Graduate Spotlight: A Conversation with Iryna Los

In the following Q&A, Los takes time to share her Southeastern story and how her Southeastern community can be praying for her, UBTS, and her home country of Ukraine: 

Why did you choose Southeastern?

UBTS has been blessed by its partnership with Southeastern. I enrolled in the Master of Theological Studies program with Southeastern because I believed that Southeastern is a high-quality institution with great vision, values, programs, and faculty. I was very honored to be a student of Southeastern because theological education and a value-driven environment are essential for me.

What aspects of studying through Southeastern were particularly formative or encouraging to you?

What stands out is Southeastern’s high-quality theological education, highly qualified professors, the values of the professors, and a community of like-minded individuals who value education and study in order to train other people to be more effective in what God calls them to do.

How did your Southeastern education shape your view of the Great Commission?

I believe my four years of training at Southeastern encouraged me to reflect on and “process” the Great Commission. I knew Mathew 28:18-20 by heart and had heard many sermons and taken many classes before enrolling in the Master of Theological Studies program through Southeastern. However, what was critical in terms of Southeastern’s approach to education is how Southeastern incorporated a Great Commission focus into each class and emphasized dialogue about building up ministry strategies and practices with a focus on the Great Commission. As a result of my Southeastern experience, I am more intentional about prioritizing Gospel-centered teaching, planning, and execution in any ministry work.

Which classes, professors, or memories stand out from your Southeastern education?

I am very grateful for my Southeastern classes. I was uniquely blessed by Dr. Chuck Lawless’s Personal Discipleship and Disciple Making course. Many of the things I learned changed my understanding and approach to spiritual disciplines and discipleship. I believe my discipleship practices now are much more thought through, intentional, and oriented toward God and others. My theology classes with Yaroslav Pyzh helped me think about God and the Great Commission on a different level and implement those reflections into my Christian life 24/7 — as I lead ministries and train and coach students at UBTS. Leadership class with Dr. John Ewart changed my understanding of spiritual leadership and blessed me with helpful leadership principles and practices from the Scriptures.

In what ways have you seen theological education and ministry preparation go hand in hand while a student?

I strongly believe that theological education should be highly applicable to one’s everyday life. Education is an important tool to shape one’s worldview, values, and practices, which should all be implemented in one’s ministry. My Southeastern classes emphasized real-life application and provided me with guidelines for how to apply what I was learning right away. All the assignments were focused on ministry and helped students like me to develop strategies and action plans for our ministries based on the topics that we discussed in the classroom.

Where do you hope to serve now that you have graduated?

I plan to continue to work at UBTS. I hope to serve on faculty in the UBTS Women’s Ministry Program and teach classes in our UBTS certificate programs. I am very inspired by the UBTS vision of local churches growing through baptism and discipleship and its mission of training and equipping leaders for the Church; therefore, I would love to be involved in the ministry of our seminary and serve students the best I can.

How can the Southeastern community be praying for you?

Please pray for a miracle in Ukraine! Please pray for Ukraine to be victorious in the war against Russia; for Ukraine to rebuild on different levels; and for UBTS to continue to be proactive in serving our communities and equipping our students to be biblical, missional, and accountable in serving people in our country and beyond.

Los represents the hundreds of students around the world who partner with Southeastern through GTI to receive biblical and theological training and ministry preparation in their home countries. Equipping Christian leaders in a variety of contexts, GTI seeks to employ the resources of SEBTS to benefit theological education through strategic partnerships around the world. To learn more about GTI, visit www.sebts.edu/gti.