Echo Spring 2023 - 13

Hall shares that she found her way to LBC | Capital
thanks to several members of her church who were
either graduates or professors from Washington Bible
College and Capital Bible Seminary. " Those professors
and staff members often invited students to attend
our church, too, " she says, " so we ended up with quite
a crew of WBC/Capital people at our church. It was
part of our DNA, so to speak-a constant hum in the
background of our church community. "
At the same time, Hall was also working in women's
ministry, doing mentoring and discipleship and leading
Bible studies. " There were times when I wished I
had deeper answers for the women's questions and
concerns, " she says. " There were often things that they
would rather discuss with another woman than with
a male pastor. So I was just constantly studying and
trying to learn more. My pastor taught some really
in-depth Bible classes, styled after seminary courses
actually, and I took every one of them. But I was
constantly asking him questions about everything and
was never quite satisfied that I understood it all well
enough. I just had a perpetual hunger for more. "
Recognizing that hunger, Hall's pastor gave her a piece
of advice: go to seminary. While that idea had not
occurred to Hall before, two others-including her
husband, Terry-suggested the same thing within a
short period of time.
" It all happened so quickly, " she says. " God was
showing me that in order to minister most effectively
in the small circle of influence that He had entrusted
to me, I needed to learn more and become even more
grounded in the Bible. Because I knew so many solid
people from the school, [LBC | Capital] was my first
and really only choice. When I first applied, I thought I
would probably get a master's in counseling. But when
I read the description of the Bible courses, I opted
for that instead. God then opened every door that I
needed opened in order to be able to attend. Shortly
after I started, [LBC merged with Capital], so that was
all part of God's sovereign plan as well. God called me
to sharpen myself for the work of ministry, and He
sovereignly placed people and circumstances in my
life to point me to Capital. The education at LBC has
filled in the gaps in my understanding of the Bible and
given me a strong foundation to continue building on
for the rest of my life. "
As an instructor, Hall sees the other side of being
a student. One of her favorite aspects of teaching
Hebrew is seeing the " lightbulb moments " with her
students. Often, she'll engage with students of various
levels of knowledge, but nearly everyone starts her
Hebrew classes with some fear and struggling. Yet,
seeing the students suddenly understand what they're
studying always brings Hall great joy. After all, she
was in their shoes before earning her Master of Arts
in Biblical Studies in 2015.
A moment that stands out was when a student studied
Genesis 1:26-28 in Hall's Hebrew class. " He wrote in his
paper that he'd never fully understood why Christians
are so against abortion, " Hall remembers. " And studying
the passage in the original language, even though he
had studied it before in English, allowed the reality that
every human being is made in the image of God to
sink in. "
That experience meant even more to Hall because
at that time, and continuing to today, she serves as a
program coordinator, counselor and trainer for The
Pregnancy Clinic in Annapolis, Bowie and Severna
Park, Md. Her work with the nonprofit began after a
friend in her church extended the opportunity.
" A woman who was in my church teaches the
counselor training class for The Pregnancy Clinic, and
she would say to me every couple of months, 'You
should really take this class because it would really
help you with your ministry,' " Hall shares. " I wanted
to take the class, but I wasn't interested in working at
The Pregnancy Clinic because I had a full women's
ministry. "
Yet, she decided to take the 10-week class and fell
in love with the ministry. Her job is to reach out to
abortion-vulnerable women, counsel them and guide
them back to the gospel.
" Basically, we're able to get right to the big problems in
a person's life, " Hall explains about the clinic's work. " I've
been there for about 17 years. "
Language teacher, women's counselor and PhD
student, Hall has a lot on her plate. But with much
prayer, taking a daily long walk and choosing her social
events carefully, she balances life well through prayer
and focusing on what the Lord wants her to do. She
shares this advice with others who may experience
life-balance challenges.
" I would say to really prioritize the things you know
God has called you to do, " Hall says. " Don't be afraid
to say 'no' to the extra things because there are lots
of good things to do in life, but they're not all equally
important. "
Learn more about LBC | Capital's masters and doctoral
programs at lbc.edu/capital.
Noah Lynch recently released his third fiction book,
" Pale Phoenix, " on Amazon and is working for Sparrow
Websites as a website copywriter/copyeditor.
" The education
at LBC has
filled in the
gaps in my
understanding
of the Bible
and given
me a strong
foundation
to continue
building on for
the rest of
my life. "
- Joy Hall
ECHO 13
http://www.lbc.edu/capital
Echo Spring 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Echo Spring 2023
