--- title: Roadblocks or Hurdles? Three Reasons Men Think They Can’t Come to Seminary description: Three of the most common reasons men believe they cannot come to seminary, and why they are hurdles rather than roadblocks. image: https://blog.tms.edu/hubfs/Roadblocks-or-Hurdles-blog.jpg --- [![The Master's Seminary](https://blog.tms.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/The_Masters_Seminary_July2019/Images/tms-logo-new.png?width=210&name=tms-logo-new.png)](https://www.tms.edu) [Request Info](https://www.tms.edu/request) - [About](https://www.tms.edu/about/) - [Why TMS?](https://www.tms.edu/why-tms/) - [Academics](https://www.tms.edu/academics/) - [Faculty](https://www.tms.edu/academics/faculty/) - [Admissions & Aid](https://www.tms.edu/admissions/) - [Educational Resources](https://www.tms.edu/resources/) - [Español](https://www.tms.edu/es/) - [Give](https://tms.edu/ways-to-give/) - [Apply](https://www.tms.edu/apply/) - [Request Info](https://www.tms.edu/requestinfo/) × [![The Masters Seminary Blog](https://blog.tms.edu/hubfs/The%20Masters%20Seminary%20Blog%20Logo-01%20(2)-1.svg "The Masters Seminary Blog")](https://blog.tms.edu/) Search [Seminary](https://blog.tms.edu/tag/seminary) # Roadblocks or Hurdles? Three Reasons Men Think They Can’t Come to Seminary Estimated Reading Time: [Ben Trowbridge](https://blog.tms.edu/author/ben-trowbridge) | November 04, 2026 I love talking to prospective students. Throughout my time as an employee of The Master’s Seminary, it has been a tremendous privilege to help men discern their aspirations for ministry and begin their seminary journey. I have been blessed to help men think through one of the most daunting decisions they have made in their lives up to that point. As I have engaged in these frequent conversations, prospective students occasionally mention circumstantial roadblocks that they believe prevent them from coming to seminary. What’s interesting is that these perceived roadblocks are rarely as unique as the prospective student believes. Even more interesting is that almost every man who eventually comes to TMS has faced these same challenges. The difference is that these challenges were not ultimately preventatives. They were hurdles that needed to be overcome with the Lord’s help. In this post, I want to examine three of the most common reasons men believe they *cannot* come to seminary. ## I HAVE A FAMILY Without question, the number one reason men tell me they cannot come to seminary is because they have a family. I humbly confess that this was a deep concern of mine when I came to seminary. I am not going to pretend that I had no concerns about how seminary—and everything that came with it—would affect my wife and children. There was the move, the finances, the departure from loved ones, and countless other considerations. Furthermore, caring for and providing for one’s family is biblical (1 Tim. 5:8). To completely ignore the potential consequences of a decision on one’s family would be to ignore the responsibility a husband and father has toward his household. Coming to seminary is something that needs to be carefully considered, especially when a spouse and children are involved. But having a family is not a reason why a man *cannot* come to seminary. The list of God’s servants who had families includes Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Ezekiel, and the apostle Peter. Scripture also makes clear that pastors in the early church were often married and had children (1 Tim. 3:2, 4; Titus 1:6). Nowhere in Scripture is someone discouraged from pursuing ministry simply because he has a wife and children. The Master’s Seminary has been the training ground for countless families throughout the past several decades. In fact, the average TMS student is around 34 years old and married. We regularly have families with five, six, and even seven children pass through our doors. We currently have a student with twelve children! We have been privileged to welcome young and old families alike. Coming to seminary with a family may not be comfortable, and it may not be easy, but it is certainly possible. With careful consideration, godly counsel, and proper care for his family throughout the process, a prospective student can overcome this hurdle. ## I HAVE A FULL-TIME JOB Answering the call to ministry and pursuing a seminary education can be unnerving because of the implications it may have on your current employment. For many, coming to seminary means leaving a job and relocating. In such situations, it is understandable to question whether such a decision would be wise. After all, the candidate may be leaving behind everything he has worked for: insurance benefits, pay increases, years of experience, promotions, retirement contributions, and more. But none of these things, by themselves, are valid reasons to disregard the Lord’s calling upon your life. Christ set a precedent when He said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). Following Christ is a *daily* commitment of self-sacrifice. Admittedly, answering the call to ministry and coming to seminary is not a matter of salvation or damnation. But if Christ is the Lord of your life, then you must be willing to do what is pleasing to Him, regardless of the personal cost. I have spoken with men who confess that they have avoided pursuing ministry for years. As a result, they have experienced tremendous guilt because they realize they have been unwilling to follow Christ wherever He would lead them. If you are called to the pastorate, then you must be willing to lay down your life for the sake of the gospel and for the sake of Christ’s people. For some, that may mean quitting a job. But we can be comforted by at least two realities. First, **God does not waste our experiences.** Just because you may leave your job to come to seminary does not mean that you have wasted your years in the workforce. God is sovereign over all things, and He can certainly use your previous work experiences for your benefit and the benefit of others in the future. Second, **we can trust the Lord to provide for us in new ways.** After all, He was the One who provided your job in the first place. “The earth is the LORD’s, and all it contains” (Psalm 24:1). Therefore, we should not be anxious about providing for ourselves. God knows what we need, and He deals bountifully with His children. We must seek His will for our lives first and trust that He will provide for our needs (Matt. 6:25–34). ## I LIVE OUT OF STATE For some, the idea of moving across the country to attend seminary immediately rules it out. To be blunt, this is perhaps the most difficult one for me to understand. To say that you *cannot* come to seminary because it is too far away simply is not true. I know men who have moved with their families from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Tennessee, and many other states. We have seen families traverse the globe to attend TMS—from South Africa, China, Russia, Germany, Ukraine, England, Kenya, Madagascar, India, and many more countries. If the Lord has made it possible for these families to attend seminary in a country that is not their own, sometimes speaking a language that is not their own, could He not do the same for you? As someone considering pastoral ministry, we must be willing to be sent wherever the Lord wills. We must be willing to say along with Isaiah, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8). We wouldn’t dare add a caveat to that statement: “Here am I. Send me…as long as it’s close to home.” We do not get the privilege of setting parameters on God’s will for our lives. ## CONCLUSION When my wife and I were considering moving our family from Ohio to attend The Master’s Seminary, I was tempted to use these same reasons to avoid pursuing the best theological training I could find. I was tempted to think these were roadblocks rather than hurdles to be overcome. I desperately wanted to come to TMS. I just wanted it to be easier for me and my family. But that is not the life we are called to as believers in Christ. The Christian life is not a life of ease and comfort. Every Christian will have to sacrifice comfort in some form or another to be a genuine follower of Jesus. So why should that be any different for one who is called to preach? As someone aspiring to the pastorate, I also don’t want to be a hypocrite. I want to encourage God’s people to trust Him in times of difficulty. I want to compel the church to lay down its comfortable life for the sake of the gospel. I want to provoke Christians to go wherever Christ would lead them. How could I teach others to do that—with a clean conscience—if I had never been willing to do it myself? Brothers, as you consider answering the call to ministry and explore your options for a seminary education, don’t allow comfort to convince you that roadblocks exist where there are really only hurdles. If it is the Lord’s will for you to pursue seminary, trust Him to make a way. The hurdle may be difficult. It may require sacrifice. It may not be comfortable. But with the Lord’s help, it can be overcome. --- [![Ben Trowbridge](https://blog.tms.edu/hubfs/ben-trowbridge-headshot.jpg)](https://blog.tms.edu/author/ben-trowbridge) [Ben Trowbridge](https://blog.tms.edu/author/ben-trowbridge) Ben is a graduate of TMS (2023) and serves as the seminary's Chief Student Engagement Officer. ## Related Articles [![How to Choose a Seminary](https://blog.tms.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/blog_photo_5.6.25.png?width=709&name=blog_photo_5.6.25.png)](https://blog.tms.edu/how-to-choose-a-seminary) ## [How to Choose a Seminary](https://blog.tms.edu/how-to-choose-a-seminary) Nathan Busenitz | May 21, 2025 I’m sure there are many practical concerns that factor into why people choose the seminaries that they choose. Perhaps it’s the cost of tuition, the distance from home, the popularity of the professors, or the academic prestige of the institution... 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Below is a..* [![Top 10 Articles of 2018](https://blog.tms.edu/hs-fs/hubfs/Top-10-Articles-of-2018.png?width=709&name=Top-10-Articles-of-2018.png)](https://blog.tms.edu/top-10-articles-of-2018) ## [Top 10 Articles of 2018](https://blog.tms.edu/top-10-articles-of-2018) TMS Staff | December 01, 2018 Here is a recap of our readers' top ten favorite articles of the year! 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