Student Testimonies

My focus there is primarily youth ministry and pastoring the next generation. I also serve as Regional Leader for the South for Limitless, Elim’s youth movement, supporting youth leaders and churches across the region.

As well as that, I am increasingly using online platforms to encourage people in their walk with Jesus by teaching them how to engage with the Bible for themselves. (insta: MessyBiblePureHeart)

My time at SBC played a significant role in shaping both my theology and my practical approach to ministry. It grounded me deeply in Scripture, stretched me pastorally, and helped form the convictions that continue to guide my leadership today. I remain genuinely grateful for those formative years and the investment the College made in me.

I absolutely loved my time at the College. The staff there were instrumental in nurturing my faith and encouraging and affirming my sense of calling to chaplaincy ministry. In fact, a student placement from the College led directly to the role I now hold!

I especially valued the combination of robust academic teaching alongside the pastoral approach of the staff, as well as the confessional setting in which the student body gathered daily for prayer. It was a joy for me to discover that I was not alone in my questions and that there was a huge toolbox of resources available for a lifetime of spiritual, academic and pastoral exploration. I regularly return to the treasure trove I was introduced to – biblical interpretation, spiritual formation, church history, my Baptist identity – as a source of enrichment and depth.

My only regret is that I didn’t go to the College sooner!

My current role is as Chief Executive of Glasgow City Mission, I have been proud to occupy this position during the past seven (almost) years. I am a Director of a residential Christian Addiction Rehab Centre and Accredited Minister with the Baptist Union of Scotland, currently Interim Moderator at Linwood Baptist Church.

I came to faith when I was 26 and for the first 15 years of my journey I spent it observing denominational differences and trying to make sense of questions that theological formation would necessarily cover but without good guides and without companions for the journey. It was enjoyable and a good grounding for when I eventually gave up a career I was miserable in and took the plunge, I enrolled as a full time student at SBC. Immediately I knew it was going to be tough but that it was what I had been needing for years! All of the themes and issues I’d wrestled with alone were now being discussed in a forum of other people on the same journey. The reading was expansive and mind opening, the challenges to my preconceptions were challenging and the stretch at times was almost intolerable – but it was life-giving and it was fantastic!

The College gave me a place to drop what I thought I knew, deconstruct and reconstruct my approaches to theology and faith in countless helpful ways. The staff were and remain mentors and friends for the ongoing journey of formation. I genuinely owe the College a huge debt of thanks, for providing me with the challenge and support I needed and which has equipped me for so many of the practical and theological challenges I have faced in my work. If I could have stayed in the arena of theological education for the rest of life I would have been happy to do so.

UPDATE: Ali and Cathy Hunt joined us in 2016 for a one-year certificate. After returning to the mission field for a number of years, as a family they moved back to Scotland with Cathy finishing her degree studies between 2022-2025.

Why SBC? Why a Certificate course?

We were asked to study theology for one year to join our mission organisation (OMF International) as full members, that’s the reason we chose one year. We chose SBC because of practical reasons such as the lectures being held during the school day. We were also impressed by the website and the College’s philosophy and mission statement. It’s also a small and friendly College so it didn’t take long to settle in.

Academically I particularly enjoyed the modules Encountering the Bible and Listening to Scripture. In practical terms I also found Ethics and Pastoral Care very helpful. Personally it was great to study with other followers of Christ all seeking to know him better and serve him more.

Challenges / Highlights…

The workload is hard to juggle with part-time work and raising a family. It definitely helps that it comes in spurts and bursts dependent on semester breaks and assignment due dates, so if you’re working flat out hopefully it’s only for a few weeks at a time until the next lull!

Highlights are being part of the College community, learning from each other as well as receiving excellent teaching from the staff. Also opening God’s word in depth and looking at hermeneutics in the Listening to Scripture module was a real highlight for me.

How is SBC as a place to study individual class? Is it easy to integrate into the College?

I found SBC a friendly place to be. Staff and students were very welcoming and I quickly felt part of the college, even though I was only in once a week. The fulltime students even let me walk to the library and have lunch with them!!

What are some of the modules you’ve studied and what did you get out of them?

I have studied modules on ‘Worship’, ‘Baptist Identity’ and ‘Creative Homiletics’ and enjoyed each of them. I found them practically helpful, allowing me to enhance skills and in some cases providing me with new skills; and also challenging, as we looked at different ideas and spent time discussing together in class, often challenging each other’s thoughts…but in a safe and respectful way while also having a good laugh at times in the relaxed, supportive atmosphere created in class by lecturers.

What are some of the challenges / highlights from modular study at SBC?

As I was working fulltime, the main challenge I experienced was managing the weekly reading and uploading my reflections to the online forum, though this was also a very beneficial exercise to both clarify my own thoughts and to allow my opinions to be challenged by the comments of classmates. The work load was never unreasonable and with a bit of discipline, was definitely manageable.

Highlights are tricky to choose – I really enjoyed the classes, the break for worship (which was so varied, as everyone took a turn), and pretty decent coffee with good quality banter and generally having a wee snap shot of SBC life…which I reckon is pretty good!

Studying at the SBC is about learning in a safe environment where everyone has a chance to have their say and not passively in a crowd. Great place to prepare for future ministry.

I graduated from the Scottish Baptist College in 2007 having completed the BD (Hons) in Theology and Pastoral Studies. My time at the college was both formative and foundational, and helped me grow spiritually, theologically and vocationally. For me it laid a foundation that prepared me for various vocations such as a Secondary Teaching, Church Ministry, and latterly Prison Chaplaincy. A number of the relationships that were formed with both students and staff have continued for almost 20 years. The College did not only help me academically, but it helped me develop a broader approach to spiritual formation that has continued to develop to this day.

Overall I’d say my love for the Lord, my sense of calling to pastoral ministry and my passion for mission was developed through the both the studies and people I encountered at the Scottish Baptist College. 

My SBC journey began quite unexpectedly in August 2014  when a colleague remarked what a wonderful experience it was completing one of the theology modules at SBC. Having been a fan of Lewis Carrol`s Alice in Wonderland I became “curiouser and curiouser.”

In my role as a palliative care nurse, I was also part of the pastoral care team, so the first module I completed at the SBC was the directed learning module where I studied different religions. The knowledge I gained impacted positively. At work I became more confident in facilitating ward based  teaching sessions to colleagues and the rest of the team.

The more modules I undertook the more confident I became. This allowed a fuller understanding of spiritual and religious care that I could communicate effectively to patients, carers and other members of staff. I then completed the Healthcare Chaplaincy course at Glasgow University.  However, the biggest impact personally was in order to meet the patients / others where they were, I had to reflect and dig deep into where I was. Deep reflection allowed more self awareness of my own prejudices, preferences, likes and dislikes. In the end, I decided not to practice as a Healthcare Chaplain instead continuing my role in palliative and pastoral care. 

With hindsight I regret not completing the full course at SBC. All the staff, students, everyone I met, were wonderful at the SBC. It changed my life and I will never forget it.  

I am close to completing my final year of the BD programme at the Scottish Baptist College. My experience so far is that I have been challenged by the views of others, staff and students alike.

Moreover, as a consequence of studying the various subjects, I have found myself reflecting over my understanding of my faith and beliefs. Things I had just accepted or assumed have been shored up by learning or rethought.

Ultimately, this college is expanding my academic knowledge base and my theology as I work through what and why I believe what I do, in an environment where I am given space to be me.

During my time at SBC I’ve been challenged in numerous ways, all of it for the better. Knowing that God had brought me to SBC I wasn’t really sure what I had gotten myself into, but each class stretched me and helped to develop me and it has given me an amazing start in this journey that I am on with God.

The course was both difficult and thought provoking but I loved it. The support I received from both the staff and students at SBC was above and beyond anything I could have imagined.

I am sad not to be returning in September, but I know that once a student at SBC, you are never forgotten about.

Truly a safe place, an anvil, for thrashing ideas, expressing and testing opinions, and honing ministry skills. Personal, warm – but not in a fuzzy way, room for feisty-ness. A community of learning that promotes Christian life in the real world.