Makayla Carr - '24
SWU Grad Combines Media Skills and Ministry
When she’s in Emmanuel Church’s studio adjusting the lighting for another video shoot, SWU graduate Makayla Carr can hear her Media Communication professor Dr. Lewis Knight’s voice. “Without what Lewis taught me, I don’t even know if I’d know where to start,” she says.
But as part of the church’s Emmanuel Residency and Apprenticeship (ERA) program, Carr’s day doesn’t end when the camera stops rolling. After a day shooting a video, she might be leading a prayer night or hosting a youth group in her home near the church. It’s in these moments that her other SWU mentors’ influence shines through—professors like Dr. Brent Dongell, whose New Testament Survey class first ignited her curiosity about theology.
This seamless blend of technical expertise and spiritual leadership is exactly what Carr’s role as Creative Resident demands. At her Salisbury, Maryland church, she handles everything from photography and videography to website management and graphics then leads devotionals or teaches kids’ church at one of their smaller campuses.
The path to this perfect fusion wasn’t always clear. Carr entered SWU certain only about her Media Communications major, having discovered her love for photography and design through high school yearbook work. “I was still figuring out my own faith,” she admits.
That changed during her sophomore year on SWU’s summer ministry team at Victory Mountain Camp, ironically the same camp where years earlier she had first encountered SWU students who made her “feel loved and seen” as a middle school student. Now she was the one ministering, and during worship with the campers, she felt God’s clear call to ministry.
Carr’s merger of media and ministry crystallized through mentorship. There was Christy Van Steenberg, the Global Partners mobilizer who had known Carr since she was one year old and whose stories taught Carr both the challenges and rewards of ministry. Through the Lifeguard spiritual mentorship program, Michaela Wickham showed Carr how ministry involves simultaneous pouring out and growing. “As you’re helping other people grow, you’re also growing yourself,” Carr explains.
The Asbury outpouring in early 2023 marked another pivotal moment in Carr’s journey. “Stepping into that experience and experiencing what I would say is like what heaven is going to look like—all different kinds of people, young, old, different denominations, just everybody in one accord worshiping and wholeheartedly seeking the Lord—radically changed my relationship with God,” she says. Though she still didn’t know exactly what form her ministry would take, she felt God’s reassurance. “He may not have given me all the details,” she says, “but I knew that I was called.”
Even her early photography skills, developed after her mother bought her a camera in high school, now find new purpose in ministry. “In one Sunday, I’ll do photography, I’ll do the slides, and I’ll teach kids,” she says, describing a typical weekend that perfectly unites her technical and ministerial gifts.
Looking toward the future, Carr sees herself potentially focusing more on youth or young adult ministry, while continuing to leverage her media expertise. She’s discovered that her understanding of social media and digital communication gives her unique insight into the challenges young people face. “Having the knowledge of media and social media is really helpful for that age group,” she notes, “because they’re constantly being faced with social media and the temptation to compare themselves to others that comes with it.”
While she holds her future plans loosely, Carr holds her camera and Bible closely, knowing that both are part of God’s call on her life.