Inspired by the blessings they have received at Duke Divinity School, Ken and Kristi Spencer have chosen to use a Biblical practice as old as the Book of Genesis to help students far into the future.

The Spencers, who have worked at Duke Divinity since 2019, said a tragedy decades ago helped them apply the ancient Biblical concept to their 21st-century estate plan.

“My mom was diagnosed with cancer and died in her 50s,” Kristi said, “and our family was not prepared for that.” The traumatic time ended without Kristi’s mom having a well-considered estate plan in place. Ken and Kristi reacted by making their estate plan to ensure their loved ones never face that stressful situation.

“We said in life, we tithe (give 10%); why wouldn't we do that upon our death?” Kristi said. "We're passionate about Duke Divinity School. It's given us so much that we wanted to give it a tithe from our estate. It’s also for our family to see that the church is so important to us. We wanted to say that even in death, we wanted to give a tithe to acknowledge and give back.”

The Spencers came to Duke Divinity when Ken felt a calling to change from a career in logistics to serving God as a pastor.

“Duke Divinity felt very out of reach,” Ken said. “I had a really big concern about the debt of seminary, especially as a second-career pastor when I had less time to pay that debt off than if we were doing this right out of college.”

He applied despite the concerns. “My application essay got flagged for the Thriving Rural Communities Initiative, which includes tuition support,” Ken said.

After enjoying serving small churches for nine years, the Spencers felt blessed by the chance to return to Duke. Today, Ken is director of Wesleyan Engagement, and Kristi is the special projects director for the Office of the Dean.

“You are blessed to be a blessing,” Kristi said. “For us, it was such a gift coming here. Not only the scholarship but the help and education that we received here. We just want to give back and help the next generation.”

Ken added, “We received so many gifts and so much generosity through The Duke Endowment scholarship and the opportunities here at the school. It's just important to us to support the school now and make sure that we're living that out as much as we can.”

You can join the Spencers in blessing future students by including a gift to Duke Divinity in your estate plan. Please call Rev. Daniel Corpening, D.Min. at 919-660-3534 or external@div.duke.edu to learn about the many giving options that are available to fit your needs.