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by Ali Newby

"One of my hidden fears was that my dad wrote a 450-page dissertation, and they failed him because they didn't agree with him that the Bible was inerrant."

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Hildebrand Earns Doctor of Ministry

Dr. Rob Hildebrand moved from Alberta, Canada, to Oregon to teach at Multnomah.
--Heather Peacock, photo

Multnomah Bible College gained another doctorate-holding professor when youth ministry chair Rob Hildebrand earned his doctor of ministry degree this summer from Providence Theological Seminary in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Dr. Hildebrand achieved his degree after three years in the program, which has been a learning experience for him, he said.

"I am more of a self-learner now. I have a thirst for knowledge, and I'm more curious about the world around me," he said.

Although time management was one of his biggest challenges, it did not affect his family life, according to his wife, Leslie Hildebrand.

"We are so used to having the demands of ministry with us, so we just rearranged our lives to fit his schedule, and everything worked out," she said. "The change was modular, so we didn't have any trouble coping."

"It also really helped that we were so organized," Dr. Hildebrand said. "My wife would get calendars and put every due date down so I would get everything done early."

One of his challenges was writing the lengthy dissertation that was required at the end of the program.

"One of my hidden fears was the fact that my dad had written a 450-page dissertation, and they failed him because they didn't agree with him that the Bible was inerrant," Dr. Hildebrand said. "So I was a little worried about that." Dr. Hildebrand ended up writing a 230-page dissertation called "Determinants of Early Adult Church Participation," a study on young adults in the Pacific Northwest and the rationale behind their selection of churches.

Dr. Hildebrand said his hopes for ministry started when his passion for teaching intertwined with his love for the Bible and the church.

He said his early years in school were a struggle. He was always behind, so it became easy for him to teach people who had gone through the same challenges he faced. "I always wanted to go into teaching. I wanted to help kids that were like me," Dr. Hildebrand said.

Dr. Hildebrand said he wanted to stress how thankful he is to MBC for its support through his endeavor. He was hired while still in the process of getting his doctorate, and MBC put a lighter load on his shoulders, he said.

In the future, Dr. Hildebrand sees himself at MBC. But ultimately, he said, he will be where he can best be used by God and where he is the most effective.

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