Hank Voss, associate professor of Christian ministries, was sitting by the hot tub in a hotel in San Diego when he spotted a man walking toward him—arms full of five different theology books.
“That’s my kind of person,” he thought.
It was a moment of divine appointment that would spark a relationship, eventually leading Nancy and Tristan Frazier to Taylor University.
Nancy and Tristan both work at Taylor in different roles. Nancy is the director of the Sacred Roots Initiative at Taylor, while Tristan serves as an adjunct professor in the Biblical Studies department. Tristan is also a licensed therapist in the state of Indiana and Texas.
Nancy and Tristan Frazier both had very different backgrounds and experiences before they met each other at Dallas Theological Seminary.
Tristan grew up in West Lawndale, a suburb of Chicago, in a non-Christian household. He came to Taylor on a football scholarship and studied Biblical Literature. He was very impacted by the community here at Taylor.
Nancy had a different experience from Tristan. Nancy grew up in a Christian household but went to a secular university at Texas Tech University.
At Dallas Theological Seminary, the two continued their education to obtain master’s degrees. They had a couple of classes together and eventually started hanging out. They later got married and now call each other best friends.
The Fraziers’ journey to Taylor from Texas was a unique one. After completing their master's degrees, they got jobs together and were laid off together. Tristan went back to school to get his counseling degree after feeling God calling him in that direction.
In 2019, the Fraziers attended the Evangelical Theological Society conference in San Diego. It was on this trip that they met Hank and Johanna Voss at the hotel, who were also planning on attending the conference but were on vacation before it.
The couple met and had a great conversation and fellowship throughout the week. The Fraziers kept in contact with the Vosses through the following years and built a strong connection.
Nancy started helping contribute to the Sacred Roots Initiative through that connection with Voss, and that relationship continued to build.
The Fraziers eventually made the move to the Midwest to be closer to their families. Because they knew Voss, they had connections to Taylor and applied for jobs at the school.
Both Tristan and Nancy had envisioned different types of roles that they wanted to step into. Tristan, having just finished his counseling degree, applied for a position in the counseling department, while Nancy applied for a position as a theology professor at Taylor.
Neither Nancy nor Tristan landed the jobs they wanted, and it dashed the expectations that they both had for their lives. They realized that they needed to wait for God to move and show up in each one of their lives.
“The experiences have been like, you have to just trust God,” Nancy said. “As I've done that, it's really funny how these little doors keep opening up.”
By being patient and trusting in the roles and plans God has for their lives, the Fraziers are in the positions that they are in now, and God is using the Taylor community to help them grow, they said.
It's been a one-eighty moment for Tristan coming back and working at Taylor. He is back in the community he experienced as a student and gets to interact with professors and others who were here during his time at school.
The Fraziers have impacted the students they work with as well.
Lily Prewitt, a freshman Christian ministries major, has been in close contact with both Nancy and Tristan and expressed how much of an impact the Fraziers have had on her in her studies
“I think Professor Frazier has helped foster a community in the classroom,” Prewitt said. “He definitely brings a lot more relational energy to the ministry department. Nancy's just super smart, so she's helped me engage more deeply with harder issues and topics.”
