Shahbaz Masih’s journey to Christ has been a long, winding road, culminating with a deep theological education at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS).
Growing up in the village of Kotli Moman in Sialkot District, Punjab Province, Pakistan, Shahbaz had no Christian church or spiritual instruction from his family.
“My parents did not know how to read and write, and there was no Bible in our home,” Shahbaz explains. “I would say that everyone in our family was just a nominal Christian. I did not see any spiritual thirst in my family. At Christmas and Easter, a pastor would conduct a prayer meeting. He usually led this meeting in a hurry because he had to go to other villages where he would conduct meetings. Despite these gaps and spiritual deficiencies in my family, my father and grandfather were ethical and moral people who positively impacted my life.”
In contrast to his relatives, Shahbaz remembers always having an interest in Christ and spirituality.
“Family members and relatives often sensed that I was a religious person,” he shares. “I was a good child, but I always felt that something was missing in my life. It was not until much later that I realized it was Jesus who was missing.”
When Shahbaz was nine, his family moved from their small village to Rawalpindi, a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. There, he began to attend church regularly and first heard the message of salvation through Jesus Christ.
“I felt the message was meant just for me, but my moral pride kept me from coming to Christ at that personal level,” he says. “The word of God began to work in my life. I began to have a taste of God’s goodness, but I realized no matter how much I attended church or did religious things, something was still missing. I think I was ready to ask Christ to forgive me of my sins and receive Him. Every time, Satan distracted me and started telling me that I was a good boy and didn’t need to confess my sins. I tried to do more good work, fasting and trying everything to get God’s favor. But all these things were not helping. There was no one to guide me through this time in my youth.”
Confused and upset, Shahbaz went to different churches seeking peace and meeting with many pastors. He eventually met someone who invited him to be part of a Bible study, which was an extension course called “Abundant Life” based on the Gospel of John, where he read through the Bible — a life-changing experience.
“The Bible study showed me how to receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior,” Shahbaz says. “I understood that I was a sinner and Christ died for my sin. I also came to know that by receiving Jesus Christ into my life, I could become God’s child. This course helped me to overcome my pride in being a morally good person and to understand that my goodness and moral life could not save me. Only Jesus Christ could change my life and give me the peace that would bring me out of all my confusion.”
At the end of this study, on November 18, 1995, Shahbaz cried out and bowed before God, confessed his sin, and received Christ as his personal Savior.
“This was the happiest day of my life because Jesus came and saved me,” he says. “Through Christ’s salvation, I received peace and eternal joy. I praise God for this conversion experience. One year later, I was baptized.”
Then, with his pastor’s encouragement, Shahbaz began to take part in church ministry. Eventually, he took over responsibilities as pastor of the church.
“In 1997, I was appointed as the first full-time pastor of Brethren Bethany Church in Dhoke Sydian Rawalpindi under the supervision of our senior pastor,” he shares. “I grew in my own spiritual life as the work of God also grew. I praise God for the many changed lives I saw during that time in my ministry.”
Shabaz decided to further his education at Zarephath Bible Seminary, one of the evangelical seminaries in Pakistan, where he began his theological studies while continuing his pastoral work. Through God’s will, Shahbaz completed his studies in 2003 after just three years. He graduated with honors and received the Best Student Award as well.
Following his graduation, Shahbaz was sent as a church planter, missionary, and evangelist to Peshawar, the hardest place to live in Pakistan, which is close to the Afghanistan border. He also went back to school to earn his Master of Divinity degree in Sri Lanka and a Master of Theology in the Philippines.
In yet another step of faith, in 2022, Shahbaz enrolled at TEDS in order to pursue a PhD in Intercultural Studies alongside his wife, Silvia, who is seeking a Doctor of Ministry degree at TEDS.
“TEDS is an evangelical school where people come from all parts of the world and learn together,” he says. “I like living in this community and hearing the experiences of people from different parts of the world as well as learning how they are doing missions. TEDS also has a long history of offering this PhD course in missions, which is the heart of my ministry.”
Shahbaz shares that he initially chose to pursue a doctorate because God has been faithful in using him in a variety of ways, but his intellectual standing was often less than that of other Muslim scholars.
“I believe God could use my wife and me differently after completing our doctorate and having more knowledge, skills, and confidence,” he says. “Even now, I have invitations to teach Christianity and Christian subjects in different Islamic Universities and Madrasas (Muslim Seminaries). Still, I cannot avail myself of these opportunities because I do not have a PhD. I want to complete this degree in intercultural studies because of the doors it might open.”
