Graduate Series: Tim Houston

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Hi, my name’s Tim Houston. I’ve been married to Claire for 7 years and we have a one-year-old called Abigail. I enjoy travelling, reading, pram-walks to the park, drumming and playing basketball. I serve as the assistant pastor of Dundonald Baptist Church.

 

When did you study at IBC and what was the most beneficial thing you gained from your time here?

I studied the Preparation for Ministry Degree course at the College from 2020-2023. If I had to select one thing to be the most beneficial I think it would be the unwavering commitment of the College to upholding the authority and inerrancy of God’s word. I could mention some of my favourite modules, such as Prophetic Books and Biblical Hebrew respectively, or my favourite lectures, like the theology of John’s letters and a biblical theology of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit respectively. But what was even more beneficial than the sum of my favourite parts of the degree was the fact that every lecturer taught from the shared conviction that Scripture is God’s authoritative revelation. This is not as common as we might like to think in our day, even in Bible colleges/seminaries.

 

What are you doing now that you’ve left the College, and how did your time at IBC help prepare you for that?

Since leaving College I have been serving as the assistant pastor of Dundonald Baptist Church on the Ministry Partnership Scheme. This is the church where I did my student placement during my second year at College which greatly helped me to get to know the church and vice versa. My time at IBC helped me prepare for pastoral ministry in this practical way, by giving me experience serving in a church alongside an experienced pastor. Other areas that IBC equipped me practically included regular preaching with feedback from peers and lecturers, College evangelism teams, cross-cultural evangelism placement, and organising the College carol service and other special events while serving as the student chairman in my final year.

Of course my time at IBC was largely spent studying and writing and these proved to be extremely valuable too. Apart from helping me to become better at time management, academic research, writing, reviewing and editing are important disciplines not only for a degree programme, but are transferable skills for preparing sermons and other talks.

 

What can we pray for you?

As my two years in Dundonald Baptist comes to a close in the summer, please pray for us as we seek God’s leading for future ministry. Pray that as we continue to learn through the challenges and blessings of parenthood day-by-day, we will always try to live out the gospel before our daughter as she grows up from infancy. Pray that she will come to know Jesus as her personal Saviour and Lord and that God will use her in His kingdom and for His glory.