Committed to God and Education Through it All: Will Green’s Story

Education was not a priority in Will Green’s life growing up.

“As a result, I finished high school with a 1.1 GPA,” he said, “and promptly went to work in a local factory as a United Auto Worker. However, I soon felt the Lord calling me into vocational ministry.”

Will resigned from his factory job and enrolled at a junior college in order to position himself so he could one day attend a Christian university.

“Unprepared, it was an utter failure,” Will says. “But remaining committed to the calling I felt, I returned to the factory, purchased GED and SAT books, and spent the next year teaching myself all that I did not learn in high school.”

Eventually, Will accomplished what he set out to do and made it to Grace College in Indiana. There, he continued to learn how to succeed in academia and dedicated many hours to on-campus ministries and to his church.

After graduating in 2002 with bachelor’s degrees in biblical studies and Christian ministries, Will began seminary at Grace Theological Seminary. He earned master’s degrees in both theological studies and intercultural studies, all while working 40 hours a week and caring for his struggling parents. Will then spent the next eight years in ministry as a pastor and church planter.

His education did not stop there, though. He continued on to the University of Pennsylvania, earning a Master of Philosophy in Social Sciences, followed by a Master of Theological Studies with a concentration in religion and the social sciences from Harvard Divinity School.

During these years, Will also served as a church planter in Philadelphia and a church planting advisor on Boston’s north shore, as well as in ministries around the world.

Will is currently an adjunct instructor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) and an intercultural studies doctoral student. He expects to graduate in 2025.

“I have far surpassed my early educational deficiencies, not only earning my way into two Ivy League universities but also achieving a 4.0 GPA in those programs and in my current PhD studies,” Will says. “Today, I am more prepared than ever and am focused on finishing my degree with diligence and excellence in preparation for service in Christian higher education.”

Will chose to pursue his doctorate at TEDS specifically for its intercultural studies program and his belief that the school is “the gold standard for missiology.”

“It’s the perfect place to prepare for the work I feel called to undertake,” he says. “That is, all ministry takes place in sociocultural contexts, and those to whom we minister are shaped by — and also shape — these contexts.”

Will explains that his previous studies in the social sciences provided him with the tools necessary to exegete society and its inhabitants.

“However, from a Christian perspective, these social scientific disciplines are rarely equipped to bring meaningful answers to the complex questions that they expose,” he says. “In fact, I contend that meaningful answers must be Kingdom-focused and Gospel-centered. So, although the TEDS intercultural studies program was not able to provide the handsome five-year funding package that some institutions could, it has provided me with a unique and invaluable opportunity: specifically, the ability to integrate these two essential aspects in my work.”

Ultimately, Will believes his time at TEDS has been one of profound reflection on scripture and God’s mission in the world.

“Jesus has been building His church for over 2,000 years, and looking at mission history has valuable lessons,” he says.

After he graduates with his doctoral degree, Will plans to work in theological higher education (he was recently hired as an affiliate professor at Kairos University). He will also continue his work as co-founder and CEO of Equip Institute, his service as parallel sessions coordinator for the American Society of Missiology, and his role as associate editor of the peer-reviewed journal, “Missiology: An International Review.”

“I would not be doing any of these things without my TEDS education,” Will says.

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