Background

Valerie Rance has served as an Assemblies of God World missionary with her husband DeLonn since 1984. For twenty of those years she worked in the country of El Salvador where she taught in the English Department of the Christian University of the AG in San Salvador, worked with the national Missionette department, and painted murals for King’s Castle Ministries. While DeLonn started the doctoral programs at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (AGTS), Valerie continued her education finishing a Masters in Counseling and a Ph.D. in Intercultural Studies at the Seminary specializing in the areas of trauma and coping. In 2010, she became the Administrative Assistant for the Intercultural Doctoral Studies program and in 2018, added the positions of Recruiter, Admissions, and Program Coordinator. Her passion is to assist students through their doctoral journey. She has taught and continues to teach in the areas of counseling and intercultural studies at AGTS, Ascent College, University of Valley Forge, North Central University, Bethany University, and Central Bible College.

Valerie and DeLonn have three grown children: (LaDawn, Jorel, and Shayla), three children-in-law (Chad Emery, Natalie Asahara, and Brandon Cox), five grandsons: (James Kalel Rance, Blake Charles Cox, Eli Timothy Rance, Judah Alexander Rance, and Hunter Jacobsen Cox), and two granddaughters (Zoey Lovie Emery and Ruth Jolie Cox).

Presentations

2019, Feb. 28-March 2 – Society for Pentecostal Studies, Washington D.C. - “I Will Sing Because I Trust Him.” How God Uses Music as a Coping Mechanism in Times of Trouble. 

2018, Oct. 17 – Workshop for the World Missions Congress, Madrid Spain – “Empowering Emotionally and Spiritually Healthy Workers (Member Care)

2018, July 2-5 – European Pentecostal Theological Association, Brussels, Belgium - “The Ethical Treatment of 21st Century Missionaries Who Have Experienced Trauma: A Biblical Theory of Well-Being” 

2017, March 9-11 – Society for Pentecostal Studies, St. Lewis, MO - “Biblical Personalities and Trauma: Towards a Biblical Theology of Wellbeing” 

2014, March 6-8 – Society for Pentecostal Studies, Springfield, MO - “Biblical Personalities and Trauma: The Beginnings of a Theology of Wellbeing” 

2013, Sept. 19-21 – Evangelical Missions Society, Chicago, IL (National) - “Trauma and the Mental Health of the Missionary: Effects, Coping, and Missionary Care” 

2013, April 12-14 – Evangelical Missions Society, Chicago, IL (Regional) - “Trauma and the Mental Health of the Missionary: Effects, Coping, and Missionary Care” 

2011, March 10-12 - Society for Pentecostal Studies, Memphis, TN - “The Use of Touch as a Redemptive Expression of the Mission of God in the World” 

Publications

Rance, Valerie (2021). Trauma and Coping Mechanisms Among Assemblies of God World Missionaries: Towards a Biblical Theory of Missionary Well-being. Evangelical Missiological Society Monograph Series. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications.  

Rance, Valerie (2014). “The Importance of Narrative in Contextualization.” International Journal of Pentecostal Missiology. Vol. 2, 61-84. 

Rance, Valerie (Summer 2014). "Trauma and the Mental Health of the Missionary: Effects, Coping and Missionary Care" Encounter Journal. Vol.

Recommended Reading

Foyle, Marjory (2001) Honorably Wounded: Stress Among Christian Workers. London: Monarch.

Joannes, David (2018) The Mind of a Missionary: What Global Kingdom Workers Tell Us About Thriving on Mission. Prescott, AZ: Within Reach Global Inc.

Langberg, Diane (2015) Suffering and the Heart of God: How Trauma Destroys and Christ Restores. Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press.

Langberg, Diane ( 2020) Redeeming Power: Understanding Authority and Abuse in the Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press

Rothschild, Babette (2000) The Body Remembers: The Psychophysiology of Trauma and Trauma Treatment. New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Company.

Hobbies

• Painting
• Cross-stich
• Baking