“God. People. Music. Design.”
Karen knew she loved these four things. In fact, God had been softening her heart towards the idea of using her passions to further His kingdom. She was excited about this possibility, but still did not have a place to fully utilize her passions.
Approaching her senior year at Iowa State University, Karen “had this desire in (her) heart, but didn’t know where to look.” Still, she continued to search the Internet for that perfect fit. With anticipation and encouragement from her mentor, she approached the Keynote booth at a Cru winter conference thinking: “this place could be my fit.”
Although Karen had no prior involvement with Keynote, she decided it was the right place for her after discovering it was possible to use her degree in graphic design to serve Christ in ministry. Shortly after, Karen was on her way to Indianapolis for an interview.
“At the interview, it felt like they were really trying to get to know me, not just see what I could do for them,” she explained. The relational aspect of potentially working with Keynote impressed her. While in town, Karen had the opportunity to build relationships with her future co-workers and see one of the Keynote bands perform. The weekend helped Karen catch the vision for what Keynote does – help start spiritual conversations about Jesus.
A year later, Karen reported to Keynote as full-time staff member. Since then, she has had a vital role in using her passions to increase the professionalism and visibility of Keynote so that more people can hear the gospel. Last summer, she drove the design process to provide promotional materials for our Summer Project bands. She also recently gave a fresh look to our two biggest fundraising events: An Evening with Keynote and the Keynote Golf Challenge.

Karen loves working for a ministry where the motivation for her work isn’t found in product or profit but in seeing lives changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. She firmly believes that “God gives us our passions to illuminate His will.” As a resource ministry, we need people like Karen who want to use their skills and passions to serve Christ.

This is why Karl and I are so happy to serve “behind the scenes” as well. We love being able to use the skills God has given us to serve Him and see lives changed. Thank you for making our ministry at reality!