Graduate Profile: Christian Poleynard, MDiv

The fact that you are reading this is a miracle. My name is Christian Poleynard, and I am one of the pastors at the Reformed Baptist Church of Riverside in Southern California.

I stand amazed at the miracle of God's grace to pull me out of a hell-bent life, set my feet on the solid rock of Christ, and call me into the ministry of the gospel of the lover of my soul.

I have some kind of foggy memory of dealing with God in my own mind around the age of 11 or 12 and telling him that I would live the Christian life after I had enjoyed myself- maybe around the age of 20 or so, I thought. The next 8 or 9 years were a spiral into sin and mental anguish. God was merciful to me—He broke me—and He drew me to Himself after I was left with nothing to stand on at the age of 20!

Immediately I felt a call into pastoral ministry, possibly like many young believers do. I didn't understand the doctrines of grace at this time, but was married to my beautiful and lovingly-wise help mate, Katy, when I was 24. We both immediately left for the mission field in East Africa in 1999. At this time I was a deacon in our local church, but Katy and I served the Lord in the midst of the African bush for 4 years. When we came home, I needed to acquire a skill set. I still felt called to pastoral ministry, and was discovering the doctrines of grace and Reformed writings (and the Puritans!).

I entered undergraduate studies at a community college in Southern California, transferred to the University of California, Riverside, and gained my B.A. in History in three years. Meanwhile, we joined the Reformed Baptist Church of Riverside in 2006. I gained my M.A. in teaching from Chapman University and two teaching credentials and began public school teaching in 2007. At the same time, our twin boys were born.

I had heard about RBS after doing an internet search, in 2006. After counsel from my elders, I began the M.Div. program in 2010. I was ordained to the pastorate in 2015, but I continue to also work full time as a public school teacher. The past 10 years have been a wonderful time of studying under the pastors and scholars of RBS. The genius of RBS is not only its Reformed and Baptistic theology, but that men like myself—who work full time, have families, and are engaged in ministry—can get a seminary education at our own pace.

I want to thank Dr. Gonzales and his assistant Kyle for their patience with me, for Dr. Gonzales' wisdom and insight into the Scriptures and his zeal for truth and his love for the student body. I thank God for my fellow elder and mentor, Robert Elliott, for his encouragement to press on when I wanted to give up (after the struggle in the languages). I thank God for the church in Riverside for their constant support. My wife and 3 boys have constantly prayed for me and inspired me in my studies, and I thank the Lord for them.

I have written a lot of bio here, but it is to paint a picture of how RBS is able to bend and flex with the life of its students, and to impart a wealth of robust theological understanding at the same time. Please pray for this seminary! It is being used to equip pastors who normally couldn't afford to attend a brick-and-mortar school, and yet it gives (in my opinion) the same caliber of an education. May the Lord use RBS, may the Lord use the men it has and will train, and through it all may the gospel and kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ storm the gates of hell!