The impact of theological training: Lindsay’s story

Lindsay Rhodes was only a teenager when he experienced firsthand the difference it makes when church leaders are theologically trained. It turned out to be one of his main motivating factors when considering whether to study at Trinity himself.

Lindsay is grateful for the privilege of growing up in a Christian home. He went to church with his family every Sunday with a group of older, faithful believers. It wasn’t until Lindsay hit his teen years, when he started reading the Bible for himself, that he found himself with a lot of unanswered questions. 

A friend from school invited Lindsay to the youth group camp at another church — and that was where everything started to change for him. 

“I was really encouraged that there were a bunch of people my age who were Christians and were kind of excited about that,” Lindsay reflects, “but I was also really  comforted that my questions could actually be answered from the Bible.”

This was when Lindsay first noticed the difference in the way his questions were received, and he came to learn that these youth group leaders had been trained theologically. He was so encouraged by this, and the opportunities to get involved, that he ended up joining the church.

“My parents very kindly bent over backwards to make it work for me to go to this church that was 40 minutes away from our house,” Lindsay shares. “So even though I was moving away from their church, I could see for them that it was a really big deal that I went to church somewhere that I felt welcomed and cared for, so they were really excited for me.”

It was during this time that Linsday was able to build a really solid foundation for his faith. This was when he learnt that the Bible is all about Jesus, and it’s also when he realised that the reason he can have confidence in where he’ll go after he dies is because of what Jesus has already done for him. 

By the time Lindsay graduated from high school, he was keen to learn more and think about how he could live for Jesus. He decided to spend a gap year volunteering at his church, and he also went on a short-term cross-cultural mission trip to Vanuatu. Lindsay was really confronted by the overwhelming need for faithful gospel workers overseas.

“Not that there’s not good ministry to do in Perth,” Lindsay explains, “but it just really hit me on that trip and just kept eating away at me that there are lots of places in the world where people just don’t have those opportunities.”

Lindsay went to university and worked in his field of surveying for a number of years, but the desire for ministry never disappeared. He ended up doing a two-year apprenticeship at his church while studying a Master of Divinity part-time at Trinity, and he is now a full-time student.

“I was always aware that I would need training,” Lindsay shares. “Even going back to those camps that I went on in high school — seeing the value of good, careful training, I really saw the fruit of that. Given that I wanted to be teaching others, I wanted to make sure I had a good handle on the Bible myself.”

Lindsay says that choosing a specific Bible college wasn’t a difficult decision. He had been really impressed by the Trinity graduates he had interacted with.

“They were able to give really solid biblical teaching, while still doing it very  pastorally, which is a really rare combo,” Lindsay says.

While Lindsay is the first to admit he’s not what some might call an academic, he certainly appreciates the way he’s being forced to go deeper into the Bible through his studies. He feels deeply cared for by faculty and fellow students.

“The biggest thing the lecturers have pushed us on is just growing in humility and awe at God’s Word,” Lindsay shares. “The things we learn at college can’t just stay in our head, but have to change our hearts and our hands. The knowledge that we do get at Trinity is for the sake of the people that we will be serving in the future.”

Lindsay and his wife Anna have spent time in a number of different overseas locations, exploring cross-cultural missions opportunities. They are looking forward to seeing where they can best serve the Lord once they graduate.