Community that Continues
Andrew Potratz (2017)
May 26, 2026
What experiences have formed you?
Who were you formed with?
Where are those people today?
My own life has had a few seasons of intense and lasting formation. These were times when Father, Son, and Holy Spirit had a mission to grow and transform me in a lasting way.
One of those seasons came through summers on staff at Riverside Bible Camp. I worked with hundreds of other young adults who loved Jesus and grew together in that place. I am friends with many still today.
Another season of growth came through a local church ministering to some of us college kids in town. That part-time, bi-vocational pastor who invested in me then is my spiritual mentor today - 18 years and 90 miles removed!
My time at The Master’s Institute was like this as well. God used the faculty, the other students, the mentors, and the coaches to challenge me, sharpen me, and lead me deeper into Jesus’ everlasting agape love. I truly experienced an equipping of my heart, head, and hands. In that season, I was blessed to form relationships with many other students and faculty - again, many whom I still am friends with and love to connect with today.
As MI continues well into its third decade, these relationships that are formed in and around the MI community are valuable and worth continuing! Many of us catch up causally at ARC, LCMC, or other events on the calendar. I look forward to these reunions, and I often leave with a deeper appreciation for how God uses MI in His Kingdom, as well as a deeper desire to be more regularly connected with those people who led and/or participated on my seminary journey.
In this season, The Master’s Institute Alumni Association is being established to more intentionally cultivate ongoing community and relationships amongst current and former students and faculty of MI. As an alumnus myself, I see the potential in what MI’s culture of spiritual formation and leadership development can do for God’s Kingdom. I also see the upside of how we, as alumni, can bind together in more intentional ways to grow and advance MI’s mission, to support MI students and graduates, and to become advocates for MI’s role in preparing whole and healthy pastors and leaders for today’s (and tomorrow’s) churches.
I look forward to having more opportunities to connect with my MI community. I love to hear stories of how God is working in the lives and ministries of those I took classes with, and I love to pray for and encourage one another as we continue to cross paths in our work and lives.
If you have stories or testimonies to share, please do so! (alumniassocation@miseminary.com)
If you have questions or desire to be involved with building this connectivity amongst MI’s past and present community, please connect with us! (alumniassocation@miseminary.com)
- Andrew Potratz