Graduate Profile: "Sam" (Undisclosed)

I grew up in Delaware in a Christian home. It was there that I heard the gospel preached both by my parents and in church. Finally, by the grace of God, I felt the Holy Spirit convicting me of my sin and of my need of a Savior. I then prayed with my mom and professed faith in Christ as my Lord and Savior.

Throughout my growing-up years, my parents were faithful to encourage me and my siblings to read books about God’s kingdom going forward in unreached lands. It was while reading biographies about overseas workers that I began to learn more of God’s heart for the nations. After graduating high school, God led me to a Bible school focused on seeing the gospel spread among the unreached. It was there that I continued to be challenged in the Word of God and had an increasing desire to know and understand the Word. While there, I also learned more about the unreached languages and God’s revealed plan to save a people for His name from every nation, people, and language. What a beautiful picture we see of this in Rev 7:9, where we learn that one day every nation and tongue will be gathered around His throne worshipping the Lamb that was slain.

It was also at Bible School where, by the grace of God, I met my wife, Emma. After graduating, we were married and worked for several years in a missions support role. While working in that role, we felt the Lord leading us to be more directly involved in seeing the nations (unreached languages) reached with the Truth. However, we realized that we weren’t yet properly equipped, so we spent 9 months training down in Mexico, learning, among other things, how to live cross-culturally in a relevant manner, how to learn a new language and culture, and what it takes to cross-culturally share the Truth in a way that is clear, as well as learning more about what makes up a biblical church.

After finishing training in Mexico, we were sent out by the Reformed Baptist Church of Riverside to Southeast Asia, where we and our 3 children have been for the past 3 years. We started out living in the capital city, where we learned the national language of the country. Now we are working in a northern province where, by the grace of God, we hope to one day see a church planted among the Niang people, to the praise of His glorious grace. 

RBS has been helpful in many different areas in equipping and strengthening me in the Word of God. Sitting under the teaching of godly men, hearing the professors’ passion for the glory of God, and seeing their love for Christ has been such an incredible blessing. To those who have ministerial ambitions and to those who desire to know and love Christ more, I would highly recommend RBS.

“Sam” (name undisclosed for safety reasons)