Created for Ministry: Robyn Leyden’s Story at Fort Wilderness Ministries with a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Counseling

How does a pediatric oncology nurse and her NCAA executive husband shift to become camp directors in Northern Wisconsin? Robyn Leyden, a current student at Grace Theological Seminary, shares the story of her call to ministry and how a Master of Arts in Ministry Studies Online at GTS has helped her pour into others and fostered her own growth in her new role with a master’s degree in pastoral counseling.

A Restless Feeling 

Robyn and her husband, Todd Leyden, lived and worked in Indianapolis with their family for 34 years. She was invested in her career as a pediatric oncology nurse and, likewise, Todd was invested in his career. Over the years, Todd started to feel a call to ministry. 

“We just felt a little restless,” said Robyn. “Like the Lord had something else for us. We just knew we were going to make a change.”

Fort Wilderness Ministries is a camp located in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. The camp provides campers with a space to encounter God through gifted teachers, nature, and the fun activities of camp. Since their family had previously attended Fort Wilderness Ministries, the couple had kept in contact with the organization. They discovered Fort Wilderness was looking for an executive director, but Robyn dismissed the idea.

“We’re not camping people, so we didn’t think that was for us,” she said.

Yet God continued to nudge Robyn and Todd to the camp. “It was like all these circumstances coming together,” said Robyn. ”So Todd felt like he should at least apply.” 

Robyn and Todd noticed these signs and took a step of obedience to the Lord.

Ministry at Fort Wilderness Ministries

Before they knew it, Robyn and Todd were moving to Wisconsin to begin a new chapter of ministry at Fort Wilderness. 

“When God calls your husband, I think He calls both of you,” said Robyn. 

Still, Robyn was unsure of what her calling was at this camp. Unlike Todd, there wasn’t a specific job she felt called to take.

For the first five years at Fort Wilderness, Robyn headed up housekeeping. This involved cleaning the rooms, doing laundry, and much more. She quickly found her job was more than just keeping the camp tidy. 

“I realized it was not all about the housekeeping,” said Robyn. “I actually had a great opportunity to mentor young people, so I flipped my job.”

Robyn started to see her work as a ministry. Every encounter she had while doing housekeeping was intentional and had the goal of pointing others to the Lord.

More Than a Job

When the mental health crisis hit amidst COVID-19, Robyn discovered a new level of purpose at Fort Wilderness. With a background in healthcare, she saw a great need to help the young people at camp with their mental health difficulties. She transitioned to becoming a health services manager to better assist them. 

Robyn knew she had to prepare herself to serve campers as the health manager. She completed many certificate programs, but she still felt she wasn’t getting the resources she needed to do her job well.

After considering going back to school for counseling, Robyn decided to go to seminary to pursue a master’s degree in pastoral counseling. 

“I looked at a lot of programs, and Grace was the one that exactly fit, with a concentration in biblical counseling,” she said. 

When she asked her pastor for advice, he suggested that anyone who has the opportunity to attend seminary should. And now that Robyn has experienced it for herself, she would wholeheartedly agree. 

“You can use it for life,” Robyn said. “Even if I never use it in a career sort of way, I can still use it for my life.”

Seminary With Flexibility

Robyn is grateful for the program’s online modality, allowing her to work towards her seminary counseling degree while investing in campers at Fort Wilderness.

“The program understands that people have day jobs, so it offers flexibility,” said Robyn.

A master’s degree in pastoral counseling at Grace has equipped her to respond to campers’ struggles, helping them through their difficulties and pointing them to the Lord. 

“Everyday, I use something I have learned,” said Robyn.

Grace has also helped Robyn step into a leadership role as the health services manager. She is able to effectively give biblical counsel and point campers to the love of Jesus. 

“We’re called to be disciples,” said Robyn. “At the end of the day, that’s our highest calling.”

If you are interested in a master’s degree in pastoral counseling, learn more about Grace Seminary’s options!