Support Sara's Ministry Education

Friends I'm doing something big...

Even bigger than moving to a different country in the middle of a global pandemic, you ask? Yes, and this time, I want you to be a part of it.

Let me tell you a little bit of my story:

I’ve known that I am called to ministry since I was 15. The Lord has gifted me with a deep burden for seeing young people come alive by knowing and loving God, so I chose to go for a degree in Youth Ministry so I could be best equipped to teach and disciple students.

I found that I also loved learning, and I could see a gap in youth ministry of theological training that gives students a firm foundation of their faith. As I finished at Biola, I looked ahead to a potential master’s degree, and studying theology at Oxford became a dream I loosely held before God, asking him to guide me if this was to be my path. In the meantime, I planned my own way, not knowing how drastically it would change.

Fast Forward to December 2019

Fresh off school with my BA in Youth Ministry, I started a job as the program supervisor at a camp in California, a good next step for a new college grad. Growing up, camp was integral to my relationship with God, and I was excited to support youth pastors and make a space for others to encounter God in a unique way. I got my feet wet during Winter Camp 2020, and Summer Camp was on the horizon.

(I think you all know where I’m going with this.)

Covid hit, and doing camp ministry became all but impossible. After spending a few months trying to anticipate lockdown restrictions and maneuver summer camp plans, all the while wondering when I would lose my job, the day came in July when summer camp was cancelled, and I was officially laid off. Not exactly how I thought my first year of ministry would go. I wrestled for a long time with God about whether I should stay and fight this season out or cut my loses and head back to Colorado to start over. In the end, I decided to leave camp, taking a leap of faith and trusting in God to provide.

Remember the Oxford dream?

When I was laid off, the possibilities for the future burst wide open, and I thought, “What do I have to lose?” The answer was absolutely nothing, so I started my application to the Master of Theology in Applied Theology at Oxford. I had no idea if I stood a chance of getting in, or if I could even travel to the UK, but I turned in the application (about an hour before the deadline I might add) and my two week’s notice at camp.

August 10, 2020, the email came. I got in.

September 19, 2020, I arrived in Oxford at Wycliffe Hall.

(That’s about a 6-week turnaround, if you’re counting. God moves fast when he wants to.)

The past 5 months have been both incredibly difficult and lonely because of lockdown, but also the greatest adventure and sweetest times in my relationship with God. I’ve been challenged and stretched in ways I never anticipated, and I’m so blessed that God’s mercies are new every, single morning. I've found richness of life by integrating myself into community, which includes countless walks and takeaway coffees!

This year, I’ve learned about the process of Applied Theology, and I’ve just submitted two large papers that explore doctrine and theology and seek to apply it to practice. I will turn in two more in September, and then spend the next school year writing my dissertation. I chose this degree because it was a way of studying theology that would actually mean something off-paper. I don’t want to spend my life in a library, reading dusty books and writing high-brow essays just to sound intelligent. I want to learn to think well so I can teach others to know and love God well. I believe God wants us wholly, heart and mind, and Applied Theology is the path I chose to get there. The work I’m doing now is preparing me for the ministry God laid out for me, and I hope to continue to work as a bridge between the world of ministry and the world of academia.

This is where you come in!

Because I applied late, I missed all the deadlines for any scholarships I might be eligible for, and unfortunately, there are not that many available for theological studies. I’m so thankful I was able to get this year financially covered through a loan, and I will continue to pursue scholarship and grant opportunities. However, my time needs to be dedicated to my studies, in order to not be in substantial debt after I finish this degree and to be free to do the ministry that I believe God is calling me to, I need outside help to pay for next year.

Here is a breakdown of my anticipated costs:

• Tuition: £25,900 for one year of full-time study
• Rent: £142 per week, x37 weeks= £5,254
• Food: £120 per month
• Other living expenses: £50 per month

I work part-time as a barista, which covers my day-to-day expenses, but I am not able work enough to afford tuition and rent while in school.

£30,000 ($43,327) is a big number. But God is bigger, and I am so confident that he made a way for me to be here this year that I am trusting he will continue to make a way. So I’m asking you to trust and partner with me.

Will you trust with me that this work is preparing me for the ways I can best serve God’s church? Will you pray with me that God will provide a way for me to continue this training for the next school year?

If this is something you want to be a part of, please consider supporting and partnering with me. There are three different ways you can do so!

• Pray. Pray that my work would be meaningful now and to any future ministry for which I am being prepared, and that God would be glorified through it all.
• Give financially. I’m grateful for whatever you feel led to give.
• Share my story. I hope that my trust in God’s provision leads others to trust as well.

I'm so excited to see what God does in the coming months to prepare me for my last year of studies! Thank you for being a part of my journey!