“Shaped for a lifetime of ministry” – Justin’s story

After completing a Bachelor of Theology through Trinity as a mature-age student, Justin is now in the process of enrolling in his Masters.

Justin was raised in a Christian home, but it wasn’t until he attended a youth group camp as a teenager that he gave his life to Christ.

“As we were approaching the summer camp, one of the leaders insisted that I should come along,” Justin recalls. “I made up all kinds of excuses for not wanting to go, but in the end I went along—and Jesus radically changed my life.”

At the time, Justin was part of a local soccer team. When he went along to training for the first time post-camp, he realised that the Holy Spirit had already started convicting him.

“I remember the first swear word I heard and it felt like a dagger in my heart,” Justin explains. “God had completely changed my heart—and given me a new mouth.”

For Justin, that summer camp changed the trajectory of his life.

A few months after camp, Justin met the woman who would become his wife. They were married by the age of 20 and it wasn’t long before their family began to grow.

“Knowing that we were getting married quite young, I didn’t worry about uni,” Justin says. 

He jumped into the workforce, taking on a number of different roles ranging from working in a warehouse, to running a gardening business, to leading a workshop for a mining company. 

The entire time Justin was working in these varied roles, his desire to serve in church ministry never left.

“I was always involved in youth ministries or young adult ministry or various kinds of teaching ministry at the church that I was at,” Justin says. “I then had a fresh awakening. I had a new love for God’s Word as He was helping me read it in a new light.”

For Justin, that discovery was reformed theology.

“It really did start to change my life. It gave me a much, much greater love for Christ and what He’s done for us and for His Church as well,” Justin explains. “And I think that my desire and longing for ministry started to become sharper and sharper. A friend said to me, ‘You’ve got to get to Trinity—you know that’ll help you understand what it is that you’re reading, and to really be shaped by it and to grow in it and to be prepared for ministry.’”

At the time, Justin and his wife had three young kids, so studying full-time felt unachievable. Initially, he began studying theology part-time. 

“It then became increasingly clear that I needed to study full-time if I wanted to enter into ministry. So that’s when I made the jump.”

With the financial support of his church, after 18 months of part-time study Justin resigned from his job to go full-time at Trinity—and he hasn’t looked back. Justin describes his experience of studying at Trinity as a “delight.”

“Our lecturers have taught us how to handle the Bible,” Justin explains. “I think that being immersed in it for three years has shaped me. It’s given me a framework, and that gives me great confidence that what I’m teaching is in line with what God’s Word is saying. It gives you a lot of joy and a lot of confidence in the things that you’re learning as it really does shape you for, God-willing, a lifetime of ministry ahead.”

The other thing Justin has loved about Trinity is the fact that it’s interdenominational.

“I’ve now got a bunch of Anglican friends. I’ve got a bunch of Presbyterian friends. I’ve got a bunch of non-denominational friends—spread out all across the city, and potentially going to be all across the globe one day,” he says. “I’ve got a relationship with all of them that makes it possible for us to partner in ministry. We might have some differences in some areas, but we hold the gospel firm at the centre.”

Justin is wrapping up his Bachelor’s degree at the end of this year, and he’s currently enrolling in the Masters of Theological Studies program. He plans to do that while working at his church part-time as an associate pastor.

If you ask Justin, Trinity’s motto—Preparing people for effective Christian service—is so much more than a slogan on the website. 

“They’re not just about academics for academics’ sake,” Justin says. In his experience, Trinity has truly trained and equipped him to play his part in growing and strengthening the Church.