Who is Kiwanya Tende

     Doctor of Christian Counseling

Dr. Kiwanya Tende is a passionate Christian counselor, life coach, author, and founder of JerNe Ministries and JerNe Life Coaching and Biblical Counseling, LLC. Her life’s work is dedicated to helping women heal from trauma, overcome emotional wounds, rediscover their identity in Christ, and transition into lives filled with healing, wholeness, and purpose.

With more than 20 years of experience serving vulnerable populations, Dr. Tende has devoted much of her ministry to walking alongside women navigating recovery, incarceration, reentry, family challenges, and the lasting effects of past experiences. She believes that true healing involves addressing the spiritual, emotional, mental, and psychological needs of the whole person.

Dr. Tende is the author of Reentry: A Path to Healing, Restoration, and Purpose, a book developed from her doctoral dissertation, Addressing Spiritual, Emotional, Mental, and Psychological Needs of Reentry. This work examines the challenges individuals face following incarceration and emphasizes the importance of faith, emotional healing, healthy relationships, and practical support in achieving successful reentry and lasting transformation.

She is also the author of 30 Days of Healing After Incarceration: A Devotional for the Hopeless at Heart, which offers biblical encouragement, reflection, and hope to individuals seeking restoration after incarceration.

Through JerNe Ministries, Dr. Tende has developed several Christ-centered projects and educational resources designed to address the different stages of healing, recovery, and personal growth. These include:

• Project HOPE: JerNe’s inaugural curriculum, designed to help women address emotional trauma, shame, guilt, forgiveness, self-worth, and the challenges associated with incarceration and reentry.
• Project RECOVERY: Recovery God’s Way: A biblical approach to recovery that extends beyond substance abuse to address non-chemical addictions, unhealthy behaviors, emotional dependencies, and destructive patterns of thinking.
• Project RESTORE: Emotional Healing & Recovery: A 10-week journey from wounds to wholeness that combines biblical teaching, emotional healing, self-reflection, and practical recovery principles.
• Project QUEST: A faith-centered study encouraging personal discovery, spiritual growth, self-examination, and purposeful living.
• Project BECOME: A personal growth resource focused on identity, healing, self-worth, and becoming the person God created each individual to be.
• Becoming Her: From Teen Mother to Healing, Wholeness, and Purpose: A personal testimony and accompanying workbook highlighting Dr. Tende’s journey through adversity, healing, faith, and discovering her God-given purpose.
• JerNe’s Understanding Domestic Violence Study: A biblical and educational resource addressing emotional, verbal, mental, and other forms of abuse while encouraging awareness, healing, healthy boundaries, and restoration.

In addition to her books, curricula, and workbooks, Dr. Tende hosts The JerNe Ministries Podcast, where she addresses trauma, recovery, emotional healing, faith, relationships, and everyday life experiences. Through meaningful conversations grounded in biblical principles, she encourages listeners to examine their lives, embrace healing, and continue growing both spiritually and personally.

Her experience in counseling and ministry has reinforced her understanding that emotional wounds are often connected to family relationships, past experiences, generational patterns, and unresolved trauma. This understanding continues to shape her approach to counseling, teaching, and developing resources that encourage lasting change.

Dr. Tende’s personal journey reminds us that one’s past does not define one’s future, nor does it disqualify anyone from fulfilling their God-given purpose. Through JerNe Ministries, she remains committed to helping individuals move beyond shame, guilt, and the limitations of their past into lives marked by faith, healing, restoration, and purpose.

Academic Degrees

•Doctor of Christian Counseling (DCC)

•Master of Ministry in Christian Counseling (MMCC)

•Bachelor of Arts in Christian Leadership & Ministry (BA)

•Associate of Arts in Psychology Christian Counseling (AA)

Certifications

•Board Certified Christian Life Coach (NACC)

•Board Certified Biblical Christian Counselor (NACC)

•Board Certified Mental Health Coach (BCMHC)

•Board Certified Reentry Peer Specialist (State of Texas)

Licensure

•Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor Intern (LCDC-I), State of Texas

Recovery Training & Specialization

•JerNe’s Project RECOVERY- 12-Step Program Facilitator