Meet Future Military Chaplain Daniel Gurtner.

In 2017, I sensed a call to Military Chaplaincy. As my wife, Lucila, and I found ourselves joining Rock Church (East County campus) in 2018, we started serving in different ministries, and we both were accepted into Rock School of Ministry. I was also accepted into Pastoral Support/Care (PST) training, as well as enrolling in a Master of Divinity program ("MDiv" – an MDiv is the degree that is required to serve in the US military as a Chaplain) in 2019. 

I have now come to believe that it is the time to focus more on the Chaplaincy and to work on finishing my degree, regardless of how God provides, so that I can get to the people I am called to minister to. While I have a Bachelor's Degree in Web Design & Interactive Media, income from this type of work has been turbulent and very unpredictable! God has always provided a way, just not always in the most comfortable way!

During a 10-month period of not having any meaningful work in 2023, I transfered to Northeastern Seminary (NES) to convert my credit earned so far towards an emphasis on Chaplaincy. Now, a little past the halfway mark of my degree, and with the help of an officer recruiter, I have begun the process of putting together my application for the military. Until things are signed and put on paper, I am prayerfully considering which branch God is directing me to serve in. 

With some web content management contract work between semesters that ended in May, 2024, I’ve come to the conclusion that the only way I can finish my MDiv in a timely fashion (before I'm too old to serve in the military) is to only work part time and focus on school full time (this will include a 6-credit Clinical Pastoral Education residency at one of the local hospitals, preferably with the VA hospital in San Diego). 

Which is what brought me here to fundraising on GiveSendGo. I would like you to become part of my story. This year, I have begun writing books with the plan of raising some funds for tuition and for living expenses, including my life story, how my Lucila and I met, and her life story, (which we have not published yet). We are also working on a 90-day program and curriculum to equip single Christian women and men to overcome loneliness and anxiety so they can build lasting relationships and find a godly spouse – the same way God brought Lucila and me together. 

My two devotionals (21 Days with John and Capturing the Promise with Joshua) that I have written and self published in the Amazon Kindle store so far have become an amazing tool to help other believers get unstuck in their relationship with God and encounter Him on a much deeper and more intimate level. Since publishing, I have given away, dedicated and signed more hardcopies than I have sold, which ironically does not help with the income and tuition situation (still, I would love to give you one as a thank-you!). But God is doing some amazing things in the lives of others and through my ministry and I have no regrets. I have grown passionately in love with my Heavenly Daddy and can’t help but share Him with anyone I meet!

Current, specific needs are:

• Tuition towards completing the MDiv at Northeastern Seminary so I no longer have to rely on student loans
  (NES also has a portal where people can make tuition payments directly to the seminary on behalf of a student if this is something you would be interested in instead of giving on here)
• Living expenses such as rent, food, phone, internet, school books and much needed car maintenance

Thank you for considering becoming part of this story as it unfolds. 

Your support is much appreciated! 

Extra keywords: #GivingTuesday #GivingTuesday2024 #GivingTwosday #GivingTwosday2024