Have you ever wondered if it is even possible to attend a Bible School while working full time? Maybe for years you’ve longed to attend a Bible College but with your job and other obligations it never seemed like it could work out. How would you even get started?
If you believe that God is calling you to go to Bible School, be assured that He will help you find a solution. Now might just be your time!
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “You don’t have to see the whole staircase to take the first step”. The idea of going to a Bible College while working full time may feel overwhelming, but you can get started by taking these first three steps:
1. Find a Flexible Class Schedule
Attending Bible school has never been easier than it is now. Often when people consider going back to school to get further education, they think they might need to quit their job to attend classes during the week. However, one of the many reasons people now go to Bible college is that many schools offer flexible schedules to help students balance their work and studies.
At RHEMA Bible Training College, we offer weekend classes for this very purpose. In Poland we even offer a Hybrid Program that includes both virtual and in-person courses. Finding a program with flexible class hours will be the first step in your journey towards becoming a Bible school student.
2. Set Priorities
One of the most practical ways to prepare for Bible School is to begin setting your priorities. There are different levels of priorities and different seasons in life where our priorities shift. If we ever wonder what we are prioritizing, we just have to check where we put our time, money, and focus.
Sometimes we let circumstances dictate what we focus on. We often put off doing what’s most important because we are overwhelmed with the chores of the day-to-day, or just checking things off a list. But as we come to know what is essential to God and to ourselves, we can take inventory and set some appropriate priorities in our life.
As with anything, when you decide to make attending Bible School a top priority, some other things will become less of a priority. Set aside some time to decide what activities in your life need to shift or be eliminated for you to attend Bible School in this season of your life.
3. Make Attending Bible School an Attainable Goal
Goals make any dream that God has given you more tangible and actionable. When you set goals, you take an idea from your heart and put it down on paper in bite-sized pieces. The more specific and measurable your goals are, the more likely you are to reach them. If you are serious about wanting to go to Bible School, take some time to answer these questions:
Why is this important?
What has to change in my life for me to attend Bible School?
Who do I need to ask for help?
When am I going to start?
Working full time to support yourself or a family while attending Bible School may seem like a difficult challenge to take on, but remember: God will always give you grace for what He has called you to do. Grace doesn’t make it easy, but it does make it possible.
So take courage and enjoy taking these first few steps. Don’t wait for the perfect time, instead be intentional to manage your time. Your dreams are worth it!