Our students’ stories are truly a testament to God’s faithfulness and an example of the many ways he is calling each of us to do His work. We have been blessed by Cherie’s testimony and wanted to share it with you. Please read Cherie’s story below and remember to be praying for our students and MDC as a whole.
Cherie’s Story
Cherie Michels, MDiv Student
Some people hear God’s call early in life. Others receive that calling much later after careers and families have been established. It is in this second category that I found myself.
I came to MDC in 2022 with a very specific plan, but from the day I received my acceptance letter, God has been showing me that my plan was too small. God had much bigger ideas than I could have ever imagined, and I was about to embark on a journey that would change how I viewed my life forever.
I am someone who has studied and practiced the arts throughout my life, and I believed this was the area of ministry that God was leading me into. MDC’s growing creative arts community is something I knew I would be a part of and use as I moved toward my life in ministry. MDC’s professors challenge me, whenever possible, to use my creativity in assignments by incorporating artistic elements alongside more traditional academic practices.
It wasn’t until I signed up for a preaching course with Dr. Knowles that I learned that being an artist did not restrict my future ministry options to the worship arts. Instead, I learned that my creative gifts offer a unique and diverse perspective for preaching and pastoring that I didn’t know existed. Dr. Knowles’ preaching classes provided a supportive and safe environment to explore preaching in the unique and creative ways God wants to use me.
What I have come to realize is that the plans I entered MDC with were like a flimsy, unstable house built on sand. Thankfully, God’s love for me caused that house to fall while I was still building it instead of once I had become established in it. Following God’s promptings through prayer and discernment has allowed me to begin to build again, this time according to God’s plan as my firm foundation.