Equipped Where You Are: Joel and Lael’s Competency-Based Online Degree Experience

Joel and Lael Nafziger didn’t plan to go to seminary.

Their journey to seminary started in a season of transition. They were looking for a church that really valued family ministry, and soon found Grace Community Church. They fell in love with the way that the church cared for the body of Christ and quickly got involved. They both served in children’s ministry, youth group, and as small group leaders. Joel served as a deacon and lay leader, and Lael served in women’s ministry.

They began to consider seminary as they connected with others in the church. They kept hearing the same thing from people they respected and trusted: Grace Theological Seminary was a place that truly equipped leaders well. But with four kids and Joel’s full-time job, going to seminary simply wasn’t an option for them.

Not long after, they were introduced to flexible seminary degrees that they hadn’t considered before. Grace Theological Seminary’s Deploy program, a competency-based online degree, felt like exactly what they had been looking for.

Discover what Deploy is and the impact that it had on them below!

Flexible Seminary Degrees: What is Deploy?

The Deploy program at Grace Theological Seminary is designed for people who are already serving in ministry or feel called to step into it. It’s a flexible, competency-based online degree that allows students to complete coursework on their own time while applying what they’re learning directly to real-life ministry.

Instead of stepping away from your job, your family, or your church, Deploy is built to help you grow right while you are in these contexts. It’s seminary at the speed of life.

Each student is paired with a mentor, an important factor for Joel and Lael. “Having people walk alongside you matters,” Lael said. “You’re not just learning information. You have mentors who help you apply it and hold you accountable.”

Is the coursework flexible around ministry schedules?

Since adding traditional classes to their already-busy schedules wasn’t an option, Deploy’s competency-based online degree format felt like an answer to prayer.

“When we heard about Deploy, it was a game changer,” Joel said. “We could do the work whenever we had time throughout the week.”

Since Joel was involved in multiple areas of the church, he felt he needed someone to walk alongside him and teach him to be a better holistic leader. Specifically, he desired greater confidence when facing the hard questions of ministry.

What made it even more meaningful was that the couple chose to do it together.

Lael had already been leading a moms group and serving in various areas of the church, but she felt a need to grow in her leadership and in her discipleship methods.

“I wanted to be better equipped,” she said. “And Deploy gave me that.”

What do students learn through a competency-based online degree?

Deploy equips its students with resources and knowledge that are immediately applicable to their current ministry context. In fact, the program’s practical nature stood out to both Joel and Lael.

“The assignments weren’t separate from what we were already doing,” Joel said. “They were part of it.”

As they learned, they applied their new knowledge and skills immediately.

Lael saw this play out in her own ministry. The skills she learned helped her teach with clarity and lead with confidence, especially when working with women and children.

“It wasn’t just theory,” she said. “I could use it right away.”

Some of the assignments even led to unexpected, lasting impact. For one of his assignments, Joel stepped into a cultural experience he wasn’t familiar with by visiting an Orthodox Jewish worship setting. It gave him a deeper understanding of faith and strengthened his own.

Lael, through a simple interview assignment, connected with a Christian woman who had grown up in a Buddhist home. That relationship extended beyond the assignment. Years later, they’re still meeting, studying Scripture together, and walking through life side by side. Today, that same woman is leading a small group within Joel’s ministry. What started as an assignment turned into real discipleship!

Will this prepare me for real ministry?

As Joel continued through the program, his role in ministry began to shift.

He had already been serving in different areas of the church, but over time, it became clear that God was calling him into something more. Halfway through his competency-based online degree, he stepped into a full-time role as a kids pastor.

The timing couldn’t have been better. “I was learning things and immediately using them,” he said. “It helped me step into ministry with confidence.”

Instead of learning theory, Joel felt like the program’s practicality played a special role in his calling to serve the next generation.

“I’ve seen kids choose to follow Christ and even step into ministry themselves,” Joel shared. “And we’re also helping equip parents to lead their families well.”

While Joel stepped into full-time ministry, Lael continued faithfully serving alongside him.

She works closely with 4th, 5th, and 6th graders on Sunday mornings and stays involved in women’s ministry. Deploy helped her better understand how to teach Scripture in a way that connects with her audience, even with younger students.

“Kids can understand so much more than we sometimes think,” she said. “They can grow in their faith just like we do.”

Are you ready for what’s next?

Looking back, both Joel and Lael see Deploy as an answer to prayer. Through one of Grace’s flexible seminary degrees, they found the flexibility they needed, the training they were looking for, and the confidence they desired to keep stepping forward in ministry.

“I don’t know everything,” Joel said, “but I do feel equipped to serve. The education and experience I was able to have through Deploy really gave me a holistic view of what it means to lead a church well.”

Lael feels that same sense of readiness. “I’m ready to see what God does next,” she said. “We’re open to wherever He leads.”

You don’t have to put life on hold to be equipped for ministry.

With a competency-based online degree, you can grow where you are and serve with confidence in the places God has already called you. Interested in pursuing your calling with Deploy? Learn more today.