Meet Our Students

Chris Gensheer (MDiv ‘10, Ministry Leadership Award)

Hometown: Augusta, Georgia
Home Church: First Presbyterian Church of Augusta

What are your ministry passions? Tell us about your current ministry involvement.

CHRIS: I am passionate about seeing God’s Word go forth and affect people’s lives, especially in the realm of church planting. I currently serve as a church planting intern. This enables me to experience what life and ministry are like as a church planter under the supervision and authority of a local church that is itself a church plant. My responsibilities include leading a worship service, training and developing lay leaders in the church, and resourcing and serving area church planters.

What is your ministry vision? What would you like to do after seminary?

CHRIS: After seminary, I would like to plant what I call a “church planting church.” This is a church that maintains a focus on multiplying gospel-centered, God-honoring, Kingdom-building churches. I envision this happening in a metropolitan area of North America, most likely in a region where there is little evangelical presence. I see this church being at the same time a blessing and an oddity to the city—a church that would be viewed in positive bewilderment to the prevailing beliefs around it. How is Covenant Seminary preparing you for your future work and ministry? Through interactions with faculty and staff, attending times of worship at chapel and special occasions, as well as other opportunities for growth and development, Covenant Seminary is shaping not only my theological conviction, but also my character in conformity to Christ.

What has the Lord done in your heart and life while you’ve been here?

CHRIS: The Lord has taught me how to embrace the gift of my limits. Sometimes at seminary, it’s easy to get discouraged or become insecure because there are so many other extremely gifted and talented men and women around. If all I saw was that, then seminary would be very discouraging and frustrating. But God has used it to teach me that although I may not be an “eye,” in the body of Christ, I am still a “foot” and an important part of his body. By focusing on who God has made me to be rather than comparing myself to everyone else around me, I can see those limitations as gifts rather than resources I need to procure and secure for myself.

What would you tell someone who is considering becoming a student at Covenant?

CHRIS: Covenant is a great school for growing in your ability to study and discern God’s Word as well as your heart. Come prepared to study hard, but be aware of the “extra-curricular” education that takes place during conversations with friends, interaction with the professors, and even the times spent with your family.

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Ian Hard (MDiv ’10, Ministry Leadership Award)

Hometown: Eldersburg, Maryland

Why did you choose Covenant Seminary?

IAN: I chose it because I wanted to be trained in a place that has the pastoral needs of a congregation in mind. The ministry experience of the faculty was a great incentive to make Covenant the place where I would be equipped to serve God’s people.

What are your ministry passions? Tell us about your current ministry involvement.

IAN: I really love teaching and doing this across many age groups. Prior to coming to seminary, I was heavily involved in teaching Sunday school and leading a Bible study. A summer internship provided me more opportunities to teach and preach while also grounding me in a pastor’s work of caring for the many needs of a congregation.

How is Covenant Seminary preparing you for your future work and ministry?

IAN: The faculty is the best preparation. Each member serves as a model for ministry. They exhibit devotion to God’s Word and a desire to serve him with excellence. They couple that with servants’ hearts. By learning under them, I know that the dull iron I now am will become much sharper.

What has the Lord done in your heart and life while you’ve been here?

IAN: God has really humbled me at seminary by showing me the many different talents and skills of his Kingdom workers. I have a bigger picture of God’s Kingdom and am humbled to know that I might have a part in serving it in some small way.

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Lindsay Kyle (MAC ’10, Spouse Teamwork Scholarship)

Hometown: Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Home Church: The Chapel on the Campus, Baton Rouge

Why did you choose Covenant Seminary?

LINDSAY: I decided to attend Covenant because I wanted a well-rounded counseling degree that would study both the psychological and theological implications of the fall on people’s lives. I was encouraged by graduates from the program that have found fulfilling jobs serving others.

What is your ministry vision? What would you like to do after seminary?

LINDSAY: After seminary, I would love to use my counseling skills in the mission field, helping families in Tanzania, Africa, who are affected by HIV/AIDS. My long-term vision is to work in a counseling agency or church in the US.

Why is seminary important for the ministry to which you feel called?

LINDSAY: Although I could work on a master’s in counseling just about anywhere, seminary has been vital in training me to look at my future clients through the lens of the gospel. I want to be able to offer the hope of Christ to the people I serve—not just meet temporary physical or emotional needs.

What has the Lord done in your heart and life while you’ve been here?

LINDSAY: The Lord has completely blessed me since I’ve been at Covenant. I think the most important thing I’ve encountered has been a remarkable experience with grace. The emphasis on God’s grace to us as his people has transformed the way I see myself and the way I love others.

What would you tell someone considering becoming a student at Covenant?

LINDSAY: This seminary offers unique challenges. Not only do classes challenge your mind, but life with fellow students challenges the openness of your heart. To be a part of Covenant is to become part of a family who loves you, cares for you, and pushes you to greater Christlikeness.

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Todd Weedman (MDiv ’11, Ministry Leadership Award, Presbytery Scholarship, Lamb Fund)

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky

Why did you choose Covenant Seminary?    

TODD: Covenant didn’t view me as a brain on a stick. This isn’t the place you go to get a piece of paper on your way to ordination. This is the place where you go to build lifelong relationships and learn life-changing principles. This is the place where broken people come to understand the depth of their own brokenness and find a fuller confidence in the power of the gospel. I don’t just want to know the instrumental cause of justification (grace), I want to know how the gospel affects every facet of my life. Covenant is a place that seems to be constantly showing me this in new ways.

What are your ministry passions?  

TODD: I’m passionate about making God’s name known to the nations and about building up God’s people in sound doctrine and grace. Currently I help lead the music ministry at my local church on a semi-regular basis. Also, I work with a group to create a multi-generational evangelistic ministry. We connect people in their twenties and thirties with retired unbelievers in our community. Our goal is to build relationships and glorify God by sharing his grace.

What has the Lord done in your heart and life while you’ve been here?

TODD: He has made me much more aware of my own brokenness and inabilities. He has made me far more confident in the unfailing power of the gospel. He has made me fall in love with his bride and given me a glimpse of what he sees when he looks at her.

What would you tell someone who is considering becoming a student at Covenant?

TODD: Buckle your seat belt. You come here in faith, trusting that God is going to turn you into a shepherd after His own heart—and that is great. But, you have no clue what that is going to be like. It is worse—and better—than you could ever imagine, and I promise that it will happen here. And, it’s better that it happens now than in five years when you’re behind the pulpit somewhere.