Margaret English de Alminana
Master of Arts in Ministerial Leadership Graduate Applied Servant Leadership Training in Street, Prison Ministries

Margaret English de Alminana started her career as a journalist with no higher purpose in life than chasing the next day's front page story. That was until questions about the role of women in the covenant of Christ drove her to her knees and to a life-time of study that changed her life completely.

Following several years of faithful personal study, which included CBC courses at a Kansas City extension, God filled her with passion to see God's daughters become all He called them to be. This flame has taken her to into the jails where she has ministered to hurting and broken women, and to the streets, where she and a team reached out to merchandized and trafficked women. But her journey did not begin there. God placed her on a path that led her to launch a ministry for women in Kansas City, holding meetings, seminars, developing a radio program, and writing and speaking. Later, as an associate pastor for a local church, Margaret began traveling with national evangelistic crusades and writing articles and books for leaders.

By obediently sowing her gifts into the ministries of others, Margaret discovered that God was unfolding a strategy. He was creating a network of favor into which she would finally find a platform to write books for women, not merely testimonial and self-help books, but books that could make a difference in the kingdom.

While working as senior chaplain at the Orange County, FL, Jail's Female Detention Center, Margaret began working on a Masters Degree in Ministerial Leadership through Southeastern University. De Alminana's demanding task in the corrections community was made easier, thanks to receiving her Master of Arts in Ministerial Leadership from Southeastern.

De Alminana says the degree's practicality helped her professionally. Southeastern's emphasis on servant leadership was a crucial aspect of her education. “If you become confident in your leadership abilities, you can be a light in the dark place,” she says. “This program allows you to discover your strengths and weaknesses, and truly develops you into a minister.”

As an added bonus, de Alminana was blessed to use her M.A. in Ministerial Leadership thesis to create and publish a book about women in ministry leadership entitled Removing the Veil (Bridge-Logos). As a female leader and advocate of faith in Christ, de Alminana hopes her example will pave the way for more female leadership roles in the church. “There are still very few female senior pastors of churches today, and so a lot of change needs to take place,” she said. De Alminana hopes to encourage more women to pursue leadership roles, which she feels will bring a better understanding and balance among Christ's followers.

De Alminana has continued to pursue her life's passion of studying and praying about God's place and position of women in the body of Christ through a PhD program offered in conjunction with Southeastern University and the University of Wales. During the pursuit of a doctoral degree, her journey took another unexpected turn when God opened the door for her to begin working at Southeastern University and teaching as an adjunct professor.

Says de Alminana, “Letting go of one's life and following the Lord's direction brings an exciting and constantly unfolding discovery. I've been blessed with the abundant life promised by God, abundant in good things and in challenges—but I've never been bored. I've been constantly amazed at what God can do. My advice: Study to show yourself approved unto God, apply yourself diligently to God's purpose and plan, and He'll open doors for you that no one can shut.”