Southwestern graduates look to future ministry opportunities

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Texas Baptist College (TBC) recognized the largest fall graduating class since December of 2000 on Dec. 5, during the fall commencement. More than 200 students graduated with a variety of degrees and certificates, marking the culmination of their academic achievements.

Graduating students represented about 32 states, including Washington D.C., 33 countries, and a wide variety of backgrounds and ministries.

Carlson Barros is one of 10 graduates who are the first students to complete Southwestern’s Master of Theological Studies in Portuguese, his native language.

Originally from Brazil, Barros has lived in Orlando, Fla., for more than 20 years and works as a technical director in his church.

Leaders at his church, who had attended Southwestern, encouraged him to become a student, and Barros said the MTS program in Portuguese “was life changing.”

While attending remotely from Florida, Barros has had the opportunity to put his studies into practice at his church. Although he normally prefers to work “behind-the-scenes” running lights and sound, and meeting other technical needs for the services, his time in the MTS program has led him to start an entirely new ministry he calls “backstage shepherding.”

Through it, he hopes to help provide an adequate level of teaching to those who can’t give their full attention during a church service because they are serving in some capacity on the service team.

“Backstage shepherding is something that I want to go ahead and develop really well, so other churches can use it, too,” he said. “It’s something that Southwestern helped me to equip.”

While further studies may be in his future, Barros said for now, “family is my first priority. That’s something Southwestern taught me to relearn. Because, if you want to start a ministry, you got to start on your family.”

Jeremy and Stephanie Litton moved from Somerset, Ky., to attend Southwestern, and were able to graduate together, just days before the expected birth of their third child. Stephanie received her Doctor of Education in higher education administration and Jeremy received his Master of Divinity in teaching and discipleship.

The Littons’ journey to Southwestern began when Jeremy felt the call to ministry while serving at his local church. After some prayer and discussion with peers, they each chose to apply to Southwestern.

“We knew nothing about Southwestern, other than the couple of things that we had read online,” Stephanie recalling their sudden move to Fort Worth. “We had never seen it and never seen the housing, knew nothing. We just kind of moved here on blind faith.”

Jeremy started classes in the fall of 2021 and Stephanie began her degree the following year with the goal of being involved in higher education in the field of student services. The Littons have been a staple of the Southwestern campus in recent years, with Stephanie currently serving as the director of Student Success and International Student Services and Jeremy serving as the resident director of Fort Worth Hall.

“I feel called to serve the local church,” Jeremy said of his goal of being able to help senior pastors from a supportive and teaching role. “I served in Kentucky before we moved down here and so I really love to teach.”

Moving forward, Jeremy has plans to eventually pursue doctoral studies as well, though in the meantime they each look forward to taking a break from academics to spend time with their three children and serving their local church and the seminary.

“Wherever the Lord would have us serve, that’s where we’ll go,” Jeremy said.”

Andrea Bradford, from New Orleans, La., graduated with her Doctor of Education, following a call to analyze and help increase African American literacy rates with a Christian worldview.

“I was looking around in literature for black literacy, and how academics answer the question to how we can ‘cure’ or ‘ameliorate’ black illiteracy,” Bradford explained. “And I thought, ‘You know what? I want to be able to contribute to this conversation with a Christian perspective.’”

This calling to address a critical issue for the black community with a Christian voice, combined with encouragement from her husband Carl Bradford, dean of TBC, led her to choose Southwestern for her academic journey. She said she appreciated the “Gospel first” approach the seminary’s classes offered, as opposed to a more secular program.

“The time we spent in devotion and in prayer with the Lord, I was just so impressed with,” Bradford said of her classes. “Because we cared not only about academics, but our relationship with the Lord.”

Bradford hopes to publish her dissertation on black literacy rates and how to address them with a Christian mindset, specifically focusing on raising biblical literacy within the African American community.

“We have tons of books that, especially to African Americans, I feel they focus more on cultural things, which I think is very important,” Bradford said. “But I think the biggest thing we should understand is our identity in Christ.

William Beckham, a Fort Worth native, graduated with his Bachelor of Arts in humanities from TBC. Though beginning his educational journey at another institution pursuing communications, Beckham realized he felt called into ministry.

“I decided to transfer, because I kind of discerned I have this desire to go into ministry, and wanted to go be a pastor,” Beckham said.

After speaking with a mentor, he was urged to attend Southwestern, where he started classes in the fall of 2022. Since then, he met his wife, Hailey, on campus, got a job working in the campus provost’s office, and has decided he wishes to continue his education at the seminary, beginning his pursuit of a Master of Arts in Theology in the spring 2026 semester, with the eventual goal of pursuing doctoral studies.

“I just had a wonderful, wonderful experience and loved it,” Beckham said of his time at Southwestern.

Kristen Patrick, from Dallas, Texas, graduated with a Master of Music in Church Music, with a concentration on voice performance and pedagogy from Southwestern’s School of Church Music and Worship. Her journey at the seminary began in 2018 when her mother encouraged her to pursue music studies after high school.

“I found Southwestern,” Patrick recounted. “I grew up in a religious home, very faithful, and had wanted that theological education along with music education, so I auditioned, and they let me in.”

After earning her bachelor’s, Patrick decided she wanted to continue her education, pursuing a graduate degree at the seminary.

“I’ve loved it,” Patrick said on her time at Southwestern. “I’ve learned so much, not just musically, but theologically and doctrinally, too.”

While still contemplating whether to continue her education through doctoral studies, she is admittedly looking forward to a period of rest from class. Patrick enjoys working in the campus library and performing vocally at various jobs and “gigs” throughout the DFW area.

“I’m excited to at least kind of take a semester and pray about where the Lord’s leading me and what kinds of things He wants me to look forward to next,” Patrick concluded.

Coleman Ford, a Fort Worth native and assistant professor of humanities for TBC, graduated with his Master of Theology in ethics and philosophy. Although he already earned a Doctor of Philosophy from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and three other master’s degrees, Ford said pursing the additional degree was both for himself professionally and was a personal statement of solidarity with the seminary as well.

“Ever since coming to Southwestern in 2020, it was a desire of mine to eventually earn a degree from the school,” Ford said. “While I consider myself a Southwesterner by disposition and desire, I wanted to ensure I was a Southwesterner by degree as well.”

Ford has enjoyed being on the other side of the lectern at the seminary, enjoying his time learning from his peers.

“My time in classroom at Southwestern has been a treasure to me,” Ford said. “Though I have the privilege of being on faculty, I am perpetually a student, and I always wish to learn from my colleagues. … I never want to stop learning, and I always have ideas about what I want to write and explore. That desire may mean reading another book, writing an article, or exploring another degree.”

Ford said he is excited for the future possibilities of applying his new degree in his classroom and growing in them personally, through new works and lessons.

“I want to build upon this additional training by writing and teaching more around philosophy, specifically in the areas of philosophy of self, philosophy of emotion, philosophy of mind, and exploring the continental philosophical tradition.”

Jaelim Lee of Ulsan, South Korea, graduated with his Master of Theology in missions, having chosen Southwestern because of the institution’s positive reputation in his home country.  

“In Korea, Southwestern is famous with practical theology,” Lee said.

Lee started his degree in person while his pregnant wife and oldest child remained in Korea with the hope of joining soon. But their visas were denied, and Lee’s was eventually cancelled, forcing him to finish online.

Hoping to one day be an international missionary himself, Lee was particularly fond of the classes he took with Michael Copeland, Southwestern’s assistant professor of missions.

“[Copeland] was re-interpreting the term ‘missions,’” Lee recounted. “Is the concept of mission that we have really the basic idea that the Bible says what mission is? It was like, ‘Whoa, I had a concept of missions that was not from the Bible.’ It was mind-blowing.”

Currently, Lee serves as a missions pastor for a church in Ulsan, leads a study group for middle-aged people, is a husband, and a father to three young daughters. In the future, Lee hopes to one day do missionary work in a Muslim context.

“I’m praying for my next path to really go abroad and really live as a missionary,” Lee said.

Mara Williams and her daughter, Amanda, graduated from Southwestern together. Mara, originally from Brazil and currently a missionary in Spain, graduated with her Master of Theological Studies in Spanish. Belle received her Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling.

Mara admitted there were some passages of Scripture that she was not confident to teach from, so her studies helped her “tremendously. Even in my day in and day out, evangelism and Bible study, and just about anything, every aspect of my life, even home life, ministry from my home, it has enhanced everything. And me personally, I feel like a different person.”

While her mother attended most of her classes online, studying remotely from Spain, Amanda was happy to spend her years at the seminary residentially.

“For me, it was so much more of the spiritual intake of just being here on campus, of having friends, of meeting with professors, of working, community, life,” Amanda said. “So I feel like, for me, I’m walking away with a better view of how small I am and how big God is.”

Mara is excited to use her new knowledge to better approach the Bible and plan lessons for her work in the mission field and personal life.

“I feel like it’s not as much as the knowledge, but being able to feel sure, confident, that I know where to go for the answers,” Mara said. “… For me, it’s very important to give them a reason to believe the Bible is the Word of God, and knowing the basics that I have learned will help me the rest of my life.”

Amanda feels similarly as she prepares to head into the mission field, saying, “I’m looking forward to seeing how I can dive more into the talents that God has given me.”