Linda Davis

Class of 2007
Richardson, Texas

Serving the church is in the blood of Valparaiso University senior Linda Davis of Richardson, Texas. Her uncle and grandfather are pastors, and her mother is director of Christian education at her home church, Messiah Lutheran Church in Richardson.

“I've always been involved in and had a heart for ministry in and outside of the church setting,” says Davis, who is majoring in youth, education and family ministry and in theology. “I have seen first hand how God can use a person who gives him or herself over to serving Him to touch the lives of others.”

Given her commitment to being a servant leader, it is not surprising that Davis was one of 70 students in the country to be named a 2006 Undergraduate Fellow by The Fund for Theological Education (FTE). The fellowships are awarded to gifted young people exploring ministry as a vocation in order to improve the number, quality and diversity of young candidates for ministry. Fellows must show leadership and excellence in the classroom, strengths that Davis has demonstrated throughout her time at Valpo.

Davis is a leader in the Chapel of the Resurrection's ministry and regularly has been named to the Dean's List (academic honor roll).

In spring 2006, she was chair of the annual World Relief Campaign sponsored by Valpo's Social Action Leadership Team, a student-run social justice ministry. Davis organized fundraising and education events in a campaign that raised more than $10,000 to build and supply a medical clinic in a poor Haitian village.

She also has been a member of Kantorei (the choir of the Chapel of the Resurrection), served as a leader at the Chapel's discernment retreats and held a seat on the Chapel Advisory Council. Her service to others extends beyond Valpo's campus as well, as she volunteers at a local nursing home and tutors youth at the Northwest Indiana Special Education Cooperative.

Davis also is an Allen Scholar, a competitive scholarship program that assists Valpo students who aspire to various ministries within the church, and participates in events sponsored by the University's Center for Church Vocations.

“The majority of my classes at Valpo have helped shape who I am and how I view ministry, and for that I am very thankful,” Davis says. “The opportunities I've had with the Church Vocations Symposium and retreats have helped me think through various aspects of ministry, develop my faith and find supportive friends with a similar passion for ministry.”

Davis says her interests currently lie in parachurch ministry - working with others across denominations to reconnect the church with its call to serve and spread the love of Christ throughout the world.

As part of her FTE Fellowship, Davis attended the Conference on Excellence in Ministry last summer at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. She says the opportunity to participate in the conference, which drew the other Undergraduate Fellows and 100 Fellows preparing to enter seminaries, was one of the highlights of her year.

“One of the best things about the conference was that although we all came from different denominational, geographical, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, we all were joined by a common faith in Christ and heart for ministry,” she said.

She recalls participating in a Quaker tradition called the Clearness Committee during the conference. In the exercise, a person comes before a group of five or six people with a decision or issue he or she is struggling with. Over a period of two or three hours, there is a mixture of silent meditation and questions posed by committee members.

“After several hours of this process, the committee members repeat to you only exact phrases that they heard you say,” Davis said. “The concept is based on the idea that inside each of us is a wisdom that just needs to be drawn out. It was an incredibly profound experience.”

Though Davis isn't certain where her dedication to serving God will take her, she is confident that her experiences at Valpo and elsewhere have prepared her for whatever path her ministry eventually takes.

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