I feel for students, for their culture, and their hurts, from one extreme to the other. When I pursued the undergraduate degree in youth ministry from Charleston Southern University, my ideal job would have been to travel all around the world speaking to students (whether in churches, schools, big events, etc.). When I began seminary and throughout seminary, the possibility of teaching youth ministry really touched me in very special kind of way. In my past almost nine years of ministry, God has allowed me to do a myriad of ministries all relating to students in some facet. I have had the opportunities to serve an internship under a Music/Youth Minister, do some travel speaking to student groups (football teams, D-now, youth nights, etc.), in addition to Singles (mostly college and young adult) and Student Minister positions.

Currently, as a resort missionary with the North America Mission Board and serving on the associational staff, I work with youth ministers and directors and assist them in their mission trip in my mission field, Myrtle Beach, SC. Our summer missionaries are high school and collegiate students who sacrifice ten weeks of their summer to serve the Lord sharing Christ’s Message and Love. I travel a good bit educating people that missions is possible (at all ages) and I attend a few mission conferences on college campuses encouraging students to be involved in mission work. I have the opportunity as a young adult to reach out to students in over seventy churches that make up our association with the platform of missions, in addition to speaking to the over five hundred students we have each summer four nights a week in our services.

I have written a number a number of times that my passion is threefold: youth/college/evangelism. This passion has been and continues to be evident in my pursuit of God and in Him allowing me to serve Him in ministry. When I came to serve in Myrtle Beach, my vision has been this: “To empower, excite, and equip local churches to do the Great Commission through the Great Commandment”. This has been my focus in all audiences of people that I have spoken to in my time as US/C2 resort missionary, whether that be a Wednesday night youth group, WMU ladies luncheon, associational meeting, men’s breakfast, missions celebration week, or a pre-project weekend for summer ministry leaders. This vision and my three-fold passion come hand in hand—loving people and sharing Christ with them.

5. GIVE YOUR EDUCATIONAL GOALS. WHAT IS YOUR REASONS FOR PURSUING THIS DEGREE?

For much of my life, I thought college was an absolute, and then through much of college, I knew seminary was even absolute. Then to the end of seminary and with the hope of graduation, I was really excited about getting on the field and closing the study books for a time. It was been an amazing experience to serve Southern Baptists as a missionary appointed by the North American Mission Board. Further, it has been incredible to serve a two year appointment with an extension in this resort ministry field, Myrtle Beach, SC. I have learned numerous elements, concepts, and valuable tools to reach unbelievers with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Halfway through my appointment, I began to realize (yet again) my desire to help assist in the training of future ministry leaders and servants. Each summer, I immensely enjoy leading summer ministries through our summer program and teaching them ministry development through their experience in resort missions here at the beach.

Even with a un-desirable verbal score on the GRE this past Friday, I fully believe that God has led me to apply for a PhD. Many have encouraged me, and affirmed me in this time commenting they could see me in this particular role/ministry. I intend on using this PhD to attain a teaching position on a Christian College campus to help empower, excite, and equip men and women(in certain positions) to be pastors, leaders in this world, and specifically student ministry ministers and leaders. I want to use this PhD to reach students with the same vigor and influence that those like my parents, student minister, professors, and Godly adults had on me.

This PhD is far beyond me by any imagination. Honest, the thought of PhD scares me. I have wrestled and thought about this decision for a very long time, but time and time again I really been moved by the Holy Spirit that this will not be mine, but His. If I was to walk across the stage in the chapel in a few years, I would know without a shadow of a doubt that this degree would be by His grace and favor alone. I want to use this for His glory and to continue making Him known in my life, in the community around me, the among the globe in the places he Has allowed (and will continue to allow) me to go, and for the furthering of student ministry leader development in the years to come.