ABOUT ME
My name is Denae Gold, I am in my second year here at Southeastern Seminary and I can’t think of a better place to be pursuing the Lord’s calling on my life. I attend The Summit Church in Raleigh, and I am a part-time staff member with CRU High School while I am completing my degree.
When I visited Southeastern my first question was, “Is it possible to complete a double degree, one being a Master of Divinity in Youth Ministry and the other a Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling?” With great excitement the answer was, “We can make it work.” There began my journey of completing two different masters degrees at the same time.
The Lord has grown in my heart an incredible passion to see teenagers come to know Jesus and be on fire for proclaiming His glory among the nations. While the Lord began to grow my heart for teenagers, He was also breaking my heart for them as well. Today’s teenager is often faced with the realities of broken homes, drugs, alcohol, and the list goes on. The more teens I meet, more the reality of deep hurt and pain becomes evident. Because of this daunting reality, the Lord opened my eyes and gave me a desire to pursue a degree in biblical counseling along with my youth ministry degree.
As I sought the Lord in prayer about the decision to take on the task of two degrees and the calling that was before me, the Lord reminded me that this task was not about me. This task was about the students I would one day come across and their desperate need of heart change that only comes from the transforming work of the Gospel. It was at this point that the Lord reminded me that He would equip me with everything I would need to complete His will.
“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20-21).
Ultimately I am joining Him on a mission He has already begun.
I feel a desire to become equipped to handle the turbulent situations that often enter the life of a teenager with the biblical truths that are presented in Scripture. My desire in completing both the MDiv and MA is to help teenagers look through the lens of the Gospel when facing the realities of life. I want them to be so captured by the glory of Jesus that they rest in the truth that their identity is a beloved child of God.
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