Head, Heart & Hands Transformed

I started my learning journey with EAST in 2013 while being an entrepreneur running a family-owned business. I served as an elder on my church board, led a 20-member Home Group Community (HGC) and chaired the evangelism rally committee.

A Call to be Equipped

My wife and I enrolled into the EAST Master of Divinity program to answer our senior pastor’s call for the lay leaders in our church to be theologically trained to preach and teach more effectively, and eventually contribute towards the vision of expanding our pastoral institute into a liberal arts theological institution.

Along the way, the Lord has led me into the BAM (Business as Mission) ministry for urban ministry collaborations with other entrepreneurs. So far, God has allowed me the privilege to establish a number of BAM start-ups and lead the urban ministry collaboration in an East Asian city.

Holistic Education

Rather than just acquiring head knowledge, I find myself being transformed in my heart, which impacted the actual doing of my hands.

Our learning happened not just in class, but also in our mentoring group and ministry time in Ministry Weekends, FIRM (Formation, Integration, Reflection, and Ministry) classes and (CCTI) Cross-Cultural Team Internship trips. The highlight for me was the 20 days of my CCTI trip in Mongolia.

God has broadened my initial idea of local church ministry into a vision for even more collaborations in His kingdom. This is all for His glory.

Spiritual Refreshing

Christian Leadership Foundations was the EAST module that impacted me the most. While serving as a leader in ministry, I did not realize that I had neglected the condition of my heart and was burning out. In this module, the Lord taught me to create margins in my life to “take care and love myself”. I learned to prioritize my time with God and family to serve Him more effectively in the long haul.

For those considering when to attend bible school for holistic equipping in the head, heart, and hands, there is no better time than now!

– Michael is a graduate from our Master of Divinity program, and his passion is to reach and equip entrepreneurs for Christ.