RBC Student Spotlight: Natalie Gordon
Posted On December 07, 2023
As a French horn player, Natalie Gordon was thrilled to receive a full-ride scholarship at a top private institution. The summer before she moved to school, she was invited by a close friend to witness an infant baptism at a Presbyterian church in Orlando. Natalie was immediately impressed by the richness of Reformed theology and was eager to learn more.
In her first year of college, Natalie was lonely, as she didn’t have a supportive community to lean on. Even though her tuition was completely covered, she wasn’t sure she belonged here, and she also began to wonder if she should pursue a theological education.
In the spring of her freshman year, a friend from church invited Natalie to join them at Always Ready, a nearby student apologetics conference hosted by Ligonier Ministries and RBC.
“At Always Ready, I got to sit under six hours of Reformed teaching from Ligonier that confirmed my calling to study theology,” Natalie shared. “I was so excited and so thankful to leave that conference with this sense of assurance even though I felt as if the Lord was calling me to take a huge leap of faith.”
After this conference, Natalie began researching RBC and was overjoyed to discover the trusted community and academic programs that the school offers. While it wasn’t an easy decision to turn down her full-ride scholarship, she became confident that the Lord was calling her to transfer to RBC.
“I realized that the way in which I was pursuing music was going to provide me with a very self-serving career and would saturate me in the world in a very unhelpful way,” Natalie said. “The Lord loosened my grip on that dream by changing my heart to desire a life of faithful kingdom service to Him, no matter what vocation I pursue.”
Since transferring to RBC, Natalie has been encouraged by her classmates who spur her on to seek God and glorify Him in all that she does. She has also enjoyed learning more about who God is and who she is in Him.
“Through a deeper understanding of the Scriptures, I have been able to walk more in line with Christ,” said Natalie. “It has also been such a blessing to learn from saints of all ages and to experience the passing down of wisdom and knowledge as we get discipled and mentored by our professors.”
As Natalie looks to the future, she desires to use the musical gifts the Lord has given her to bring glory to His name: “The Lord taught me that since my music was a gift from Him, He would use those gifts to glorify Himself and to serve His church.”
Are you interested in pursuing your calling at RBC? Join us for an upcoming on-campus or online preview day, or start your application today.