New Edition | Spring 2025
Journey of Courageous Ambassadors
In the Spring 2025 issue of Grace’sJourney, you’ll encounter stories of transformation, calling, and God’s faithful pursuit. Carter Willis ’25 came to Grace to play baseball—and found new life in Christ. Benaiah Nyanjui ’25 followed God’s call to missionary aviation, discovering Grace through a series of providential encounters. Jess Payne ’24 turned down her dream schools to follow Jesus more deeply, finding healing and purpose in Grace’s community. Morgan Sillings ’24, encouraged by a professor’s wisdom, turned her lifelong love of history into a hands-on museum internship. And Dr. Mat Loverin ’98, both alum and professor, demonstrates how rigorous teaching and relational investment can lead to lasting spiritual transformation. Each story reminds us that God is at work in every season—shaping students, alumni, and faculty for His glory and our good.
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Learn Grow Serve
As you open this year’s Journey Magazine, you will discover an overarching message: Learn, Grow, Serve.
This is not a slogan or marketing campaign. Instead, it’s a compelling way to describe who Grace Christian University is and has always been. These three terms summarize our distinctiveness. In this issue, we’ll illustrate how these words describe our work as a biblical higher education institution.
LEARN: Every student–online and on-campus–spends a quarter of their academic program learning biblical truth, and professors teach non-Bible classes from a biblical perspective. We celebrate the distinction that our exceptional professors are committed to the authority of Scripture in their curriculum and in their personal lives. The Bible guides their values, conduct, and speech. Two of our core values, Bible Centered and Grace Theology, direct the educational experience and anchor our students through winds of change and storms of life. In our required chapel services, God’s Word is taught and applied to life.
GROW: Grace students know that one of our core values is Transformational Relationships because faculty and students shape their educational experience. I’m always amazed by how deeply our faculty and staff engage with students to nurture their growth in Christlikeness. Our coaches value discipleship and spiritual growth as the greatest victories. Meanwhile, student-led small groups facilitate personal and spiritual maturity.
SERVE: Grace is committed to preparing our students to serve the Lord through serving others. Service is part of the curriculum for many classes, and students have opportunities for on-campus and local community service projects throughout the year. Our fourth core value is Ministry Focused. Our mission statement, Graduating Courageous Ambassadors for Christ who Make an Eternal Impact Wherever They Go, motivates all of us toward ministry. Our graduates learn the value of serving others through what they’re taught at Grace, thereby impacting people for eternity. This is for all students in every degree.
Learn, Grow, Serve. This is who we are and what we do. We do this unapologetically, unwaveringly, and always with grace.
Gratefully,
Ken Bruce Kemper
President
Current Issue
Cover Story
Benaiah Nyanjui – Airborne Mission
More Stories
Carter Willis – New Found Faith
“I’ve changed,” Carter Willis ’25 admits. Where My Story Changed Growing up, Carter didn’t have faith of any kind. His parents weren’t Christians, and Christ was never a topic of discussion. When Carter was two years old, his parents divorced and he was thrown into...
Jessica Burgett – Finding a New Home
Where My Story with Grace Began The story of how I got to Grace is part of a love story between Jesus and me. When my Sunday school teacher said that to me, I was a 16-year-old girl who had left home due to traumatic circumstances and a toxic situation in...
Morgan Sillings – Ready for the Future with a Passion for the Past
Morgan Sillings ’24 has always been fascinated by history. Unlike other kids who wanted to throw a party or go to an amusement park for their birthdays, Morgan begged her mom to take her to the Grand Rapids Public Museum to see a Titanic exhibit when she turned 13. In...
Dr. Mat Loverin – Transformational Teaching
"If you’re teaching with love, you can’t always put cookies on the top shelf and expect students to reach them,” Dr. Mat Loverin ’98 says. “There will always be a student that can reach that level, but if I only teach that student, then I’m going to have another dozen...