Wards find community at Southwestern while preparing for ministry

Since 2020, Gabe and Torri Ward have been fixtures on the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary campus. Whether it is Gabe serving as a teacher’s assistant in the School of Theology or Torri working as a counselor in Admissions in between their studies, the Wards are very involved in the community on Seminary Hill.

The Wards each grew up far from the Fort Worth campus and even each other, as Gabe was born in Springfield, Mo., but moved to Massachusetts when he was 7 and Torri was born in Hillsborough, Ohio. Each was raised in a home where ministry and education were important as their parents were church leaders and Christian educators. Torri’s family led a church in her hometown, and a personal call to ministry led her to Boston Baptist College in Boston, Mass., where Gabe’s father worked, and Gabe was a student.

“It’s a very small school, so we knew each other pretty quickly,” Torri recalled of first meeting Gabe.

For some time, their relationship to each other was limited, each running in their own separate friend groups. But when they both participated in a study trip to Europe, their relationship grew.

After returning to the states, they found themselves remaining close through their roommates, who were dating. Two days before Torri was to return to Ohio at the end of the semester, Gabe decided to ask Torri on a date.

“He said, ‘I have nothing to lose,’” Torri recalled.

They dated long-distance for a year-and-a-half before getting engaged. During that time, Gabe recalled a period one summer when he interned at a church in Ohio and stayed with Torri’s family. But she ended up being on the other side of the world at the time, teaching English as a second language to children in China for five weeks, so he spent time with her family instead.

Almost in an opposite twist of providence, the two found themselves forced together for some time leading up to their wedding in June of 2020. As Torri was visiting his family in Massachusetts, restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in the pair having unexpected time together to discuss and pray about their future.

It was during this period, at the behest of Provost Madison Grace, whom Gabe had met when he had visited the Boston campus his senior year, that the Wards began to consider moving to Fort Worth.

“After a lot of prayer, we started to see more and more clearly that this is the route to go; God was opening this door so wide and closing everything else,” Gabe said. “We had other opportunities, but we knew this would be the best one.”

Feeling they needed preparation and training before pursuing whatever God would have them do and viewing the move as a fresh start for each of them, not long after marrying they packed their things and hit the road for a state they had never even visited.

“It was August, I guess one of the hottest weeks of your guys’ summer, and our AC blew out when we hit Missouri,” Gabe recalled. “So, we’re wondering, is this how it’s always going to be? We were expecting tumbleweeds. That’s what you think of when you’re in Boston.”

Once in the Lone Star State, Gabe began pursuit of his Master of Divinity degree as Torri completed her undergraduate studies online, though she was also interested in continuing her education at Southwestern.

“I already began to hear so much about what he’d been learning in his classes, and he would come home and just talk about it,” Torrie said. “And so, I was like, ‘While we’re here, this is a great opportunity to just further enrich my education and my walk with the Lord.’”

She began to pursue her own Master of Theological Studies degree which she would graduate with in fall 2024.

Upon receiving his MDiv, Gabe felt called to doctoral studies and began working towards his PhD in systematic theology with a minor concentration in church history and historical theology. Torri also started another degree in biblical counseling.

Their time on the Southwestern campus, while academically enriching, they feel has foremost been communally fulfilling, the Wards valuing deeply the personal connections they have made over the nearly six years in Fort Worth.

“Being active on the campus is great,” Gabe said. “… We try to hang out with neighbors and friends and cultivate relationships while we’re here. It’s really cool to see how they go in different places as missionaries and stuff. Building those relationships while we’re all here training is pretty awesome.”

The Wards said they are appreciative of all the professors they have had over the course of their theological education, with some in particular standing out as especially impactful, such as Grace who had an influence on their coming to Southwestern.

“Dr. Grace is my mentor; he’s my supervisor. So, he’s poured a lot into me,” Gabe said. “I’m very thankful for that.”

Serving as a teaching assistant for Jeff Bingham, research professor of historical theology, Gabe deeply admires Bingham’s teaching and tries to “stay as close to him” as he can, while courses with Malcolm Yarnell, research professor of theology, have also been impactful.

“Really, those two professors and Dr. Yarnell have pushed me further than ever thought I could go,” Gabe said.

Torri echoed this opinion.

“Those classes were truly transformative and helpful in so many ways,” Torri said of studying under Southwestern’s theology professors, adding biblical counseling professors Jonathan Okinaga and Lilly Park have also been key in her education.

Gabe added his time as a teaching assistant has also provided encouragement and friendships.

“I’ve been pretty impressed with my peer, fellow teaching assistants, and they really shaped me just as much as anybody else, getting to see their writing and work with them and engage with each other and critique each other,” Gabe said. “So, it’s not just professors that are pouring into us, it’s each other.”

Outside of their studies, work on campus, and community life on campus, Gabe and Torri also serve in ministerial roles at Normandale Baptist Church in White Settlement.

Gabe became the director of student ministry at Normandale in 2023, and Torri serves with him in the youth ministry. In the nearly three years since, he has enjoyed building connections, mentoring, and watching students grow and develop through the church’s youth programs.

Gabe and Torri each appreciate the way their time at seminary has helped equip them to lead their youth ministry and answer the many questions they have regarding situations and conversations they have at their schools.

“I’m getting calls all the time, they’re having discussions with people at school on … all types of stuff,” Gabe said of his students. “… And it’s cool that the training here has helped us prepare to be able to answer those types of questions.”

As for what the Wards plan to do post-seminary, whether it be missions or church ministry, they continue to be ready for whatever path the Lord may send them down.

“We’re just very open handed,” Torri said. “We’ll think we know what’s next, then that’s not as straightforward as we think. So, we’re just trusting Him and waiting for Him to open doors and make the next steps.”

While it may not be clear to what specific capacities their educations will serve in their future ministries, Gabe believes some role in education is a possibility.

“Whatever that looks like, whether it’s be a professor, be a pastor and a professor, or be a professor overseas with the [International Mission Board] – I’ve talked to them a little bit about what that would look like – really just, ‘How can we use the education that God’s given us to help make disciples?’ And so, I think for me at least, being involved in the academy is definitely something I don’t ever want to stop doing.”

Even now at six years, the Wards say they recognize their time on Seminary Hill is temporary as they keep their eyes forward to wherever God might lead them. But in the meantime, they are embracing this season of life.

“We’re definitely not called to stay in the seminary bubble forever,” Torri said. “But knowing that eventually we will be on missions or in ministry somewhere else where you won’t have this type of community, it is great to soak it in.”