贝丝agn ’05, the lead DCE at Hope Lutheran Church 在维克森林, 北卡罗莱纳, 带着对数字和会计的热爱来到了康考迪亚大学欧文分校, and has used that gift to start two financially profitable 部门 在教堂内. 但当她的妹妹在2017年被姐姐的丈夫谋杀时, 这件事震动了贝丝的家庭，也极大地挑战了他们的宽恕能力.
“I struggled with how I could continue to be a DCE,贝丝说. “我对这个几天前我还爱过的人恨之入骨.”
这是贝丝在维克森林大学的第九年，在那里，她的个人生活和事工都很出色.
阿格纳说:“有人说我有一颗部长企业家的心. “I find a problem and figure out how to fill that need, while furthering other 部门 with the finances.”
Agner had already built an innovative, year-round day camp for local families—something that did not exist there before. 在维克森林, public schools run all year long, with kids attending school for nine weeks, then off for three weeks on a rotating basis. 阿格纳听到家长们说，“我希望我们全年都有VBS”，于是一个想法就产生了.
她做了一个预算，并建议为失学的孩子们开办一个全天的夏令营, and the church 太k the plunge. What started with a handful of kids has grown to 600.
阿格纳说:“这是一个进入我们社区的巨大机会.
Hope是一个有25年历史的教会，每个周末都会吸引数百人，其中包括许多年轻的家庭. Agner oversees children’s ministry, 女性的部, and the morning and evening day camps she operates. She also supervises two DCEs, both of whom are Concordia University Irvine graduates.
Her own journey was deeply impacted by Concordia University Irvine. While growing up at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Bowling Green, 肯塔基州, she came under the mentorship of DCE 丽贝卡Duport 她鼓励阿格纳考虑成为一名DCE，尽管她自己并不想这么做.
“I love math and accounting,阿格纳说。. “They were my strong point in school.”
但当她意识到会计经常是“一个人呆在一个房间里,” which she did not enjoy, she prayed earnestly for God’s direction. 这是她第一次强烈地感受到上帝对重大事件的指引. 她决定搬到半个国家的康考迪亚大学欧文分校，成为一名DCE.
“It was amazing how in times of trouble or feeling homesick or sad, I clung to the people at Concordia,她说。. “It creates bonds that last a lifetime.”
She participated in student government and loved attending 篮球 游戏和呐喊!, a weekly evening worship service. 毕业并在当地教堂工作后，维克森林教堂打来了电话.
I couldn’t bring myself to say , “上帝, please help me forgive him,’ because I was so angry, 所以我祈祷, “上帝, 治愈我的心.’
“我无法想象的是，上帝会如何在这个会众中使用他赋予我的天赋和才能,阿格纳说。. “It was another time where I felt God’s peace. My head had questions, but this peace from God said, ‘It’s okay. This is where I’m calling you to be. I have good things for you here.’ Now I know why he called me here. It’s an amazing place to serve.”
但在2017年, her family was devastated by the news that Beth’s younger sister, 劳伦, who was newly married, had been stabbed to death by her husband.
“It came out of nowhere,贝丝说. “It felt like living in a movie. How could this be real? 劳伦的离去让我很难接受我们再也见不到她了. Then there was the fact that her husband killed her. Every news outlet was hunting us down through social media. We were getting phone calls. All of a sudden our names and pictures were across the world. 这是不真实的.” 新闻 crews filmed outside their houses. “We were finding out [information] as the world was finding out. That felt very vulnerable,她说。. “为什么别人比我更早发现我的生活??”
引起人们兴趣的是凶手声称他吃了太多感冒药, 梦见他杀了自己的妻子，醒来发现她死在地板上. This prompted speculation— and news reports in 人 杂志及其他 Good Morning America, 在其他渠道中——关于服用感冒药是否会导致某人犯下可怕的罪行.
劳伦 had been a Sunday school teacher at Hope Lutheran, and her death “had a big impact on our church,贝丝说. “She was very active and always volunteered for VBS.”
劳伦的丈夫被捕并受到指控，面临死刑. Agner’s tight-knit family, all of whom lived near one another, 试图收拾残局——但贝丝觉得她的事工平台被削弱了.
“我担心会众会质疑我是否有能力保护他们孩子的安全,她说。. “如果我看不出这一点，他们怎么会把孩子托付给我呢?? I struggled with trusting anyone.”
She also didn’t know what to do with the hatred in her heart. “我记得我坐在那里(在教堂里)，想着我对他有多恨，”她说. “I didn’t feel like myself because of it. I couldn’t bring myself to say, “上帝, please help me forgive him,’ because I was so angry, 所以我祈祷, “上帝, 治愈我的心. I know I will always miss my sister, but please 治愈我的心.’”
That familiar peace arrived again, even though “everything in my head was screaming, ‘This is not right and will never be right,’”她说。.
从那以后，她觉得上帝给了她很多恩典和智慧，让她明白了姐姐的遭遇.
“I have never blamed God for her death,贝丝说. “I will be in heaven with her one day, and it’ll be wonderful.”
然而，在精神健康方面的进步需要“一生的宽恕”.”
“总有一些事情会把你带回第一天，”她说. “It’s how you respond to that and continue to move forward.”
杀害她妹妹的凶手被判终身监禁，不得假释. Beth s太d in court that day and read a statement. She closed with these words:
“今天，我们很多人都穿着# lauren轻微的t恤，我想让法庭知道为什么. 我们希望人们永远记住劳伦，因为她是一个了不起的人. 她身上有一束光，以最不可思议的方式照耀着她. She wasn’t perfect, 如果你真的爱劳伦，我相信你偶尔也会看到她的不完美, but at the end of the day the light she had was undeniable. 在她身上闪耀的不是她自己的光，而是基督的光, the free grace that she received from Jesus. She wanted to share that love with everyone. 所以我希望所有看到这个# lauren轻微事件的人都知道，基督在这个黑暗的世界里发出了非常明亮的光, and 劳伦 is a beloved child of His and you are, 太!”
今天, 阿格纳继续为希望路德教会的会众在需要的地方提供服务. 他们举办健康博览会，医疗专业人员和牙医免费为数百人提供服务. The church also spearheads disaster relief training, 教人们如何使用链锯和其他设备在飓风后进行清理.
阿格纳开办的日间营地现在可以自给自足，并为其他事工提供资金. She also co-founded a second entrepreneurial ministry called Mothers’ Morning Out with a passionate church member. 它为他们所在地区的婴儿到两岁的孩子提供了第一个半天的课程, and has been popular enough to have a waiting list.
阿格纳说:“希望是一个伟大的地方，让我能够发挥上帝赐予我的天赋。. “我被上帝对他的子民如此之多的爱和如此普遍的爱所震撼
它在霍普，无论是照顾孩子还是整个社区.”
她认为，康科迪亚的影响一直是基础性的. These days she gives back by serving as a DCE supervisor, 在康考迪亚大学欧文分校的学生实习期间指导他们.
她说:“我感到很幸运，从小就有人向我倾注了上帝的爱。. “这就是我的人生目标:让人们知道有一位上帝如此爱他们, and he wants to be in a relationship with them.”
即使像她的家人一样穿过大火，这一点仍然是正确的.
“劳伦 has this horrific story. 我们可以用它来荣耀神，也可以试着躲避这一切，”贝思说. “作为一个家庭，我们选择用它来荣耀上帝，见证和分享他的爱. It’s only by his grace and love for me that I can do it. He provides everything you need.”