A New Face for Welcome

“I see this work as a calling—I get to be the person who walks with individuals as they accept their call to ministry.” The Reverend Dr. Justin Shamell brims with enthusiasm when he talks about guiding people toward seminary education. As Garrett Seminary’s new Assistant Director of Admissions and Recruitment, Dr. Shamell brings a wealth of experience to the role, paired to an ebullient spirit that exudes Garrett’s culture of welcome. After serving the admissions departments at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio and Eden Theological Seminary for more than five years, he’s thrilled to marry those skills to Garrett’s mission for making theological education more accessible and affordable than ever before. “Garrett is really meeting people’s needs,” he says with a smile. “Whether it’s a certificate program, the laity discernment cohort, course of study, continuing education through the Garrett Collective, or any of our masters degree programs, there’s a program for everyone.”

Dr. Shamell was, himself, a second-career seminary student, pursuing ordination after serving in the U.S. Navy for seven years, and then working in the hospitality industry as a hotel sales manager. The diligence, drive, and people-skills he learned served him well when he finally answered the call that was on his heart, but it was his own Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry education that makes him such a fervent advocate. “I show people the degrees that fit them, the ones that will give them tools to be effective ministers, but I also add my own personal story,” he reflects. “The Master of Divinity is more than just a degree, it’s personal. It helps you define and affirm who you are.” He knows all too well how people spend years running away from that calling, and wants to help them know the benefits it can impart—both professional and personal. “We can’t love our neighbor well if we don’t love ourselves,” he notes. “Going through seminary, I finally learned who Justin is and now I love who Justin is. We’reall works in progress, but when we start loving each other fully, regardless of those flaws, that’s where God works for transformation.”

When he heard that Rev. Grant Showalter-Swanson had been promoted to become the inaugural director for the Great Lakes Course of Study program—offered jointly by Garrett and Methodist Theological Seminary in Ohio—he leapt at the chance to travel and invite prospective students into Garrett’s mission. “Garrett understands that, to do recruiting well, it’s about building relationships—you need to go where people are,” he says. “I arrived in Evanston on a Monday, and Wednesday evening I was already driving to Des Moines, Iowa for the Iowa UMC Annual Conference.” As he’s traveled in this first month, he’s noticed how energized people become when they hear about Garrett. “When other seminaries are having challenges in meeting recruitment goals and Garrett already has hundreds of students plus more than 100 already accepted and admitted for next year, the seminary is doing something right,” he laughs. “It’s thrilling to watch people say ‘yes’ to God’s call for their lives.”

Dr. Shamell is also excited to counsel people who are considering a return to seminary for D.Min. or Ph.D. work, reflecting on the benefits those programs can offer mid-career ministers. Again, it’s a benefit he knows personally, having turned his own D.Min. thesis into a book, 40 Years in the Wilderness: How the Church Can Support Those with HIV/AIDS. So, whether it’s a new college graduate who’s thinking about seminary for the first time, or someone considering additional study long after they last attended higher education, he’s ready to walk with them, every step of that journey.

Ultimately, he knows this work can bring an aching world closer to God’s justice and healing. “There’s a great need for a church to show people how to live a life that exemplifies biblical love, peace, and harmony,” he says with earnest determination. “Even among people who say they’re more spiritual than they are religious, it’s always a blessing to develop a personal relationship with God.”