During the school day, I would walk over there dressed like a student and steal people’s vehicles.”
— Brandon Davison, former car thief turned pastor
Brandon Davison spent a lot of time on Fresno Pacific University’s campus in his late teens and early twenties, but not as a student. Known to local law enforcement as the “Fresno Pacific Thief,” Davison had a reputation for stealing cars right out of the university parking lot. It’s a past he doesn’t hide. In fact, it’s the beginning of a testimony that has now come full circle.
“God used my pain and hurt and trauma to bring me back to Fresno Pacific.”
Today, Brandon isn’t walking onto campus to steal cars. Instead, he’s logging in as a seminary student, pursuing a Master of Arts in Ministry, Leadership and Culture at Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary. His journey to this moment is not only redemptive; it also answers the very questions that prospective students ask when they wonder if a seminary degree is possible, or even necessary, for someone like them.
What made Brandon consider seminary?
“I had no aspiration to go to college. I didn’t even want a GED.”
Brandon never planned to pursue higher education, let alone graduate-level ministry training. In fact, he spent most of his twenties incarcerated.
“In prison, we used to beat up Christians,” he recalls. “I was so far from God.”
But at 28, post-incarceration and battling addiction, he hit rock bottom. With his relationship strained, separated from his child and ready to end his life, a stranger’s timely intervention led him to a recovery program in Oakland, and ultimately, to Jesus.
His life began to change. After returning home sober, Brandon joined Celebrate Recovery at Clovis Hills Community Church, where he also began working, first as a janitor, then as an online campus pastor during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Still, seminary wasn’t on his radar until he started seeing ads for the M.A. in Ministry, Leadership and Culture and received an email that waived the bachelor’s degree requirement for those in full-time ministry.
“A mentor asked me, ‘What if God has something He wants you to do five years from now, and you can’t do it because you don’t have a degree?’ And I was like… ugh. I’m going to college.”
What’s the program like?
Brandon is now in his first year of the three-year, fully online cohort which is an ideal setup for a full-time pastor in an under-resourced neighborhood. The curriculum balances biblical theology, leadership and cultural engagement, helping students like him make real-time connections between what they learn and how they lead.
A class with Brian Ross, D.Min., challenged Brandon to evaluate what makes churches “highly effective.” Another course in entrepreneurial leadership inspired him to consider launching job creation efforts for people who, like him, were once labeled “unemployable.”
“Most ministry students come to seminary because they realize it’s complicated,” says Ross. “[Brandon] is clearly all in with his commitment to Jesus and ministry… uniquely equipped to help people from broken, messy backgrounds who are trying to find God.”
How is it impacting his ministry?
Brandon now serves as the campus pastor at Clovis Hills’ Tulare Street location in Southwest Fresno, a church plant that began with 10 members in early 2022. His own experiences with poverty, addiction and incarceration shape everything he does.
At Tulare Street, Brandon leads clothing and shoe drives, tattoo removal events and other community-based outreach efforts designed to meet real needs, not just spiritual ones.
“Christianity for me growing up was people showing up once a year, giving us a turkey, taking a photo and never coming back,” he remembers. “That memory shapes everything I do now. I never want people to think we’re there for a photo. Just being there and showing up has changed the way people interact with us.”
Who is this program for?
Prospective students often wonder if seminary is only for pastors in affluent suburbs or theological scholars. Brandon’s story answers that.
He didn’t fit the mold. But that’s the point.
“I think our greatest ministry comes out of our deepest pain,” he says. “I understand the heartbeat of the community. I’ve lived through welfare offices and prison cells. That’s where God has called me to serve, and seminary is helping me do it better.”
A Degree Rooted in Redemption
The M.A. in Ministry, Leadership and Culture isn’t just about learning theology. It’s about forming ministers who understand the real world their communities live in. Brandon’s journey from stealing cars on campus to preaching from a pulpit down the road embodies the power of grace, calling and education working together.
“God’s using every single bad thing I went through for the purpose of what we’re doing in this neighborhood,” Brandon says. “I stole from this university. Now I’m being equipped by it.”
Adapted from an article written by Katie Fries, May 2, 2025.
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