Phi Alpha Chi 2023

I’m married to Alyson Branscomb, with 4 children: Olivia, Judah, Clara, and Mary. I have been a pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) for about 6 years. I learned about Gordon-Conwell from family and friends, and I’m so thankful for my time at there! It is a place of rigorous learning as well as laughter, where theological differences are not only discussed or debated, but also honored and celebrated.

After graduating, I plan to work bi-vocationally as a pastor and a licensed mental health counselor. I hope to work in the areas of trauma and addiction. I also want to grow as a teacher and advocate of trauma-informed pastoral care within the church setting.

I arrived in Boston in 2017 for a postdoctoral position in medical school. During my time worshipping God and serving at Ruggles Baptist Church, I felt a strong calling to pursue theological education. After completing my two-year postdoc training, I enrolled in the MDiv program at Gordon-Conwell. Throughout my studies and ministry over the past four years, I have gained invaluable knowledge and insights about God and people, and my relationship with the Lord has been greatly deepened. My experience at the seminary has motivated and strengthened me to respond to God’s call to the teaching ministry in the church and in the academic setting.

After graduation, I plan to pursue a ThM degree as I discern where the Lord wants me to use my teaching gift to edify the church. I am still exploring how I can integrate theology and neuroscience to enrich our understanding of anthropology, and I look forward to discovering new insights through my research in academia and in ministry.

My discipleship journey began when I immigrated to the United States from Brazil. I was tremendously blessed to have found a church family earlier on, that was steeped in the Scriptures and simultaneously living out the Christian faith in the marketplace. Immersed and shaped from this experience, I quickly gravitated towards ministry and serving God in any capacity that I could. I was led to Gordon-Conwell because my beautiful wife and I wanted to become more effective in our service to the Kingdom. Equipped with a robust theological framework and with a fully accredited counseling education, I hope to continue to serve as a bi-vocational minister in our local church and Christian clinician/educator in the greater community.

My desire has always been to fulfill my call to be a bi-vocational pastor. Since coming to Gordon-Conwell, I have received a theological education that fully prepared me to get ordained in my denomination. I aim to continue serving my local church and bless my community with the skills that I have acquired. Furthermore, the counseling education that I have received will allow me to work in secular settings and impact the greater community by living out my calling. In the coming months, I will continue my education through Regent University as a PhD student in Counseling Education and Supervision. With further training, I hope to collaborate with others to learn, research and serve God together!

I was born in California and raised in Texas, but I have fallen in love with New England. After serving in challenging pastoral ministry for four and a half years, I desired a season of study. Gordon-Conwell what the place for me. I am grateful for these years of healing, restoration, and study.

I will be moving to Washington, D.C. this summer to serve at Restoration Anglican Church while pursing ordination to the priesthood. With a love for the local church, I hope to serve in parish ministry.

In 2014, after being a missionary in Haiti for a few years, I attended Gordon-Conwell to pursue my Masters of Arts in Clinical Counseling (MACC). Upon graduating in 2017, I practiced clinical counseling for a few years, until I felt the LORD call me back to seminary for my Masters of Arts in Theological Studies with concentrations in Old Testament and New Testament. During this time I also had the privilege of co-leading a foundation in Haiti: Foundation Pierre Smith Mondelus.

Upon graduating I hope to continue in my studies and pursue a PhD. I also plan to continue serving at Séminaire Théologique Mondelus, a seminary in Haiti. I sense the Lord calling me to help bring theological education to places that are most in need.

I call both South Central Pennsylvania and Western Maryland my home, and I have been a pastor’s kid nearly all my life. I never remember a time when I didn’t know about Jesus or the Bible; scripture has always been in my DNA (for better or for worse!). In 2016, after a few years of never wanting to do school again, I decided seminary would be a goal I’d begin moving towards in order to help address the biblical illiteracy I saw in Christian communities.

My next steps after graduation are to rest and to spend time discerning what God is directing me to. I hope that the work I’ve done–and the work God’s done in me–these three years will not only benefit me but the broader church community and the lives around me.

I came to the United States to be a research scientist in materials science. Then I became a Christian and got married at Chinese church. After being a stay-home mom for 12 years, God opened the door for me to attend Gordon-Conwell as an MATS student. Now I live on beautiful Hamilton campus with my husband and two children.

Currently I am studying for my ThM in Theology at Gordon-Conwell. If it’s God’s will, I will pursue a doctoral degree afterwards. I believe God is calling me to be a Bible and theology teacher and researcher.

I am blessed to be the mother of 3 daughters and 4 grandchildren. While working as I nurse, I have been called to the ministry of chaplaincy. True spiritual healing comes from the Lord. I have enjoyed my time and spiritual journey at Gordon-Conwell. I enjoy serving at my church and am looking forward to how God will use me in His Kingdom.

I hope to serve in missions, hospice or medical settings. I trust in the Lord’s wisdom and look forward to serving His Kingdom for His glory.

I was born and raised in Los Angeles and going to church was a regular part of my family’s rhythm. But, I walked away from the faith in high school, and it wasn’t until years later that I personally devoted my life to following and serving Jesus. While working in financial services, I sensed a call to full-time ministry and pursued this call through missions training at YWAM Kona. This is where I met and got married to my beautiful wife Lindsey. Eventually, God opened the door to attend Gordon-Conwell to receive further training in serving His Church both locally and globally. It was at Gordon-Conwell that we welcomed our firstborn daughter and so the school holds a special place in our hearts.

Shortly after my time at Gordon-Conwell, I accepted a pastoral call in San Francisco. I hope to serve God faithfully here and lay down roots for the foreseeable future, but am also open to be called back into international missions in the long-term.

I am from Houston, Texas, where I met my fiancée, Chelsea. We are getting married this May. I will be starting my PhD in Moral Theology at the University of Notre Dame this fall.

My ministry passion is to offer people a space to practice being known, especially those parts of their lives where there is shame or pain, so that they can be better enabled to walk into abundant life with God. One of the key aspects of Gordon-Conwell that drew me to attend is the integration of faith and learning, theology and psychology, in its counseling program. I have been married for 5 years now and have a 1 year old son.

I hope to work as a clinical mental health counselor (licensed in NC) and to serve children, teens, families, and adults. In December, my family and I will be moving to Chiang Mai, Thailand, where I will serve at Cornerstone Counseling Foundation and provide counseling services to cross-cultural Christian workers coming from around the world.

I am a born and bred Bostonian and have been following Jesus since I was 15 years old due to the ministry of a Chinese Heritage church. It was there that my interest in ministry began and eventually expanded. My wife & I have been part of a multi-ethnic church in Quincy since 2012 where we’ve served in various capacities over the past decade. I began my studies at Gordon-Conwell in 2017 with a desire to be useful and to be theologically trained.

I’ve recently become the academic director at an all-digital theology school that aims to equip laypersons with a deeper theological understanding of who the God of the Old and New Testaments is. I will be continuing my education as a new Doctor of Ministry candidate at Gordon-Conwell this summer.

I came to Gordon-Conwell to grow in my understanding of spiritual formation and become better equipped as a lay leader at my church in Boston. When I started, I had a sense that God might be preparing me for vocational ministry within the church, but my time at Gordon-Conwell deepened and broadened my love for Christ’s church in ways I couldn’t have imagined. My professors and my peers have helped me to discern a clearer calling to build up the church and spur us toward greater health and holiness.

During my time in seminary, I joined the small (but mighty) staff at my church, and we’re now at a major turning point in defining our identity and mission as one expression of the church here in Boston. I’m really looking forward to taking what I’ve learned from the classes and community at Gordon-Conwell and working to strengthen our church and keep us focused on the leading of our Good Shepherd as we enter into this new season. Please pray for our church, that God would transform our community into a light that shines out his hope into our city!

After growing up in Alaska, I pursued a degree in Equine Science in Montana. God led me to see that I love horses and the outdoors specifically as a way to connect others with God and with healing. Throughout my life, God has placed a desire in me to walk alongside those who are vulnerable and hurting in a practical way. I chose the MACO program in order to grow personally and professionally in integrating theology and psychology to better serve a wide population.

Upon graduation, I feel called to move back to the Northwest to practice as a counselor. I see counseling as an important ministry that can facilitate healing and growth. I am looking forward to seeing what God specifically calls me into in this next season of adventure!

I was born and raised in southern Maine, and have been married to my husband Adam for almost five years. It has always been my dream to serve the Lord alongside my husband, and we have been blessed with the opportunity to do short term missions in both Guatemala and here at home in northern Maine. About four years ago, I felt God was calling me to serve Him through the counseling ministry. I was led to Gordon-Conwell and feel incredibly blessed to be a part of the MACO program.

My hope is to serve through the ministry of counseling. I would like to earn licensure as a mental health counselor, and integrate a Christian worldview for those who are seeking faith-based counseling. My hope is to be a resource for the church and walk alongside those who are suffering as they embark on a journey of healing. I am very grateful for my time at Gordon-Conwell. It has strengthened my walk with the Lord and challenged me in beautiful ways.

Originally from California, I came to Christ in college and have enjoyed a career in communications for faith-based organizations in Washington, D.C. I wanted to pursue seminary to be better equipped as a writer and speaker to connect people with the heart of Christ. I was drawn to Gordon-Conwell’s interdenominational culture, evangelical orthodoxy, and excellent academic reputation. I began the MA in Religion degree in 2017 and have thoroughly enjoyed my seminary journey, learning more about the Bible, church history, theology, leadership, ministry, and so much more! My husband Scott has encouraged me all along the way.

I currently serve as Women’s Ministry Director and Communications Director in my Arlington, VA church, where I daily apply what I have learned! My focus going forward is to continue to use my communication gifts in the ministry arena. My passion is to equip and mobilize women to wholeheartedly pursue discipleship to live into their strong, God-given design and purpose.

I was a school teacher for 18 years before returning to grad school for counseling. It was the through the relational experiences with children and families that called me to into counseling. I have been married for 28 years and have three children, Karis (24), Caleb (22), and Abby (21).

I plan to work in a private practice and with schools to provide counseling to children, families, and individuals.

I came to Gordon-Conwell to pursue a degree in Spiritual Formation after doing 7 years of urban ministry in Colorado. I came here hoping to deepen my understanding of God and become more grounded and centered in him. I did not want to move forward in doing more ministry without taking the time to do this work, seeing many of the messy areas of ministry and personally experiencing burnout. I feel led to journey with people in their walks with God and help with the process of being grounded in Christ and integrated in all areas of life.

My next steps are working at a farm in this area, helping to grow vegetables for non-profit farm that’s focused on building community and sustainable agricultural practices. My hope is to integrate agriculture, the environment, community, and spiritual formation in my future work. I also hope to being doing spiritual direction at some point and get more training in that area.

While I was initially hesitant about pursuing further theological education as a senior in college, God’s consistent grace and love were clear to me. I have always felt his calling for my life phrased like this, “Leave any situation better than when you found it.” In my life, this call has taken the form of chaplaincy, seeking to meet the spiritual needs of people by building relationships in non-traditional church settings. As I wanted to learn how to embody this role, it became clear that I would need to pursue both theological and clinical education at Gordon-Conwell. I have been so grateful for the ways God has continued to shape me and lead me into new adventures with the knowledge and ministry skills I acquired while I was in school. Since graduating, I have been blessed to get married to my wife, Sarah (we actually got married in the Great Hall at the Hamilton Campus), move to Saint Louis where she will continue her PhD studies, and begin working both in a hospital as a chaplain enrolled in Clinical Pastoral Education, as well as an emerging mental health counselor at a local counseling agency.

As I look toward the future, I am excited and confident to discover how the God will incorporate my story and skills within his larger work in the world. My hope is to continue learning what it means to identify and serve as a chaplain in various contexts. And I also hope to be able to continue building bridges between faith communities and the world of mental health.

I am a married empty nester with 3 adult children and have lived in Charlotte for 25 years. I felt called to enter into the experience of Gordon-Conwell four and a half years ago just to strengthen the volunteer ministry work I enjoyed at my church. God had other plans and my Mentored Ministry turned into fulltime ministry on a discipleship team.

I am currently enjoying a call to help with the launch of a new church plant in our area. I am also quite excited for another upcoming call to be a grandma and help care for my grandson when he arrives.

I have served in non-profit social services, missions, and theological education my entire career. Gordon-Conwell has helped equip me to serve the local and international church in these areas and to grow more into the person God created me to be, better able to do the things he created me to do. I am grateful for the many who have helped me along the way thus far.

My hope is to continue to grow as God’s child and as a therapist, helping people better know themselves and navigate the world around them. I seek to help people integrate their experiences, disappointments and hopes as they make changes and move toward holistic healing and flourishing.

I served with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in Virginia from 2016 to 2020. I married my wife, Melissa, in 2017. I decided to attend seminary after further discerning a call to pastoral ministry and military chaplaincy. During my time at seminary we had two children, Sophia (2 years) and Judah (10 months).

I swore into the Navy as a chaplain candidate in December 2022 and hope to serve as a pastor in the Greater Boston area after seminary. I anticipate serving the church in a greater capacity and propagate the growth of God’s kingdom for years to come.

I live in Boone, NC with my wife and three children. I began my time at Gordon-Conwell in 2015, hoping to go deeper in my study of the Scriptures to better serve the youth at my church. This school has been tremendously formative in my engagement with the Word, but just as importantly, my engagement with the Church. Being from a rural town in the Southern Appalachians, the GCTS community has expanded my horizons through its lived experience as the global Church, one that has shaped my vocation and my hopes of bringing a global perspective home to our mountains.

As an associate pastor who serves in youth ministry, my hope is to continue to navigate our youth toward a multicultural ecclesiology and a humble hermeneutic of Scripture. Our church family has been facilitating conversations about polarized topics in an effort to sow unity and I know my education will serve that vision well. Whatever the future holds, I move forward with excitement, indebted to the edification and encouragement I have received over the years from the incredible staff and students in the GCTS family.

My wife Michelle, our son Levi, and I came to Gordon-Conwell from the mission field in the Philippines seeking a season of equipping, training, and learning with the expectation that God would then lead us back to the nations to engage in global cross-cultural missions. The big surprise for us during our time here is that God has given us a massive heart for the Church in the U.S., which is now our new mission field. We have grown to love and cherish the community here at GCTS, which has become our treasure and sanctuary.

In the future, I hope to complete a ThM and then pursue a PhD focusing my research on the intersection of intellectual and developmental disabilities, ecclesiology, and homiletics. It is my hope that through the pastorate and the pulpit, I can help change the ethos of the post-post-modern Church in the U.S. so that all have a place to belong and experience the life-transforming power, grace, and salvation of Jesus.

I gave my life to Christ in 2014 after living a very broken life. A seed was planted all the way back then that implied Gordon-Conwell’s MACO program might be in my future. As I grew to know Jesus more intimately, received tremendous healing working with a Christian counselor, and worked as a Sexual Assault Victim Advocate for the National Guard, the call on my life to become a counselor became clear. A week before walking at graduation this year, I will have married the love of my life, Brandon, and we are so eager to discover what a life of serving Jesus together as a married couple looks like!

It is unclear what population or environment I will be working in, but one passion I have is to work with those living in urban communities, particularly who have experienced incarceration and/or addiction. I also have a very soft spot in my heart for working with service members/veterans, and regardless of where I end up, it is important for my work to always be trauma-informed. I am also incredibly passionate about working in the church setting, as I feel mental health care in the church is a necessary part of caring for the whole person. I long for a day where going to counseling is so much more proactive versus reactive!

While participating in overseas missions with Brazilian missionaries, I was praying and asking the Lord to open up for me a door to learn more about discipleship as well as mental health counseling. While in Portugal, I found the MDiv/MACO dual-degree program at Gordon-Conwell and asked the Lord if this is where He would bring me. About 6 months later, after coming back to the States and visiting the school, God opened the door and allowed me to come to GCTS. God has worked and done incredible things, taught me, and molded me in beautiful ways since I started. And I know that He will continue the work that He has started in me.

By God’s grace, I will work in the counseling field for the next few years. I hope to be able to help provide mental health resources to the local church as well. The discipleship experience at GCTS has been a huge part of my journey and I hope and pray that God will open doors to mentor others. I hope to continue to seek the Lord with my local church here in Massachusetts.

The study and instruction of the Hebrew Bible/OT and Christian Scriptures/NT has been a defining element for the entirety of my adult life. After college, I worked in urban ministry and community development for 20 years before coming to Gordon-Conwell. In 2018, I began my pursuit of a PhD in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament with the goal of teaching Hebrew and equipping God’s people for service in the world. I hope to complete my degrees so that I can teach and inspire others in the wondrous study of God’s Word. I have a passion for justice and missions, especially among the underserved and marginalized groups.

My wife, Jill, and my two daughters (Sophie and Anna) have been incredibly supportive throughout the process.

My conscious walk with Jesus began later in life, after many years of studying religion and turning over every “other” stone in search of God. I spent years after my undergraduate degree in Religion, and before seminary, at home raising my daughter. I would say that my background, in a nutshell, is feeling passion for God and for parenting. The experience of seminary has been thrilling. Once I catch my breath, I will await guidance about further clinical training. I feel a profoundly clear call to serve underprivileged populations, especially children living in poverty or abuse.

I will be working as a child clinician with a child advocacy center in the Asheville area. The majority of our clients come through our local hospital’s Child Safety Team or through DSS. So the trauma histories of the children we serve tend to be severe. Because we are grant-funded, our services are free to the families we serve. I am in love with this grant-funded model because it allows our team to reach into the lives of the most underserved and vulnerable among us.

I was born and raised in Guatemala city where I worked as an architect. After being in the corporate world for several years, God used a series of events that allowed me to realize His calling. And in the next years, God opened miraculous doors for me to come to Gordon-Conwell!

I have been serving in college ministry in the Boston area, and I sense the Lord’s leading in continuing to walk with young women in this context.

After earning Bachelor of Arts in Religion (2004), Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders (2008) and Doctor of Audiology (2013) degrees, I worked as a cochlear implant audiologist at Vanderbilt Medical Center until 2020. A desire to learn Greek and Hebrew “for fun” led me to begin seminary classes at Gordon-Conwell part-time in 2018. As I began to see more and more parallels between helping my patients hear physically and helping people “hear” spiritually, I decided to pursue the MDiv and transitioned to full-time study in 2020.

In the near future I will likely begin pursuing ordination through ECO (Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians), with tentative plans to move back to the southeast region of the US. While my next steps are not yet clearly defined, I am eager to see how God will creatively combine my interests in biblical studies, theology, and spiritual formation to walk alongside others on their journey of faith.

When I first started this seminary journey seven years ago, I had no thought of actually getting a degree! I was just going to take a few classes…hmm, famous last words. But, I loved the learning and being part of the GCTS community and so was completely drawn in! Over the years, I have felt the Lord’s help and guidance in big and small ways. I am also thankful for the support of my husband and sons along with many others. While I have learned so much, there is also the sense of so much more to learn. So, I hope to take more classes as an auditor!

I learned about Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) through a fellow student at Gordon-Conwell. With her encouragement, I embarked on four units of CPE, and it was a life changing experience. I believe the Lord is leading me towards chaplaincy ministry in some context. During the summer, I plan to pray and talk to others in the field in order to discern that context.

My family and I are from Australia. I am married to David and we have four children. I desired to study at Gordon-Conwell when I noticed that many of the theologians that I admired were either teaching at or had graduated from GCTS. I began my Gordon-Conwell journey from Australia as a distance student. At that time, I was working as a young adults pastor in my local church and I desired to deepen my knowledge and understanding of Scripture. After some time, I moved to the US and continued to study at the Charlotte campus. Since moving to the US, I have been working with a Foundation in Haiti.

My next steps are to apply for a PhD program, so that I can teach and continue in research. My work will primarily be in Haiti at Seminaire Theologique Mondelus, but I also hope to partner with seminaries across the globe where there is need.

After a number of years working in food service while pursuing arts ventures in my off hours, I shifted course and began the long, painful, enriching process of becoming a mental health counselor. This shift in thinking and plan was largely due to the loving influence of my wife Elizabeth. As a Roman Catholic, I am incredibly grateful for the hospitality of so many at Gordon-Conwell and for the profound integrative education I’ve received there.

I hope to be doing play therapy with children and depth-oriented talk therapy with adults soon, whether in a private practice or agency setting.

I am just finishing my long journey of preparation towards becoming a licensed professional counselor! It has taken me a while as I am a single mom of two (now) young adult daughters. I will graduate at the same time my youngest graduates from high school! I look forward to beginning a new and exciting career as I also face this rather sad phase of becoming an empty nester.

I am looking forward to doing my residency for the next three years in the Northern Virginia area and working with children, adolescents and adults. Perhaps after that is complete, I will open a private practice.

My time at Gordon-Conwell has deeply impacted my life. I am so grateful for the opportunity to study under professors who are thoughtful people of faith and are passionate about the field of counseling. I have grown through being humbled and challenged during my time in graduate school. I am incredibly thankful for the training I received at Gordon-Conwell.

After graduating, I plan to serve clients through clinical mental health counseling in the Winston-Salem area, where my husband and I currently live. I hope to specialize in working with clients who are dealing with the effects of trauma.

I am a minister and I was seeking a deeper understanding of pastoral ministry. That was why I enrolled. I will continue to pastor my flock for the near future.

My wife and I have three children with twin boys due next month. My father attended Gordon-Conwell 40 years ago and I got to follow in his footsteps. I have a passion for missions and teaching and I was recently hired as the Missions Pastor at our church here in North Carolina with the goal of growing the church’s outreach in the community and abroad. In the future I hope to grow into a senior pastor role as my ministry career progresses.

I am originally from Puerto Rico born into a family of ministers. At the age of 17, God called me into ministry. That call intensified during my college years at Iowa State University. I move to South Carolina to pursue a career in engineering, yet God had other plans. God opened a door to be a youth pastor at local church. God used this ministry opportunity to lead me to Gordon-Conwell.