Josh Bowlin

[National Youth Pastor for New Zealand]
The Wesleyan Church
Master of Divinity Student

Life Story: I didn’t grow up going to church. When I was 15, a youth group, pastor and different students in that youth ministry reached out and brought me along. I didn’t realize that my life was about to change. Church was something completely new to me. I didn’t know that people went to church on Sunday morning. I began learning through the youth group and the church. It solidified in my heart that becoming a Christian isn’t something just to make you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, but it is an eternal decision to follow Jesus. So I became a sold-out Christian for Christ.

I felt called to ministry my senior year of high school, but I didn’t know how to talk to anyone about that. I didn’t know what God was doing in my life. I was actually enrolled in an oceanography program at HPU in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was what I wanted to be, what I aspired to, but God had different plans. God put people in my life to affirm my call to ministry, to confront my running away from it and to hold me accountable to it. So within two weeks of leaving for Hawaii I applied to Indiana Wesleyan University, was accepted, bought books, and went to class. I went through four years of school and came out with a youth ministry degree. The youth ministry program at Indiana Wesleyan had a dynamic impact on my life. The quality of the education and mentoring were amazing. If you had a problem, the professors were approachable.  You could really talk to them as a mentor, not just at the level of professor. You have people who care about you pouring into your life. And they care about the effectiveness that you are going to have in reaching people for Christ.

Current Ministry:  Since graduation, I’ve been mobilized as one of the very first full-time missionaries to youth in The Wesleyan Church. I went to the missions branch of our denomination and said that God has put a real strong calling on my life to be a missionary, but I’m called to do youth ministry. We all celebrated that together.  We were all very excited about what God was doing and what He has prepared for us. We’ve lived in New Zealand for two years already and we’re working around the region, covering six different countries, focusing on youth ministry in the local churches in the Pacific area.

Why I Chose Wesley Seminary: I’ve chosen to pursue an M.Div. to really not get complacent in my leadership. I want to know that I offered them the most that I can offer them as an individual. And I felt that pursuing an M.Div. gives me the edge to say I want to partner with you, I want to minister alongside you, I want to hop into the trenches with you, to make the biggest possible difference.

The IWU M.Div. program really stood out above all others as I was investigating how to do this as a missionary overseas.  I began asking myself, "Am I going to have to take three or four years off and say sorry to my team, but I’ll see you in four years when I come back to the field, or is there something that can integrate a little bit online and a little bit on campus?" Then Indiana Wesleyan University launched their M.Div. program. Not only did it meet that requirement, but also it met the quality of education to integrate what I really wanted as a pastoral leader. I wanted the program to enhance my ministry, the ministry that I have to the local church, national church and regional movement in the Pacific area. So I really pursued that in thinking back on my undergraduate time here at IWU.

And it is phenomenal how much they are assisting Wesleyan students here. They have been so generous to say we want to invest in our pastors; we want to see you get higher education; we want to make it possible that you can focus on graduate ministries. And not only have they said it, they’ve achieved it. They’ve come to the table and set the bar high unlike anything that I’ve seen. They’ve made seminary very financially possible.  I’ve never been so excited about coming back to school in my life.

Emphasis on Mission: The missional aspect of this program really aligns to my passion and heart for the local church. I love nothing more than to see a growing, progressive church taking a holistic approach to ministry. Far too often I’ve been in the local church around Indiana and around churches in the United States and globally that have a linear perspective on what the church is. The church needs to be missional and we need to know how to reach out and how to not limit ourselves in being unable to target a specific group.

Experience in the Wesley M.Div. Program: The coursework is definitely intense. During the on-campus intensive we were digging deep into the books, meeting with our small groups, and throwing a lot of tough theological questions around the room. It has been such a refreshment to be with like-minded people, people with the same heart and same passion to be the most effective ministers that we can be.  It’s been fantastic.