While Scott Howard grew up in a Christian household with parents that loved Jesus, he describes his childhood and teenage years as a time of having “Christian morals but not a Christian faith.” But during university he became involved with the campus Christian group, and towards the end of his first year at university, he became a Christian when he attended the National Training Event.
At this event, he realised for the first time how true and valuable the gospel is, and how precious it is to be entrusted with it. “That hit home for me, because I had heard the gospel a lot, but I hadn’t done anything with it,” Scott explains.
This moment stayed with Scott, and he became more and more convinced of the need to do something with the gospel he had been given. “It hit me that I should probably consider taking the gospel to those that don’t know about Jesus yet,” Scott remembers.
For Scott, the next logical step was heading towards mission work. “My engineering brain told me to maximise the output, so take the gospel where it would impact the most people.”
Scott finished university and worked as an engineer for a few years, but his eyes were still set on the mission field. So next, he did a ministry apprenticeship, working with international students at Curtin University. During this time, Scott had married, and he and his wife applied to join OMF as missionaries. After his ministry apprenticeship ended, Scott started studying at Trinity Theological College.
“Trinity is what my mentors recommended, and I didn’t even really consider going out of Perth to study,” Scott admits. A big factor for Scott and his wife in choosing to stay in Perth for study was being close to family support. Just three weeks into his first year, Scott and his wife welcomed their second child.
Scott had known that juggling study and life with a newborn would be tricky, but it became even more complex when his wife developed postnatal depression. “My first year at Trinity was really hard,” Scott reflects.
In response to these challenges, Scott took his degree more slowly, completing the usually three-year Master of Divinity in five years. This flexibility allowed Scott to care for his wife and family while continuing his studies.
For someone who loves books, Scott’s time at College “living in a library” as he described it, was a highlight. But more than the delights of reading, Scott felt God was shaping and maturing his character in big ways through his experiences at Trinity. The close and personal relationships students can have with lecturers at a smaller college like Trinity meant that Scott was transformed not just by their teaching, but by their lives as well. He valued the honesty of lecturers and mentors who challenged him in different ways.
Through most of his time at College, the plan was still to end up in overseas mission work. But after all the Howard family had been through, a mentor and friend came alongside Scott in great wisdom and kindness to have a hard discussion.
“We were struggling here in Perth where we actually had family support, and he could see that we would basically completely crumble out in the field where the language is not our own. The first few years of any mission work is incredibly tough because you’re in a new culture and constantly learning. This mentor basically said that he didn’t think we should do mission work.”
When Scott heard this, another realisation hit home – that his identity as a missionary in training had become more important to him than it should have been. “I think the fact we were known as missionaries had become an idol. And it was a super painful experience to see that and repent of that. But as we considered our need to rely on God and what he has given us, it ended up being a very freeing experience, because then we had to consider what was next.”
For Scott and his family, what was next was ministry in Australia – right at home in Perth in fact. Scott describes his work now as a joy and a privilege, as he serves as a ministry worker at the Westminster Presbyterian Church at Bull Creek, and works towards ordination.
For those in Perth thinking about theological study, Scott says Trinity Theological College is the only place he would recommend. “If you’re in Perth and want to do ministry in Perth, you need to be trained by people who understand its particular context and culture. And if we want the gospel culture in WA to grow, we need Trinity to grow. It’s so important that people can be trained in Perth without needing to upend their whole lives going somewhere else.”
Scott reflects on his years at Trinity as a season of delighting in God’s word, and he knows there is no better foundation to build a lifetime of ministry on than this. He wants to encourage current students to keep delighting in God and his Word, and what he has shown us through Christ.
For himself, Scott asks for prayer that his heart would be so enthralled by Christ that it would permeate all of who he is and what he does – that he would never place his hope or delight in anything but Jesus.
