Graduate Profile: Joseph Ely, D.T.S.

As a son of a worship leader, I was raised in a Christian home my entire life. I was first baptized when I was six years old, but it wasn’t until I was eleven when I fully understood and grasped my faith. I was then baptized a second time in August 26th, 2007. I don’t remember the moment as a life-changing experience, but I know that in that moment I had owned my faith and had taken it seriously. From then on, I started my journey into knowing God more and pursuing His heart. There were many times I have fallen, lost sight of Christ, and chased after the idols of this world. But it was by the sovereign grace and love of God alone that He has picked me back up and set me back on course.

In serving the church, the Lord has given me the abilities and capacity to serve in the video and sound ministry. I’ve been in this ministry for eight years and God has shown me what it truly means to have a servant’s heart and to serve in humility, all glory to Him. As a part of this ministry, God has blessed me with multiple opportunities to do sound and video for Sunday mornings, prayer services, choir, Christmas events and concerts, and much more. Because of my experience and the gifts God has graciously given to me in this field, my desire is to become a director of church media production and use my talents to further God’s kingdom and build up His church.

Reformed Baptist Seminary has provided me with the core training necessary to proclaim God’s truth to both believers and non-believers. I was able to graduate with a Certificate of Theological Studies, and I thank and praise God for the challenging and maturing time I had in my studies. It was rigorous but in the end, it was worth it. With the biblical knowledge in my head, I desire to apply it in my heart and in my life. My desire is to use this knowledge to proclaim Truth and Life in a church that God has called me to serve. There are many churches that are entertainment-driven and therefore drown the Gospel. I want to change that. I want to use the good gifts that God has created and use them as a tool to glorify God. I want every person to see and taste the goodness of God and the Life and Hope that only Christ can give.  

I highly recommend Reformed Baptist Seminary to those who desire to enter the pastoral ministry. I also recommend this school to laymen who want to grow closer to Christ and dive deeper into the heart of God.  

~ Joseph Ely

 

Bob Gonzales

Bob Gonzales has served as a pastor of four Reformed Baptist congregations and has been the Academic Dean and a professor since 2005. He is the author of Where Sin Abounds: the Spread of Sin and the Curse in Genesis with Special Focus on the Patriarchal Narratives and has contributed to the Reformed Baptist Theological Review, The Founders Journal, and Westminster Theological Journal. Dr Gonzales is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society. He and his wife, Becky, reside in Boca Raton, Florida.