by Jadyn Aldrich
Class of 2025
Most people can appreciate a good plot twist, particularly in an intriguing novel or film. However, uncertainty and changes of plan can feel far less comfortable in our own lives. For Brenda Reutebuch, a Crown College Alumna from the class of 1987, plans have not always gone as originally intended. Yet more often than not, those changes worked out for the better, leading to the belief that sometimes life’s twists and turns guide people exactly to where they need to be. There is relief in knowing that we never need to worry about perfectly following the “script” for our lives because God is the one in control. Brenda, an outstanding alumna and believer, demonstrates this.
“The best thing that ever happened to me is when the church that I grew up in closed,” Brenda said. After sharing that unexpected statement, she elaborated on how growing up in the church simply was not enough. In her early years, she lacked a personal relationship with Christ. Brenda said she did not truly understand the Gospel until she was 12, when her initial church closed and her family switched to New Life Alliance Church. This was the time that she made the Christian faith her own. A church closure may seem like an unconventional event in which someone is brought to faith, but without this intervention Brenda said she, “would probably still be lost.” God also worked through her new church again when they did a summer tour of Crown College. This led her all the way from her home state of Indiana to the small town of St. Bonifacious, Minnesota.
Brenda started her first year at St. Paul Bible College (the previous name of Crown College) as a music major. Then, after a two-year hiatus, she returned to major in both music education and church music.
Because of her affiliation with the music program, Professors Leland Flickinger and Dwight Gardstrom, the choir concert and symphonic band directors, were among her favorite professors, though many had stood out to her. Some of these included Dr. Gianoulis and Dr. Hustad (and their teasing of each other), Dr. Weldin, and “of course Dr. Joe Tewinkel,” she said.
Outside of the symphonic band, Brenda was also involved in the pep band and the music-oriented student ministry teams. Another member of these student teams that Brenda mentioned was Crown’s current primary receptionist and chief welcomer, Cheryl Owczarek (1982). Brenda also served on the missionary cabinet, where she and the other elected members would help coordinate speakers, organize chapel services, and create as well as act in skits for the student body. She held other leadership positions too, including serving on the New Student Days Committee. Her favorite memory from this committee was playing a giant game of hide-and-seek on campus. “I found places I didn’t know existed at Crown,” Brenda said. “They never found us.”
Another favorite extracurricular was doing oratorios with the Crown choir, symphonic band, and community groups. An oratorio is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text. These included Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Haydn’s The Creation, and Handel’s Messiah. In addition to engaging in extracurriculars, another favorite memory was watching Crown’s “mortgage burning ceremony,” held to commemorate paying off their new building on the St. Bonifacius campus.
Brenda said she felt that Crown did prepare her for life after graduation, but not in the way that she expected. After leaving college, Brenda planned to become a full-time contemporary Christian artist. She did this for a while, but it became clear to her that God was shutting those doors while opening new ones. In a stark transition, she shifted from the music industry to being an inspector in the steel industry. Although more indirectly than she thought, God has continually worked through her and her talent in music. In a full circle perspective, Brenda remains highly involved in the church where she came to faith. She has been involved in worship ministry for the last 30 years as well as youth ministry. “None of that would have happened had I not been educated at SPBI,” she said. Additionally, with her work in the steel industry, Brenda has had opportunities to share her faith and answer co-workers’ biblical questions because of what she learned at Crown.
Crown’s faith component has stuck with her, Brenda said. “I had a lot right coming in, but there was still a lot I didn’t know.” Hermeneutics was not her favorite class, but in hindsight, she reflected on how much she learned from it and her other Bible classes. For her, God has been most evident in the way that He consistently shows up, and she shared how indispensable that relationship has been in how she handles daily struggles. “I don’t know how people do it without Him,” she said.
Brenda also does songwriting for films, and in another great example of an unanticipated path, she has recently taken up part-time acting. While she has had the opportunity to be in multiple movies and commercials, she is currently working her first job as a lead role in a feature film. Through all these transitions, Brenda says she has seen God’s continual provision and leading.
She advises new and current Crown students to not take their opportunities for granted. Brenda also encourages them to work hard in classes while cherishing the lifelong friendships they will build at Crown. For students on their way out, she offered an honest but encouraging message: The transition out of Crown and its close community is a difficult one. However, she says it is important not to give up in that struggle, because “if you keep going, you’ll find your way.”
Uncertainty can be daunting, but that is exclusively a human fallacy, not a divine one. For God, nothing is uncertain. His plans supersede our own, and Brenda’s story brings evidence to the fact that no matter how “off-script” plans may seem, God is the ultimate author of Christian lives. Brenda is well aware of this, and she feels her success and placement in the world are leading to eternal impacts.
In a concluding piece of insight, Brenda thoughtfully related to Crown’s midwestern roots. “It’s all in your perspective,” she said. “Realize He is the one in charge. It may be a curvy road, but in Minnesota you are used to curvy roads! You still make the destination.”
