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05 July 2013

Rising Theologian crowned

The winner of a nationwide search to find a theologian of the future has been crowned.

Matt Walmsley was named the winner of the Rising Theologian competition – a contest put on by the London School of Theology (LST) in partnership with the Evangelical Alliance and Christianity magazine.

Over the past few months, would-be theologians have been sending in essays on the future of the UK Church in the hopes of winning the prize of a fully-funded BA or MA in Theology from LST – worth around £20,000.

The three finalists: Matt Walmsley, Richard Betts and James Willis – each of whom gave a live version of their essay at LST in the Park over the weekend.

Matt Adcock, director of communications at LST, said: "At the London School of Theology, we believe theology is the living, breathing engagement with God and His word. When people ask me 'why study theology?' as a Christian who wants to know God and the Bible better, I reply 'why wouldn't you want to study theology?'

"Congratulations to Matt – we are excited to see him tackle the MA at LST."

The judging panel comprised Matt Adcock, Phoebe Thompson from Youthwork magazine and the Alliance's executive director: churches in mission, Krish Kandiah, and head of media, Chine Mbubaegbu.

Krish said: "I love the innovation and generosity of LST, which has been driven by the desire to make theological education available to those whom God has gifted and not just those that can afford it."

Read Matt Walmsley's winning entry in full here.