Wes Bontreger Essay

Speaking with Yellow Creek Mennonite Church’s Senior Pastor, Wes Bontreger is always a pleasure. He is consistently kind and opens his conversations with a smile and a plethora of jokes or stories that put at ease anyone in his presence. Meeting him at The Electric Brew in Goshen just over a week ago, our conversation progressed similar to its normal fashion, albeit with a slightly mor somber tone. Bontreger had just finished several days of viewing and funeral officiating, and when asked his entrance to ministry, he was forced to confront his own brush with death. At twelve he was diagnosed with terminal leukemia.. As an adolescent Bontreger was forced to confront death head on. He admits to beginning Kubler Ross’s stages of dying, feeling angry and depressed at times while also appealing to God during his “bargaining” stage. Bontreger had grown up in the church, and says that he always enjoyed children’s Sunday …show more content…
He declared a psychology major at Goshen College before moving on to study at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. His love of psychology and faith merged most directly at Fuller. During his time there, he participated in several internships, which helped him to integrate his knowledge of both theology and psychology. He was a pastoral counselor on staff with a local counseling center, worked at another Christian counseling center, and also performed chaplaincy work at a psychiatric hospital. In addition to his Masters of Divinity, Bontreger acquired an additional Masters Degree in Marriage and Family Counseling. Now holding fully-applicable degrees in the two areas of expertise which he felt could both best serve people, Bontreger was at a crossroads. He was offered a full-time practice as a counselor in California, complete with a full client list and he also knew that Yellow Creek was searching for a new youth pastor back