The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Elizabeth D. during the 2008-2009 League.
Mission: Take Action - Interview a Local Leader #4
Mrs. Judy Beavers is a music professor and Outreach Ministries Director at Great Lakes Christian College.
Q. What training prepared you for your positions?
A. I received a Bachelor of Religious Education degree and was a piano major. This degree was a tremendous foundation along with life-learning and life-experiences that I have used in all of my positions.
Q. Were there sacrifices you had to make in order to reach your goals?
A. As a teenager I dedicated my life to full-time vocational service to Christ. A Christian college education was a key component for that pursuit! Even though the ministry/service keeps a person and family 'humble', financially, we have been rich in blessings from the Lord. So, any sacrifice of a greater income really is insignificant.
Q. Did people/mentors influence you along the way?
A. People and mentors significantly affected my life - from a child growing up in a Christian church (youth leaders, Sunday School teachers, ministers) to Christian camp (leaders, counselors), to a Christian college (professors, teachers, fellow students), and now wonderful people with whom I work, and attend church with - many have influenced me greatly. Not the least, were my Christian parents and my husband’s parents, who have given us a rich heritage of faith and example.
Q. What are the greatest rewards of your job?
A. The greatest rewards of my job(s) are: people. I love working with people, developing relationships with them, and hopefully making a difference in their lives - not just musically, but in many various ways.
Q. The biggest challenges?
A. That’s easy: people! With every person/student, comes a new set of strengths, weaknesses, talent (and lack thereof), background, and home situations. So, listening is important - listening 'beyond' the words said, is important, being an honest advisor, coach, mentor - all of those can be challeging yet very rewarding.
Q. What role does your faith play in your position?
A. My faith is everything. But it's not MY faith that makes the difference - it's Christ's faithfulness to me that makes the difference. I have doubted, failed, sinned, been lazy... but God is always faithful to me, and I am forever grateful for that! I believe that the Christian life is a part of all of life - not just going to church or having personal devotions. My service/worship to Christ should affect my relationship with everyone - my students, my neighbors, my family, my brothers/sisters in Christ, the cashier at the gas station...you get the picture. I am blessed to have 'vocational' jobs that I thoroughly enjoy, and my goal is to 'be' Christ to all I come in contact with.
Q. Could you please tell me a little more about yourself?
A. Sure! I grew up in a Christian home - my father being an elder of my home church, my parents singing in the choir, my mom teaching Sunday School. I graduated from Bangor High School in 1973 and entered Great Lakes Bible College in the Fall of that year. It was there, during my freshman year that I met Phil; we dated a year, were engaged a year, and were married in 1975. Our first daughter, Heidi, was born during our 5th and final year of college. We graduated in 1978 from GLCC. We moved to Bluffton, Indiana to continue a youth ministry begun a couple of years earlier. In 1979 our second daughter was born there. Phil was called to preaching ministry in 1981, and we moved to St. Joseph, Michigan where we lived and ministered for 5 years. It was there that our youngest daughter was born in 1981. In 1986 we moved to St. Johns, Michigan to minister with the Duplain Church of Christ. I began working at GLCC in 1987 as Outreach Ministries Director (part-time position). Along the way, I have taught these classes as an adjunct professor: Introduction to Music, Music History, Ministry of Music, Piano Pedagogy, and have been the main piano instructor for about 12 years. In 2000 we moved to DeWitt Michigan where we currently reside. Phil began working at the college as Vice-President of Institutional Advancement in 1999. By the way, I have taught piano in my home since high school!
