Taking the Leap

Taking the Leap

New students make up largest class in recent years

When Evie Dykhouse completed her undergraduate degree at Trinity Christian College in 2022, she already had her sights set on Calvin Theological Seminary (CTS).

“Since I would like to pursue chaplaincy, attending seminary became a goal of mine starting in college,” she said. “Specifically when Calvin Seminary visited my campus, it was placed on my radar as a potential school option for me.”

But when Dykhouse found rewarding positions with Cornerstone University and her home church, she felt it was time to put seminary on hold—but the dream never died.

“During that time, I ran into one of my favorite undergraduate professors who had recently started working at Calvin Seminary,” Dyhouse explained. “It was ultimately his encouragement that prompted me to take the leap in applying. After the acceptance point, I was enveloped into the Calvin Seminary community completely, meeting current students and attending the seminary’s Chaplaincy Fair before I had even taken a class.”

For Dykhouse, the path was clear: “It was in these moments that I realized that God had led me to the right place.”

This fall, Dykhouse will join a cohort of students beginning their Master of Divinity (MDiv), including Yeji Sarah Kim, a 2020 Calvin University grad who is working as a nurse while attending seminary.

While Kim said is nervous about working and pursuing seminary simultaneously, she is also looking forward to the challenge.

“I’ve always wanted to do seminary, because I want to be a preacher in the future,” Kim said. “I’m so excited to learn and make connections with people from all over the world.”

A Strong Incoming Class

“We are ready to engage these new students and their contexts to help them follow God’s calling in ministry,” President Jul Medenblik said in an article for the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA), reporting on this banner year.

The fall 2023 incoming class of more than 50 students will be CTS’ largest since the Covid pandemic reached North America in 2020 and caused changes and disruptions to graduate programs across the globe.

Medenblik noted that even in such a large class, each student will receive personalized attention. 

“CTS intentionally focuses on a robust faculty-to-student ratio and hospitality so that students are equipped and supported by our seminary community,” he said to the CRCNA.

Starting September 5, these new students from the United States, Canada, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, and South Korea, will begin their studies across the seminary’s ten degree and certificate programs.

Hybrid and Online Learning Paths

Of this fall’s incoming students, approximately 60% will begin seminary through in-person studies, while 40% will take advantage of the seminary’s fully online and hybrid options.

Anthony Matias is a fully online student, and part of the inaugural class for the seminary’s Master of Clinical Mental Health Counseling (MCMHC) program. As a New Jersey pastor of a congregation and a chaplain at a rehabilitation facility, Matias was quickly drawn to the newly offered degree. 

“The new Master’s in Counseling seemed to be a good opportunity in a familiar institution to begin this journey,” said Matias, who completed the Ecclesiastical Program for Ministerial Candidacy at CTS after earning his MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Matias said there are two things he is most looking forward to in the program: “To add skills and knowledge in order to continue to help individuals as part of my ministry and as it coincides with the work I have already been doing; and caring for the emotional and spiritual needs of my congregations, my medical patients, and the growing behavioral health needs arising post-Covid-19.”

Lucas Geiger, a youth director in Escalon, California, is enrolled in the hybrid MDiv program, incorporating distance learning with in-person intensives twice a year.

“I love Calvin’s commitment to historic Reformed theology and the long history of the seminary,” Geiger said. “What I am looking forward to most is growing in my understanding and relationship with Jesus our Lord. And also to make new relationships and grow in my understanding of the CRC.”

______________

Explore the programs of Calvin Theological Seminary and apply today for your chance to begin as early as next semester. Visit calvinseminary.edu/admissions.