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Endured to Help Others Thrive
Grace in Action

Endured to Help Others Thrive

Janea Christensen has been through a lot in life. But she considers her trials as fuel to help others. She wants to become a chaplain who provides emotional and spiritual support for those in the field of healthcare, and Grace School of Theology equips her with the proper foundation to be an effective and compassionate one.

Grace in Action

Endured to Help Others Thrive

Janea Christensen has been through a lot in life. But she considers her trials as fuel to help others. She wants to become a chaplain who provides emotional and spiritual support for those in the field of healthcare, and Grace School of Theology equips her with the proper foundation to be an effective and compassionate one.

Endured to Help Others Thrive
Endured to Help Others Thrive
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I have learned many things that have enriched my testimony of the Savior and His Gospel. I have been introduced to resources and ways of thinking about things that are different from my faith tradition. I am very grateful for the opportunity to attend this school.

Janea discovered Grace through a chaplaincy class video in which the speaker is affiliated with Grace. She was convinced to enroll at the seminary because its accreditation meets the requirements of becoming a healthcare chaplain. Also, its Master of Arts in Chaplaincy (MAC) program focuses on giving students a proper understanding of hyper-vigilance, which is often the result of trauma.
“I resolved to find a program that emphasized that, but I also wanted a program that was very good in delivering quality online education.”
Janea’s interest in caring for people in the healthcare environment was rooted in her experience as a cardiac patient. She has been through two open heart surgeries resulting in life-threatening complications, so she spent time in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, a place of tremendous suffering. That’s why when she endured through this season, she did not have second thoughts about what she wanted to be for others.
“When I learned there was a job that offered spiritual care in the hospital to those suffering emotionally, I knew the importance of that work and could not extinguish my desire to be part of it!”
From the admissions process to the actual study, Janea found her Grace experience exceptional. During her first interactions with the school staff, she was glad to feel respect and kindness even though she came from a different religious background. For her, this sensitivity and care embody the fundamental goal of chaplaincy: to serve people regardless of their faith or tradition. This encouraged her to learn more about the Gospel of Christ from an evangelical, Free Grace perspective.
Janea also appreciates the accessibility of her classes, which works well for her since she has a hectic schedule. Aside from being a full-time mom to her four children, she teaches music classes in her community and runs a large music studio that services 60 families weekly. In addition, she volunteers at the youth ministry of her church. Grace’s cloud-based learning management system allows her to watch recorded classes and prepare for papers, reading, and tests ahead of time.
“Truly, I have had access to the education I wholeheartedly want, and during the hours, I can integrate it into my life. I have been so pleased with that.”
Furthermore, Janea considers the affordability of Grace’s education as a significant factor in the success of her study. With a cost-effective tuition fee, she could take one class at a time and pay each class off as she progresses.
“I have been grateful for this and said many thank you prayers!”
Though Janea has enjoyed her studies at Grace, her student journey has not been without any trial. When one of her daughters died by suicide, she felt really lost and even considered dropping out of her degree program. But because of her faith in God and her unwavering goal to fulfill her life mission, she decided to stay in the chaplaincy program of Grace.
“After lots of prayer and meditation, I decided it would be helpful for me to continue onward toward my goal of becoming a chaplain.”
According to her, the first class she took after her painful experience was about dealing with trauma and crisis. In the beginning, she wondered whether what she would learn would help her cope or just cause more pain for her. But as the classes progressed, her learnings have been a blessing.
“I am happy I persevered and took that class because it turned out to be the most immersive, rich learning environment I could have ever asked for. I was hungry for the knowledge of how to heal from trauma, and I was fed deeply.”
Meanwhile, when she decided to take some time off to tend to her grief and that of her family, she was glad that the administrators at Grace were very understanding and even reached out to her to express care and concern. She felt love and kindness with how the staff and professors at Grace handled the situation.
“I learned that people who work at Grace practice the values and Christian principles they teach.”

When it comes to the classes that impacted her life, she points out Christian Counseling and Conflict Resolution with Professor Garry Kiker as the courses that taught her the value and importance of grieving and mourning a loss. These also taught her what forgiveness is and how to avoid bitterness. Moreover, she learned some practical tools that she can use to help people in the healthcare setting assess and deal with their pain.

“I adored these classes and appreciated Prof. Kiker for demonstrating a high level of competence and love for his profession, the people he counsels, and us—his students.”

Janea’s Hermeneutics class with Dr. Fred Chay helped her dig deeper into God’s Word as she learned how to do biblical word studies and sentence-grammar analysis. Moreover, she became well acquainted with the applications to help her access Greek and Hebrew text and biblical translations that are critical for proper Scripture interpretation.

Janea also learned from the life experiences of her peers through her Discipleship Group at Grace. For her, this is an avenue wherein you can fellowship with other students, pray with them, and share thoughts about the Scripture. Janea appreciates the atmosphere of acceptance and love.
“I see a different way of doing things by being a ‘visitor’ from another religion, and I have been strengthened and inspired by the people I have met, from all over the world, in this class. What a treasure.”

For someone passionate about helping those in need of spiritual and emotional guidance, the lessons Janea received from these courses and her program will help her accomplish her ministry goals. Couple this with her life experience of being able to endure hardship, she is excited to serve as a vessel of Christ’s love to those experiencing grief and sadness in the healthcare field.

“I knew the importance of that work and could not extinguish my desire to want to be part of it! So here I am. And I am starting my first unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at a level four trauma center.”

Do you have the same passion for service to the Lord? Then, you too can share His love to others! Grace’s MAC program is designed to equip its students with critical incident stress management skills that are essential in mitigating the impact of an event, accelerating the recovery process, and assessing the need for additional or alternative services. Visit Grace’s Website today to learn more on how to start your Grace journey.

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