A Drive to Disciple

In 2016, John Thomson started studying at The Master’s Seminary. He knew he wanted to teach the Bible to others but wasn’t sure in what capacity.

Then an opening for a resident director position at The Master’s University caught his attention. He wasn’t a TMU graduate, but the more he learned about the position, the more he saw how it aligned with his desires. He longed to invest in the lives of Christians, coming alongside them in the trenches.

“I saw a unique opportunity to disciple people who care about Christ, in an immersive environment,” Thomson said.

And that is exactly what he has done. Thomson came on as the RD of Slight Hall in fall 2016 and has ministered to college students in the dorm ever since. This summer, he is finally passing the baton — one of ever-deepening commitment to biblical discipleship.

When Thomson understood the mission and vision of student life at TMU, he says he was thrilled about the potential to serve. In the dorms, he had an opportunity to holistically minister to young Christians who were just beginning to live on their own.

“They’re trying to figure out why they believe what they believe and what that looks like,” he says.

Thomson hadn’t experienced any relational discipleship in his own life until he was out of high school. “The lack of it left me in kind of a spiritual stupor,” he says.

But as he started meeting with an older believer after high school graduation, he saw growth. “It brought such great life to me when I started to see victory over sin,” he says. That transformation drove Thomson to pursue cultivating the same growth in others.

Now, Thomson’s passion comes from an ever-increasing conviction that discipleship is central to his calling in life. He sees his task as a reflection of Paul’s goal to “present every man complete in Christ” (Colossians 1:28). Drawing on the Great Commission, he notes how all Christians are called to make disciples — followers of Christ who live in obedience to Him.

“I can just go through and show you probably from almost every book of the Bible, the call to be who you’ve been made to be,” he says.

Even as he prepared to move on from TMU in pursuit of pastoral ministry, Thomson made sure to finish his final semester in Slight on a Christ-honoring note.

“I’m working hard right now to leave a culture in the dorm that’s ready to receive a new RD,” he says, “because I fully believe that the unique opportunity offered by this type of life-on-life ministry is invaluable.”

To learn more about campus life at The Master’s University, visit masters.edu/life-at-tmu/campus-life.

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