Every educational institution needs a mission. The best educators are concerned with what they produce in the people that go through their program. From the broader curriculum to the variety of courses offered to homework assignments, college faculty must be intentional about how their content will shape their students. 

The mission of The Institute for G.O.D. is "developing spiritually mature, competent professionals for global impact." As a 2009 alumnus, I've been privileged to observe evidence of The Institute's mission in many of its graduates. They've gone on to start families, continue in ministry and utilize their education in their career paths to meet real needs in their immediate community and communities around the world. This article is the first in a series of features on Institute alumni. I'll be exploring where they are, what they’re doing, and whether or not The Institute's mission remains a guiding principle in their day-to-day life. 

Institute Alumni Rylan Aaseby Values “People over Projects” in Nashville Construction Sector

When any of Rylan Aaseby’s five children ask him where he is going when he’s walking out the door in the morning, he likes to tell them he's "going to help people with their houses." As a home builder, Rylan wants to teach his children that his work is meaningful instead of simply letting them know he’s headed to work. 

I recently sat down with Rylan, a 2010 graduate of the Institute's Biblical Studies program, to discuss the impact of the Institute on his life and career. It was evident from our conversation that what he learned in the classroom still significantly impacts his day-to-day decisions in his work as a residential construction manager.  

When I asked how his biblical education has informed his career, Rylan spoke of the character formation that had taken place in him during his time at the Institute. He remembered receiving a piece of insight from Dr. Mike Garner, the Institute's first dean. He told him that a "true education is the fine effect that is left on a person after they have forgotten the details of what they learned." In other words, quality biblical education has more to do with the kind of character it forms in a person than the information they collect along the way.

A Change of Course for a Troubled Young Man

Rylan's transformation from a troubled young man without direction to a faithful husband to his wife Grace, a loving father to 5 children, and a successful construction manager serves as a model of the Institute's mission.  

At a pivotal season at the end of his senior year of high school, after getting in some trouble, Rylan was invited by his older brother Skylar to go on a trip to Jamaica with G.O.D. International to help serve at an AIDS hospice. Unsure of his path forward, Rylan took Skylar up on the opportunity. Rylan's clearest memories of the trip: he felt fulfilled working at the AIDS hospice to improve the environment for its residents. He felt loved and cared for by Institute President Gregg Garner and other Institute staff members who facilitated the trip. 

Sensing some purpose from the trip, Rylan decided to move to Nashville and continue serving with G.O.D. He moved in with his brother and some friends, got a job, and worked hard to turn his life around. After learning the Bible from President Garner and Dr. Mike Garner, Rylan became eager to learn more. The following year, the fall of 2004, the Institute started its inaugural semester. Rylan was ready.

A Competent Professional: wisdom lived out

As an undergrad, Rylan fell in love with biblical Hebrew. Rylan shared with me how to the Hebrews, gaining wisdom involves sharpening the intellect and developing one's ability to work with their hands and meet practical needs in the Hebrew mind. And indeed, throughout his undergraduate years at the Institute, Rylan became both a disciplined student of God's word and a student of ethical building. 

Today, as a construction manager for MCH Nashville, Rylan utilizes this two-fold wisdom in his job. He both ensures his team builds responsibly-crafted homes while also dignifying the labor of those who too often go unnoticed in the building process. Rylan works hard to develop trusting relationships with clients and subcontractors in the industry. He recognizes that within relationships, we can make a lasting impact within the construction industry—his mantra, birthed from a biblical education: people over projects. 

A Global Impact that Started at The Institute

Along with the majority (97%!) of alumni from the Institute, Rylan uses his education in his continued involvement in mission work. Rylan is involved in community development work in East Africa with G.O.D. International, where he has utilized his Biblical Studies degree in helping serve as a liaison to the ongoing biblical education extended to G.O.D. cooperatives and students in Kenya and Uganda. He has served as a lead teacher in a variety of Bible conferences over the last decade. He most recently took part in training East African ministers to meet the needs of widows practically. 

Rylan has also been involved in several building projects providing healthy, affordable homes and public spaces for villagers in the communities where G.O.D. International works. As an Institute student, Rylan got firsthand experience in the construction of G.O.D. East Africa's first training center in Kenya and the second one in Bombo, Uganda. As a graduate, Rylan has served consistently on the site planning committee for G.O.D.'s campus in Uganda.  

Rylan has also offered his construction skills voluntarily in Nashville. In the past several years, he has constructed a climbing wall for a children’s summer camp, a skate park, and playgrounds at his children's school. 

At the end of our time together, I asked Rylan what he was most proud of at this point in his life. His immediate gut response was, "my children." What a gift Rylan is to his children based on the transformative work God has done in him. From teaching them the Bible to being sensitive to their interests to instilling in them the confidence to try new things, it's no wonder Rylan's kids are his most prized building projects. People over projects -- both in his home and when building other people's. 

The Institute gave an active, curious, inspired, albeit undisciplined young man like Rylan a framework to learn and practice God's word and become a competent professional. It's a success story measured by what Jesus wanted his students to learn, how to love God, and, as a result, how to love our neighbor.