Christian Ministry Personal Statement

Before starting the Master of Arts in Christian Ministry Program at Olivet Nazarene University I had 10 years of non-for profit experience. When I attended Eastern Illinois University for undergraduate studies I majored in Speech Communication and concentrated in Electronic Media Production and I had no idea that I would be going into the social service field. I was untrained professionally to go into counseling, but kept finding myself in situations where counseling was a major part of my career and personal life. The passion for counseling grew and continues to grow, but I find myself seeking the proper ways to be effective. The kind of issues that have already been a barrier in my ability to minister effectively in counseling has been

When people meet me they often tell me that I have a counseling spirit and that I am a good listener. People often feel comfortable in talking to me and opening up in parts of their lives that they have not shared with others. I enjoy helping people and always have. It is been an interesting process in helping everyone from children to senior citizens in social work. I now feel that counseling is the next step that I would like to educate myself in. One of the biggest barriers that I face right now is that as I pursue my Master of Arts degree in Christian Ministry and want to be effective in Christian Counseling I can often be sensitive to other people’s situations causing empathy that I carry with me past the counseling session. One of the major reasons that I was opposed to social service jobs was that I often wear my heart on my sleeve and take issues home with me. I have been very fortunate to not have to deal with very painful situations that people encounter such as murder, rape, drug addiction, neglect, or physical abuse. I know that as a counselor that I have to be open to people coming in with various situations and even if it is a situation that happened a long time ago that it will come up in counseling. This has been an aspect that has hindered me from pursuing a degree in counseling because I know that is a part of the learning process. I would definitely be fearful that I am not prepared to deal with this situations and I would have to rely on faith that God wouldn’t put more on me than I can bare. I have cried with those who were mourning, I have become overjoyed with those who have rejoiced, but my empathy has not affected my counseling at this