David Li came to TKU a little over two months ago to pursue a Master of Divinity degree with a concentration in Messianic Jewish Studies. David was born and raised in Shanghai, China and did not grow up in a Christian family. It wasn’t until his older sister gave him a Bible that He came to know Jesus and his life was redirected to a different call.
With an acceptance letter, visa and a suitcase in tow, David flew to Texas with faith that God would work out all of the other details. Upon his arrival a staff and adjunct faculty member helped him find a hotel to stay in temporarily until he could find more permanent housing. A couple weeks later he found an apartment only a short distance from the campus. Before long word got out about David’s situation and furniture was donated for his new place as well as a bike to get him to and from school.
David is still amazed at how God has directed his steps to the U.S. and studying at The King’s University. It was nothing he had planned and God has provided every step of the way.
Years prior to coming to TKU, the Lord told David, “Go preach the gospel outside of China.” David was not sure where he would go, but he kept his ears open to what the Lord might have for him. One day a Jewish pastor came to preach and David had the chance to interpret for him. As he listened to what the man was saying about the Jews in the Bible, he was intrigued.
“By the grace of God I began to develop a love for the Jewish people. I prayed for the Jewish people often and a lot of those times I would be brought to tears.”
David had the opportunity over the next few years to translate for many different Jewish pastors and eventually helped translate a book called Jewish Roots by Dan Juster. He then went on to work for a Jewish finance company for several years as well.
With a growing love for the Jewish people, David thought his next steps would be to start a ministry in Israel. He wasn’t searching for ministry education, but his brother began persistently urging him to go to America to study theology.
Reluctant to go, David decided to email several different pastors for recommendations on universities that offered theology degrees in America. One pastor in particular was Dan Juster, one of the leaders of the Messianic Jewish movement. To David’s surprise, Dan responded with three spirit-empowered universities, with the first one listed being The King’s University. David visited the TKU website and immediately saw that there were accredited degrees with concentrations in Messianic Jewish Studies. This confirmed what he was searching for and he started the application process.
With the helpful admissions team and caring professors at TKU, David was able to take a leap of faith and come to America to study theology. Rain or shine David doesn’t miss a day of classes and it was evident in our interview that he doesn’t take a single day for granted. He has a burning passion for the Jewish people and his time at TKU is preparing him for years of ministry to come.