When God Opens a Door

For as long as he can remember, Ethan has been a follower of Jesus. Growing up in a Christian home, he was deeply influenced by his parents’ faith and the community at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church. But while Christianity was always part of his upbringing, it wasn’t until after he graduated from university that Ethan began to see how he might be able to serve God with his life.

As a student at UTS, Ethan became involved with Credo, a campus ministry committed to sharing Jesus with university students. Through his involvement in Credo, he saw firsthand the impact of gospel workers who dedicated their lives to serving others. Ethan explains that while he felt open to the idea of going into full-time ministry, at that point he hadn’t seriously considered it.

After he finished his degree in Organisational Learning, Ethan found himself floating a little bit, without a strong sense of direction in regards to his future career. It was at this point that one of his Credo staff members asked to meet up with him to chat about a financial partnership. Ethan explained that he could only commit to giving a small amount, because he wasn’t working very much at the time—and he didn’t know what the future held.

That was when Ethan was asked to consider coming on board at Credo as a ministry apprentice.

Though it hadn’t been on his radar, the more Ethan thought about it and prayed over it, the more it seemed like the right thing to do. He received confirmation from his pastor when he asked him about it, too.

“He basically said, ‘Yeah, I think you should consider it and I’ll be your first financial partner,’” Ethan recalls. “He was putting his money where his mouth is, so I took that as a sign that this was something I should seriously consider.”

Ethan took the step of committing to an apprenticeship, eager to test whether full-time gospel work was where God was leading him. By the end of that season, Ethan was asked to stay on at Credo in uni student ministry. It was only a few years later when Ethan realised that if he were going to serve in full-time ministry longer term, he would need to undertake some theological study.

“Really it wasn’t a question of if I would study, but when I would study,” he says.

It also wasn’t a question of where he would study. Ethan had so many personal connections to Christ College, and had heard so many positive reports about it, that he didn’t really consider anywhere else. So at the start of 2023, Ethan began studying a Graduate Diploma of Divinity part-time, which he is on track to complete by the end of this year.

For Ethan, his study at Christ College has had a direct impact on his ministry.

“ It was basically instantly noticeable,” Ethan shares. “Partly because of the content that we’re doing on campus—sometimes it just so happens to line up with what I was doing at college.  Very often it’s really quickly, directly applicable. I am definitely more well-equipped.”

Something Ethan has appreciated about Christ College is the smaller numbers in classes.

“The relationship that you have with your lecturers does seem a little bit more personal than if you’re in a lecture hall of 100 or 150 people,” Ethan says. “A couple of times I’ve gone to ask my lecturer questions outside of class time, and that’s been really helpful. I imagine if I was in a really big class, I don’t think I would feel as comfortable doing that.”

As he looks to the future, Ethan is looking forward to seeing what God has in store. Whether it’s continuing in student ministry or stepping into another ministry context, his prayer is simple: to be faithful with the opportunities God gives him.