enise Muir Kjesbo’s commitment to her students and dedication to her profession were formally recognized in May when she received Bethel Seminary’s 2002 Faculty Excellence Award. Although she lives in South Dakota, Kjesbo directs Bethel’s Children’s and Family Ministry (CFM) program and serves as the program’s lead faculty member. How does she do it? Through a unique combination of technology, travel, and plenty of creativity.

Kjesbo meets with her students on the St. Paul campus for two-week InMinistry intensives several times a year, and returns regularly for meetings and other activities. Otherwise, when not on the road honoring her many speaking engagements, she works out of her home in Sioux Falls where she lives with her husband, Allen, and their children.

Teaching off campus has not been as difficult as Kjesbo anticipated, thanks to Bethel’s InMinistry support team. “[Team members] partner with professors to offer top-notch experiences for students,” she says. “I have been amazed at how quickly the distance component is bridged since we begin each cohort with a face-to-face intensive.”

The Internet and computer technology have enabled Kjesbo to accomplish many of her own goals as a teacher. “I believe that people learn best in the context of relationships,” she notes. “I strive to get to know the students in the degree program. I am interested in their lives and ministries outside of the classroom as well as the learning experience within the classroom. I also am committed to using teaching approaches that facilitate interaction among students so they can develop relationships with one another.”

Kjesbo enjoys teaching at Bethel specifically because of the hunger to learn that she has observed in students. Ranging from seasoned practitioners to newcomers in the field of children’s and family ministry, her students come “primed with questions from their ‘real life’ ministry contexts,” she explains. “There is a phenomenal network of peer mentoring developed in each cohort group which is pure joy to witness and encourage.”

Besides her concern for her students’ growth as future servants ministering to children and families, Kjesbo also is attentive to their personal character. “Ultimately, I want my students to grow in their relationship with their Creator God,” she says. “I want my students to grow in their depth of understanding of God, their love for God and the Word of God, and their desire to serve the God who led them to Bethel Seminary.” •

Jessica Blezien, a Bethel College junior majoring in writing, contributed to researching and writing this biographical sketch.