Sowing seeds of faith: Jacinta’s transition from agribusiness to Bible college

Though Jacinta Patterson grew up in a Christian home, it wasn’t until she was at university that her eyes were opened to the truth of the gospel.

During Jacinta’s first year of a double degree in Agricultural Science and Commerce at UWA, she attended a Christian camp. It was during this camp that she heard the gospel message for what felt like the first time.

“I was convinced and convicted of Jesus’ lordship, and my need to come under his rule,” Jacinta says. “His Spirit has been unravelling and reconstituting me ever since.”

After graduating from university, Jacinta spent time working in her parents’ second business, an agricultural chemical company. During this time she decided to head back to UWA to do a Ministry Apprenticeship with the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students. From this she planned to go to Bible College to get equipped for full-time ministry. Jacinta was encouraged to study at Trinity if she intended to do ministry in Perth—which has turned out to be great advice.

“I chose Trinity because it’s a reformed evangelical college, and because it’s in Perth—it’s good to support the local college and study where you hope to work,” Jacinta explains.

Now in her third year of a Masters of Divinity, Jacinta has enjoyed this season of full-time theological study.

“I’ve appreciated our lecturers, whose teaching is world class and they are all fun in different ways. They also care about us students,” she says.

Studying at Masters level hasn’t always been easy.

“I’m not an abstract thinker, so the theology units were rough,” Jacinta explains. “Thankfully other people carried me. It’s an intense course.”

Jacinta is grateful for the way God has been working in and through her as she has been studying over the past three years.

“I’m a bit sharper in my exegesis, have a greater grasp and appreciation of Christian thought throughout history that informs our practice today, as well as excellent notes that I can come back to when I don’t remember things I should know but need to know one day!” she says. “While I have been at College, in the pressure cooker that it is, I have grown a lot as a person, particularly in self-awareness which is good for my own maturity and makes life better for those around me!”

Over the past 12 months, while in her final year at Trinity, Jacinta has been a Church Planting Resident at Providence Bayswater. She is thrilled that in 2024 she will be staying at Providence, having recently accepted a position as Director of Membership & Maturity.

“I’m stoked to be staying on,” she says. “My boss Paul Young is an excellent human and superb trainer, and the people there are also loved by God and myself.”

Now at the end of her Masters of Divinity, Jacinta is very happy to recommend Trinity to others, both as a place to study and a place to support.

“The lecturers are godly people who all have experience in vocational ministry and so are not just dry academics,” she says. “The students come from a diverse range of church backgrounds which keeps things interesting and creates wonderful unity over the gospel, and helps lesser things to take their rightful place. Supporting Trinity is a no-brainer if we want to keep raising up people to serve our risen Lord.”