Graduate Profile: Mark Culton, MTS

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I am happily married to my wife Jen of 17 years, and we have 3 incredible daughters - Avery (15), Quinn (13) and Preslie (10). God allowed me to serve in youth ministry for 20 years before calling me to pastor the Cedar Lake campus of Bethel Church in Northwest Indiana. I am privileged to serve Christ's church and lead our people to make disciples whose lives are all about Jesus Christ.

God rocked my parent's world when I was born, causing them at age 19 to reevaluate their faith and evaluate their commitment to church. This led to a family environment where I was raised from birth in the church, developing a love for the Scriptures and Jesus Christ. I can still remember the day I came home from Sunday School and went up to my bedroom to commit my life to Jesus. I knew that God was calling me to trust in Jesus Christ alone as my Savior. That began a journey of exploring the Scriptures on my own which has been a North Star in my story.

In my elementary years, I was convicted that God was calling me into vocational pastoral ministry one day. Even during my middle and high school years, I began to plan one day to enter the pastorate, and I read quite a few theological books. It was through this reading and studying that I began to question some aspects of the theological framework that I was raised in and gravitate towards reformed theology. I saw a beautiful continuity in Scripture, and a constant God-centeredness that was less about me and more about God accomplishing what He wanted for His glory.

After graduating from Bible college, I decided to enroll in Biblical Seminary of Hatfield, PA, where the Scriptures came alive even more than before. After a few years sabbatical from seminary, I found Reformed Baptist Seminary which not only was a good fit theologically, but was also flexible with my stage in life and ministry. RBS has been a wonderful place to deepen my understanding of God's Word and grow in my love for the God that I serve.

I am incredibly grateful for God's loving kindness which I have experienced each day of my life - the days I recognize it and give God glory, and the days I am too narrow minded to worship Him as I should. I would be lost and without hope if it were not for the marvelous grace of Jesus Christ. All praise to Him.

Mark Culton

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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.