<![CDATA[Higher education in church music requires students to master both academic-theological competencies and high-level musical performance, a dual demand that frequently triggers academic stress and Music Performance Anxiety, particularly ahead of public practical examinations such as mini-concerts. This study aims to analyze the phenomenological experience of Church Music students at SekolahTinggi Teologi Bethel The Way in performing the hymn Because He Lives in a jazz arrangement at the Mini-Concert The Way of Jazz Volume II 2025 amidst significant academic pressures. A qualitative approach with an interpretive phenomenological design was employed. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with five students from the 5th and 7th semesters, participant observation, and documentation study, then analyzed through data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. Results revealed a contrasting stress spectrum, where 7th-semester students experienced considerably more intense psychological pressure due to the simultaneous intersection of public practical exams and peak theoretical assignment deadlines. Despite the complex jazz arrangement initially triggering technical anxiety, deep interaction with Because He Lives successfully induced cognitive reframing, transforming the perception of academic burden into a moment of spiritual service. Adapting the traditional hymn into jazz led students into a state of flow that effectively blockaded external stressors. As the first listeners of their own music, students utilized their musical agency to achieve emotional regulation and a peak experience that ultimately transformed academic pressure into profound artistic satisfaction and spiritual restoration.]]>
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