02/09/2026
After completing a ministry traineeship, Annie started looking for a theological college that could help prepare her for serving God overseas. She did her research and found SMBC was a good fit…
Initially nervous about the demands of studying at a theological college, Annie soon found her faith being enriched in ways she hadn’t expected as she engaged with God’s Word with others and heard from missionaries serving around the world.
“My assumption was that Bible college was all about heavy, abstract theology, and I initially felt unfit to come. But it surprised me how accessible it was,” Annie says.
“I appreciated starting with learning about the New Testament and Old Testament, and revisiting familiar passages that I’d grown up with, but with a depth and breadth I hadn’t accessed in other contexts.”
“I’ve enjoyed seeing how the different aspects of the Bible and the Christian life that we learn about are so integrated.”
There have also been more challenging moments at college where Annie’s understanding of God – and her own identity – have been stretched.
“Everything that I’d known feels like it’s been deepened and challenged and refined,” she says.
“It’s been a really rich experience, and not just in a head-knowledge way. I walk out of every lecture feeling like I’d just heard a sermon. It’s very pastoral, and I can see how what I’m learning could apply to my life, the decisions I make, my character and my relationships.”
“I thought I knew myself and my skillsets… but being at college, I’m discovering new aspects of my personality, gifts and opportunities, and new ways of thinking about mission. So I’m having to ask again, ‘what could God do with all this?’”
Read the full story – "Annie Tan: Letting God Lead the Way": https://buff.ly/Iy4sqNM
