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Dr Scott Downman

Principal, Academic Dean and Missional Theology Lecturer

I’ve always had a fascination with mission, even before I was a Christian. When I was in high school the careers advisor asked me what I wanted to do when I left school. I told her, “Be a missionary.” She looked at me puzzled and said, “I think you need to be a Christian first!”

Fast forward six years, and after coming to faith at the age of 23, that desire and passion for mission was ignited in a meaningful and dramatic way. Within six months I was on a short-term trip to East Asia.

This was followed by trips to Southeast Asia. In 2003 my wife, Chrissy, and I packed up and moved to Thailand to serve in a Christian rehabilitation centre for survivors of human trafficking. This was followed by three years in remote northern Thailand, leading preventative campaigns and training local Christian workers.

With a background in journalism and a PhD in Anthropology, I’ve seen first-hand how God uses professional skills in mission. I continue to serve Trinity College Queensland while preaching regularly in churches and supporting ministry formation.

I love going to the beach and growing my own organic herbs and vegetables.

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Dr Jameson Ross

Lecturer in New Testament & Early Church History

Originally from Chicago, Illinois in the United States, I am married to Rachel, and we have three children, Charlotte (12), Winston (10), and Adler (6). We came to Brisbane in June 2023, excited for the opportunity to immerse ourselves in a new culture and to explore this part of the world.

Growing up in a Christian family and church context, I discerned a future vocation in Christian ministry during high school (this was the result of, among other things, a particularly invested Youth Pastor named Jason). I completed a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Languages from Moody Bible Institute in 2006. Nearing the end of my time there and convinced of the need to ground my academic engagement with local church pastoral experience, I began serving in the Student Ministries department at Christ Community Church, a non-denominational church in the western suburbs of Chicago. After working happily for more than twelve years as a High School Pastor, College Pastor, and Teaching Pastor and, again, desiring to keep church and academy in constant relation, I completed a Master of Arts in Biblical Exegesis from Wheaton College Graduate School from 2012-2015.

Throughout my years serving as a pastor, I became more and more convinced that my convictions about the relationship between church ministry and biblical and theological education needed to be seen through to their end, so we began a discernment process to determine if another degree, this time a PhD, was next for me. I was asking a lot of questions that resulted from my ongoing studies and practice of ministry, and they were only going to be given adequate attention in a focused and rigorous way, so in 2016, Rachel and I, along with our two kids at the time, Charlotte and Winston, moved to Durham, England for three years so I could study in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University. I completed my PhD in Theology at Durham in 2019 (it was later published as Bonhoeffer as Biblical Interpreter: Reading Scripture in 1930s Germany with T&T Clark), relocated back to Chicago where we welcomed our third child, Adler, into the family, and I served in leadership roles in two non-profit organizations, The Center for Pastor Theologians and Made to Flourish.

In late 2022, we began talking with Trinity College Queensland about the position of Lecturer in New Testament and Early Church History. As we considered the opportunity, it became clear that another international move was worth it, mostly because of the learning culture here, the Uniting Church context, the people that we’d met, and the opportunity to continue to expand our learning as a family through new experiences in new places.

My academic interests include biblical interpretation, theological education, Modern Theology, and the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. When I’m not reading and working in these areas, I’ll most likely be hanging out with Rachel (who is my best friend in the whole world), playing with my kids, talking to a friend over coffee, watching a show or a movie, or riding my bicycle.

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Dr Rachel Krohn

Lecturer in Old Testament & Biblical Languages

I am Trinity College Queensland’s resident Canadian. I was born in Alberta, Canada, where I lived until I finished my Bachelor of Arts in Music at the University of Calgary. I have been formed by the scriptures for as long as I can remember; I grew up in the church and have been nurtured by the gospel my entire life.

In 2009, my husband Tyler and I moved to Vancouver, British Columbia for six years so I could study at Regent College. This was a fruitful time for us; by the time we left Vancouver in 2015, we were a family of four with a Master of Arts in Old Testament in hand. From 2015-2021 we lived in Toronto so I could complete a Ph.D. in Old Testament.

God called us to Trinity in 2020, and after a year of teaching online, we arrived in Brisbane at the end of May 2021. workers.

My area of academic expertise is the syntax of Biblical Hebrew poetry, which is way more interesting than you might think! Since moving to Australia, I have become an avid student of Australian history, which I share with my students in our History of Christianity in Australia unit. I consider it a privilege to teach at Trinity, where my passion for rigorous academic study in service of the Church has continued to grow.

You can find Rachel’s publications here .

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Rev. Dr Bruce Pass

Acting Academic Dean and Lecturer in Systematic Theology

I have been married to the lovely Kate for over 25 years and together we have had the privilege of welcoming three kids into our family – two of whom are now at university and our “little” boy is in senior high school.

After initial studies at Moore Theological College, I pastored a church for four years in Sydney. I then undertook postgraduate study at the University of Edinburgh, which opened up further opportunities for learning and teaching in the UK, USA, and back home. My academic interests lie in the areas of systematic theology, ethics, and philosophy. I’ve authored, edited, and translated several books on Herman Bavinck. My latest book, Christianity in History: From Pentecost to the Present, investigates anglophone Protestant identity by presenting a theological family tree that stretches from the church’s beginnings to the present-day.

I have also studied piano, first at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and then at the Hochschule für Musik ‘Franz Liszt’ Weimar. The time I spent studying music was a formative period of my life, especially as I witnessed more people come to faith during the three short years that I spent in Germany than in the many years before and after. Seeing close friends turn to Christ played a big part of my decision to pursue vocational ministry. In addition to my role as Academic Dean and Lecturer in Systematic Theology at Trinity College, I am also an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Queensland. And since the true home of theology is the church, I continue to preach regularly at local churches and youth groups.

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Rev Paul Clark

Acting Dean of Formation

As a young person I was almost bored out of the church. I couldn’t reconcile a bunch of people singing old songs on Sunday with the life and teachings of Jesus. Fortunately, I moved to a new town, and this church had people who took seriously the call to follow Jesus. I was in. I transformed from wanting to leave the church, to feeling a call to give my life to Christ and the church. Subsequently I’ve always been passionate to ensure the good news is good news (compelling and real) and that the church smells like Jesus (2 Cor 2:15).

I worked as a Youth Worker for my church in NSW, while studying to become a Computer Teacher. Married Becky and had two children. I taught for four years, was awarded the Alan Kerr Memorial prize for excellent in teaching and promptly quit to follow the call to Ministry.

I studied at Trinity College, before following the call to North Qld. Living out my passion I developed a drama and puppet Ministry, published a collection of drama books, and led the church in engaging the community, for which I was awarded the Burdekin Shire Citizen of the year in 2011.

Moving to Redcliffe I followed my passion for evangelism, becoming the At the Top guy on 96FIVE FM, delivering over 1,000 one-minute radio spots heard across Australia, and publishing the critically acclaimed Car Park Parables children’s books. We helped bring renewal to Redcliffe Uniting, ultimately adding a $5M Community services Hub to the life of the church.

I’ve on the board of the peak body for Religious Education in Qld. Was on the organising committee for the Children’s Ministry conference Ignite, and a judge for the Qld Father of the Year.

After 25+ years of Ministry, I’m in the right place helping to form the next generation of Ministers for ministry in a complex and changing world.

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Rev Dr Peter Francis

Lecturer in Practical Theology, Mission and Fieldwork

Peter has been married to Wendy for 46 years, and together they have three married children and eleven grandchildren.

After a 10-year career as a high school teacher, Peter became a minister, pastoring three churches over a 21-year period. In 2011 Peter took on a fulltime teaching role with Malyon Theological College, where he also served as the principal for seven years before retiring from that role at the end of 2024. For the past 15 years Peter has been teaching as an approved Australian University of Theology lecturer in the areas of Old Testament Overview, Missions and Pastoral Studies. He holds a BEd, Grad Theol, MDiv, MA Theol, and a Doctor of Ministry. Over many years Peter and Wendy have engaged in numerous short-term missions in places as diverse as Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Vanuatu, The Solomons, Bolivia, Paraguay, Belarus and Lesotho, South Africa and regularly preaches in local churches and speaks at conferences.

His passion continues to be the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry with a particular focus on the raising up of a new generation of gospel-centred workers.