We are delighted to have Steve and Celestia Tracy joining our staff this month! Both bring years of ministry experience, theological insight, and compassion for the broken to our team. They are passionate about training pastors and leaders globally!

Celestia and Steve are high school sweethearts and have been married for thirty years. For the past ten years they have enjoyed an extensive speaking ministry in the U.S. and Africa on sexuality, marriage, and abuse. They are the founders of Mending the Soul Ministries, a Christian non profit organization specializing in research, curriculum, and training on abuse and healing sexuality.

Steve oversees the curriculum and research of Mending the Soul Ministries and serves on its board of directors. He uses his training and expertise to insure that the curriculum and services of MTS are biblically grounded and scientifically sound. He received a B.A. from Arizona State, a M.Div. and Th.M. from Western Baptist Seminary, and a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from the University of Sheffield (England) with a research focus on New Testament ethics.

He served for almost eight years as the Vice President of Academic Affairs at Phoenix Seminary, where he has taught for twelve years. He is currently Professor of Theology and Ethics at Phoenix Seminary. Steve’s professional academic focus has been on sexuality, gender, and abuse. He is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society where he presents at the annual meetings and serves on the Executive Committee of the Gender Study Group. He is also a member of the Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect and the Society for Biblical Studies. Steve is the author of Mending the Soul: Understanding and Healing Abuse (Zondervan), co-author with Celestia of Marriage in Practice: A Dialogue (forthcoming, InterVarsity Press), editor of Mending the Soul Workbook, and has authored ten academic book chapters and journal articles as well as numerous articles and booklets on gender, sexuality, and abuse.

Steve served as a pastor for fifteen years and has extensive pastoral counseling experience with couples and singles, as well as with victims and perpetrators of physical and sexual abuse. In addition to speaking frequently to community agencies and at secular conferences, in 2005 he was appointed by Janet Napolitano to The Governor’s Commission for the Prevention of Violence against Women.

Celestia studied theology at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon and earned her M.A. in Counseling/Psychology from Lewis and Clark College. She has been a licensed professional counselor for fifteen years, and is the founding partner of Professional Counseling Associates, a private Christian Counseling practice in Mesa, Arizona. Clinically, she has extensive experience and expertise with trauma (particularly physical and sexual abuse), grief and loss, marriage, and sexual intimacy.

Celestia served as the consultant for Mending the Soul: Understanding and Healing Abuse (Zondervan), co-authored and edited Mending the Soul Workbook, and is currently writing a book on building healthy relationships entitled: Forever and Always: The Art of Bonding. Steve and Celestia are grateful for their three grown children, Elizabeth, Luke, and Abby, who share their passion for the broken, abandoned, and abused.