Graduate Profile: Matthew Taylor

I was blessed to be saved at a very young age, and not to have any real memories of living my life apart from Christ. However, growing up I never felt any real calling or desire to pursue any type of pastoral ministry. My wife and I married when we were 21 years old and have always attended church together. At one point in our early adult years, we were involved in children’s ministry through our church’s AWANA program, and I found that to be rewarding. However, I still did not have a desire to serve in any type of pastoral role.

During most of my adult life I have worked in law enforcement as a police officer and now as a correctional officer. However, over the last several years of the approximately 20 years that I have spent in law enforcement, I started to feel drawn towards becoming more and more involved in church ministry. At one point, I was invited by my Pastor to teach an adult Sunday School class. That role inspired me to learn more about theology so that I would be better equipped to teach others. My Pastor started mentoring me and I began to have a voracious appetite for theological books. Eventually, my Pastor suggested that I work with him over the course of a year to train to become an elder in our church. I undertook this task and enjoyed the learning process. At the end of that year the church members voted to appoint me as one of the church elders.

At this point I became interested in going through more formal training, but my life was busy; between my more than full-time job, my wife and two children, and my work at the church; there did not seem to be any practical way for me to engage in any type of seminary education. However, my Pastor had learned about Reformed Baptist Seminary and suggested that I look into it. After doing a lot of research into RBS and after a lot of praying, I decided to enroll in RBS.

Seminary education does not make someone a better Christian, rather it is a tool that can make one more effective in pastoring others. The education that I have received so far from RBS has certainly increased my skills and abilities in serving the members of my congregation. My prayer is that I will continue to have more educational opportunities to further develop and refine my pastoral skills so that I can be a better servant of those who God has placed under my care. God’s grace is amazing, and I have seen him work miracles in the lives of people in my community. I have been blessed by being able to participate in the spiritual growth of others and RBS is one means that God has used to equip me for such a task.

Glory to God Alone,

Matthew W. Taylor