Britta and Paul Burger traded graduation robes for a wedding dress and tuxedo the summer after college. 庆祝活动没有持续太久. The newlyweds jumped right back into school, pursuing masters of divinity (MDiv) together at 北公园神学院.
保罗还记得第一堂课， Klyne史诺德的 New Testament I in the fall of 2010. Paul studied music as an undergrad at North Park, where the couple met. “I remember at the end of that class, walking out feeling like I was so giddy and so excited about what this next chapter held for us.”
四年过去了, Britta and Paul put back on graduation robes in the spring of 2013, and are now pastoring together at Bethany Covenant Church in Mount Vernon, 华盛顿. What they learned and the community they formed while at North Park is still a big part of their lives.
Britta serves as assistant pastor of youth ministry, a job she loves because of the personal interaction with young people and the collaborative nature of the pastoral staff. That appreciation of teamwork is something Britta traces back to her 神学院 education. Britta and Paul spent their third year as interns at a church in Michigan, and took online courses to complete the degree. “No student is ever a real fan of group projects,布雷塔说。. “But being an online student made it even more difficult.” She thought the reliance on technology, from phone conversations to Google chats was going to be a challenge. “But in this last week of ministry I’ve been planning a youth retreat, things that you have to do on the phone, 通过电子邮件, 这样做决定. I am very thankful that community learning and group projects were such a highly valued thing from many of the professors. 我知道我的风格是什么. I know the strengths of other people.”
Paul has similar interactions as assistant pastor of worship and technology, with projects from contemporary worship to the church website. He sometimes works with people who aren’t exactly computer savvy, and he looks for ways to live into his identity as a pastor in roles that might seem mundane. “The ideas sparked by my studies at North Park allow me to think deeply and differently about ministry. Not only is there practical application for what you learn about Scripture and what you learn about 神学, but a big thing for me was learning a different way to engage the world.”
“The quality of the education is immensely high at North Park, but the quality of the professors is even higher,保罗说. “They had so much to teach from what it means to be a pastor, 做牧师, 活出我的信仰. 这几乎是家族性的.”
Paul and Britta found a North Park family, at a time when they were forming their own family. “The gift and the blessing of a North Park 神学院 education is that you are doing it with people you know you will see year after year,布雷塔说。. “It’s more than just the three years you spend learning together. We’re all trying to figure this out together.”