A Dream Job: Why Dr. Joey Kim Loves Discipling Engineering Students at TMU
In this story, you’ll meet Dr. Joey Kim, assistant professor of biological science and chair of the engineering and computer science department at The Master’s University. Dr. Kim’s life has been transformed by the institutions that the John MacArthur Charitable Trust supports. Joey came to faith in Christ at the age of 25, and shortly thereafter Grace to You sermons posted on YouTube shaped his Christian walk and eventually led him to Grace Community Church and The Master’s University, where he disciples young people as part of the new and growing engineering department. Joey’s story shows how truth proclaimed produces disciples who in turn make disciples in all areas of life.
When Joey Kim completed his Ph.D. in chemical engineering at Caltech, he had the credentials to teach at any institution in the country. Yet his dream school was not Stanford, Harvard, MIT, or even his alma mater. Instead, his dream school was The Master’s University. At the time, TMU did not have an engineering department where his degree would be a natural fit. But despite that, Joey still wanted to be at TMU. He was willing to teach almost anything in order to be part of the faculty. The question is, why?
“I didn’t know about The Master’s University until I heard John MacArthur mention it in a sermon,” Joey said. While a student at CalTech, he’d come to Christ through a Paul Washer sermon on YouTube. From there, he found John MacArthur’s sermons. Joey had listened to hundreds over the years, often sharing Pastor John’s sermons with the youth at his church. “But as soon as I realized TMU was connected to him and was just as committed to the authority of Scripture as he was, I knew that’s where I wanted to be.”
Joey’s excitement was tempered when he realized that TMU did not have an engineering program. Despite that, Joey still wanted to work at an institution that prioritized the Word of God, so he decided to apply for a teaching position not related to his education.
“I wanted to get to TMU in any way, shape, or form so I applied to teach in the biology program,” Joey said of the first time he tried to join the TMU faculty as an adjunct professor back in 2018. “In my application, I acknowledged that chemical engineering and biology don’t necessarily mix, but I also said I’d be willing to learn if it meant I could teach at TMU.”
By the time Joey submitted his application, the position had already been filled. But he wasn’t deterred. Even as he went on to teach at other institutions in Southern California, he would periodically check to see if TMU had any teaching openings. One materialized in the spring of 2020, a part-time position teaching chemistry. Joey applied and was offered the job for the fall 2020 semester. A few weeks after finally securing a teaching position at the school of his dreams, the COVID-19 pandemic threw the world of higher education into chaos and left him uncertain about his future at The Master’s University. With the government’s heavy-handed rules for educational institutions, Joey didn’t know if the part-time position at TMU was still going to be available. He also had no idea if teaching opportunities he’d secured at other institutions would still be available that fall. Amid all the uncertainty, God used the support of the John MacArthur Charitable Trust to do far more than Joey could have imagined.
“Some people were working behind the scenes, including with the Trust, to launch the engineering department at TMU,” Joey said. “And by God’s grace, they were able to bring me on full-time at the beginning of 2021 as a faculty member in this new department. I obviously wanted to be at TMU and I really got the sense that the school wanted me there as well.”
As a full-time faculty member in this new and exciting department, where more than 100 students are already enrolled, Joey sees himself primarily as a disciple-maker. Yes, he is teaching the students engineering. His classes are just as rigorous as any at a secular institution. But the goal of each class is different.
“Theology used to be considered the queen of the sciences. It is still the most important science, and I want the students to leave here with that mentality,” Joey said. “Knowledge of God is what we’re after in each engineering class. When we understand how the world works, through chemistry for instance, we are learning about God because we are better understanding how He created the world.”
And because each class is so rigorous, engineering students at TMU are learning how to think. They are learning how to cultivate the mind. That should be, Joey says, the goal of every institution, especially one like TMU that’s committed to the truth. Students are there not primarily to prepare for a career, though that certainly happens at TMU. They are there to learn, to mature, and to be shaped in the image of God and in the knowledge of His Word and world.
“My dream for the engineering department here at TMU is to see it produce a small army of well-qualified people of godly character,” Joey said. “In the coming years, people of integrity, trustworthiness, and hard work are going to shape engineering firms all over the world. Our students should lead the way in those areas because they are committed to something far greater than their own careers. They know they exist to glorify God and be salt and light in a morally decaying world.”
