How the BD prepared me for overseas ministry

Mark Rainbow

‘SO ERR… WHY DID YOU GO ALL THE WAY TO AUSTRALIA TO STUDY? AREN’T THERE ANY THEOLOGICAL COLLEGES IN THE UK?’

I’ve rightly been asked this many times since returning home after four years at Moore College. The UK does indeed have many theological colleges, some of which do a fine job of teaching and training men and women for Christian ministry and mission. So why undergo the upheaval and difficulty of travelling over 10,000 miles when I could be trained in the UK? My usual response: ‘the weather!’ But much as we enjoyed the sunshine (when not getting burned by it), the real reason was the high regard we had for Moore College and the particular opportunities for training we felt it afforded. We were both already acquainted with many of the faculty having been helped by their books, and we’d also had very positive experiences of the Moore College graduates we’d met—their biblical wisdom and godly character were a great commendation of the Lord’s work at Moore.

I’ve now been back in the UK for 3 ½ years, serving in student ministry and latterly in a church plant, seeking to proclaim Christ to our suburb of Durham. It’s probably only in the last 18 months that I’ve really started to appreciate the true value of the training I’ve received. The ministry I’m involved in is in many ways very ordinary—teaching and training men and women the word of God that they might be equipped to serve him now as they wait patiently for Christ’s return. Yet this ordinary ministry requires dealing with an array of complex challenges: false teaching that needs to be understood and corrected; pastoral situations that require hard biblical reflection and thoughtful, careful responses; and the perennial challenge of proclaiming God’s truth within a context in which it is increasingly alien.

While grateful for so many things about my time at Moore, I feel there are two particular strengths of the college course. The first is the strong gospel roots in the BD course. Moore is relatively unusual in how it prescribes much of the content for the first three years of study. Students are not allowed to specialise too quickly, and as such are exposed to a wide breadth of teaching across a range of important subject matters. Such breadth is necessary for pastoral ministry with all its opportunities and challenges. It also provides a strong foundation for then pursuing greater depth in the final year through selected modules and an extended project. What particularly impressed me was that this academic rigour was housed within a robust and Christ-centred gospel framework, with strong evangelical convictions running throughout every part of the course.

The second particular strength we found at Moore was the chance to learn in community. Faculty are easily accessible, with most living in and around the various residential campuses. This gives a chance to learn further from them and also to see how the gospel impacts their lives. Some of the most memorable lessons I took away from Moore came from informal chats with lecturers over morning tea. Living alongside fellow students allows for the chance to share life together, greatly aiding one of the most important emphases of the college—to see students grow in godliness.

Often people ask us ‘would you like to go back to Australia?’

Yes, we would. We loved our time in Sydney, and still feel we have much to learn. But we came praying the Lord would use our time to better equip us to serve him in our part of the world. And we’re so thankful that he answered that prayer.

Mark is married to Sarah and they have two daughters. Mark oversees the student work at Christchurch Durham and is the minister of Grace Church Newton Hall.