Lake County Gazette

Samuel Lippitt, a student from British Columbia, Canada, began his Master of Theology program at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) in Deerfield, Illinois, earlier this year. He was surprised to learn a few months later that TEDS would be relocating to British Columbia to become the seminary of Trinity Western University.

Lippitt expressed optimism about the move, stating, “I think it will give the church additional resources. Definitely creating pastors and teachers. It will be an improvement for the churches.”

Originally from near Calgary, Alberta, Lippitt moved to Vancouver to attend Regent College. He described the cultural challenges facing Christians on Canada’s West Coast: “The West Coast of Canada is traditionally a little more opposed to Christian values, as a whole in the society. People like to move there to take on the West Coast lifestyle—drugs are very common in British Columbia, especially marijuana. It’s all over the place.”

Lippitt recounted his journey of faith as a teenager through experiences at a Christian summer camp on the West Coast and his subsequent involvement in youth ministry and gospel music leadership in Vancouver. “And that’s where I actually made my faith my own. When I was in high school, I went to work at the camp for the whole summer, and I was immersed in Bible study really for the first time. I was also surrounded by Christian guys my own age who were good role models.” He added, “I have this innate desire to learn more about the Bible, because it’s the foundation of our faith. I also feel the desire to be able to articulate it to other people—really to anybody—in a way that is understandable to them.”

At TEDS, Lippitt has enjoyed courses such as Theological Methods with Dr. Vanhoozer and Syriac with Dr. Tully. He has also been active at North Suburban Church in Deerfield, preparing to teach a Life course on II Chronicles and teaching Sunday School.

Looking ahead, Lippitt plans to pursue a PhD after completing his ThM degree. He voiced enthusiasm for TEDS’ move to Canada: “I would encourage the people who are moving up to Canada to be very intentional about keeping up their faith, because the West Coast can be a hard place to be a Christian. In British Columbia, it is difficult to get to know people, and that can influence the church a lot, but it can also be a great place of ministry—a great place to serve. So, I look forward to seeing the positive influence TEDS will have on my culture.”