Guide with Purpose — Resources for Pastors

Not just professors, but partners

Most students call them administrators, teachers, instructors, doctors, or professors. But Josue Mendez considers the faculty and staff at Walla Walla University partners—ministry partners.

Mendez’s journey started with a few detours, including one in the opposite direction of ministry. “I was trying to run away from it,” he said. Although He sensed God’s calling, he struggled with the hard realities he saw and experienced while growing up in the church. So, he decided to study social work.

But a different major didn’t remove the conviction. “God kept showing me the beauty—the reasons why we’re here, the beautiful people that make up the community of believers.” He saw that everywhere at Walla Walla. “I remember going to student church on Sabbath mornings, or Vespers, or to the University Church, and leaving with such a sense of awe and with this feeling that God is worshiped here, and that God is exalted here, and just feeling that this is what it’s all about.”

As the tension between calling and career tightened, Mendez began to question his decision and started to consider ministry again. Then—almost as if on cue—his pastor stepped in with information about the NextGen Pastor Scholarship, supported by the North Pacific Union Conference. “And so, I thought to myself, is this the final straw?”

Fast forward four years and Mendez served as the university’s lead student chaplain, and he graduated with the Class of 2025 with a bachelor’s degree in theology. As he reflects on how he reached this milestone, he points to “a village who supported me and helped me along the way,” including the team at the Chaplains Office—Albert Handal, who served as campus chaplain until 2025, Andrea Keele, associate chaplain for missions—and in the classroom, Paul Dybdahl, professor of mission and New Testament.

“They’re much wiser than me, much more experienced, but they treat me as an equal,” Mendez said. “They've told me, ‘Here, you take ownership. Run with it.’ And so, to be able to fail, but to try again, to be sensitive to the Spirit and discern what God’s calling us to, in this moment and in this ministry experience, has been just amazing for me.”

“One of the greatest gifts I believe we are able to give our students is the ability to step into leadership in areas they care about and feel called to serve,” added Keele. “We hope to empower them to take ownership of their own spiritual experience and grow as leaders with our support—as chaplains, pastors, professors, supervisors, and deans. We learn and grow together, and we are all better for it.”

Walla Walla University faculty and staff are more than administrators, teachers, instructors, doctors, and professors. As Mendez puts it, “I’ve made ministry partners for life.”

Spiritual emphasis gives new meaning to “fitting in”

Just about every freshman feels it. Will I fit in? Madison Irving was no exception. “I was a little bit worried, like, how do I get involved?” she said, recalling how she felt when she first arrived at Walla Walla University.

Irving discovered the answer to her question during a Friday-night Vespers program. “I felt so moved that there was so much spiritual emphasis every week. And I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of my life.”

She was pleasantly surprised to see how easy it was shortly after meeting the music coordinator for Circle Church. “He got me involved right away, as soon as I asked,” she said. “I was worried about being able to be involved, but it happened right away, and it immediately got me so much more fulfilled and so much more excited about being at Walla Walla.”

That’s exactly the kind of environment Campus Ministries tries to create. “We want every study to find their spiritual gift, and use it to be part of our ministry,” said Andrea Keele, associate chaplain for missions. “It’s encouraging to know that Maddy so easily found people to talk to about her interests, that she found a way to get involved in a way that’s meaningful for her.”

In addition to organized ministry opportunities, Irving discovered an environment that helped her faith to grow in her own way. “I remember the first week, I just pulled a group of my friends out, and one night, after all the events, we went into a field and just did a Bible study. That was the first time I really thought of doing that, but there was so much freedom to grow that we kind of just did it.”

These experiences have made Irving realize that ministry isn’t just a part of her life—her entire life can be her ministry. As she looks forward to graduating with a nursing degree, she now sees her future career as a calling. “As a nurse, you get to see a lot of hurt and a lot of pain, and a lot of the time you’re the one there to support the patient. It may not come from anybody else except from me as their nurse.”

And with that realization, the question that worried her as a freshman—Will I fit in?—has taken on a whole new meaning, thanks to her experience at Walla Walla. “That’s what we’re all here for, is to find that connection, find acceptance and belonging, and figure out where we fit. And this place has brought so much of that into my life.”