I was born the second son of William and Katherine Wenger, the middle of three children, an older brother and a younger sister. Our home was Christian, of the Holiness, Wesleyn Methodists tradition. As I reached my teen years, I became increasingly rebellious against my Christian upbringing. The day came that I told my parents that I was tired of going to all the church meetings. I especially felt out of place in the Sunday evening and prayer services, where everyone would end up praying at the alter, with me and a few others left sitting back in our seats sticking out like “pagan” thumbs. My parents did have the wisdom to understand my dilemma, but told me that as long as I was under their authority, I had to at least attend the Sunday Morning service. It was becoming quite clear that I was not a believer as they were.
When I entered High School, they agreed to let me attend the same Christian boarding school that my older brother was at. Although it was a Christian school, I quickly “learned the ropes” of how to get around the rules. But of course, I inevitably got caught and disciplined. After the second year I attended public school and had my own car and an after-school job. By this time I had given up all pretense of Christianity and refused to darken the door of any church.
But thank God, He had other plans for this increasingly restless and unhappy nineteen-year-old. In spite of my initial refusals, my mother did manage to talk me into attending the church’s Christmas program and to even sing “O little Town of Bethlehem”. “What harm could come from singing a Christmas carol at my old church’s Christmas program, after all, I was not a complete pagan” so I reasoned. I finally decided to go and participate. When my turn came, I got up and began to sing, “this is easy I thought and it even feels good”. When I got to verse three where it says “But in this world of sin, Where meek souls will receive Him still the dear Christ enters in.”, something began to happen inside me I could not resist. I began to feel a welling up of guilt and conviction. I do not know how I got through the last verse, “O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray; Cast out our sin and enter in and be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels The great glad tidings tell; O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!” I believe the Holy Spirit regenerated me that night, because it was not long after this experience, that I cried out to God while riding in my car, “God, if your are in heaven, I give up, take over my life, I surrender”. The scales of spiritual blindness fell from my eyes and I saw the terrible sin of my unbelief and rebellion against His Love for me.
As a new Christian, I began to witness to my friends and work associates in the produce department of the Shop Rite supermarket where I worked. The assistant manager and I used to joke together about “the girls” that would come in to shop. When I no longer would join in with his dirty joking, he no longer liked me and resented my witnessing. He could not believe the change that had taken place in my life and called me a “religious nut”, “hypocrite” and that “I would get over it”. Around the same time, the produce manager left, and he was appointed temporary manager until a new one could be hired as he did not want the job himself. His loathing of the change in me was so great that he just up and fired me one day. That same night there was a thundershower and his chimney was hit by lightening. The next day he called me up asked me to come back to work. Much to my astonishment he was apologizing for firing me and asked me to pray to God not to judge him anymore. Soon after, a new manager replaced him and he again became the assistant manger. I do not know if he ever became a Christian, however, God did bear a powerful witness to him through what had happened.
Upon my graduation form high school, I decided to go on to technical school in New York City and take electronics. While riding the subways and walking the streets of Manhattan, I became burdened for the masses of the needy and lost of that teeming metropolis. I consequently became involved in street and neighborhood evangelism with the Open Air Campaigners, Inc. After my first year of technical school, I decided to transfer to Northeastern Bible Collage to prepare for the ministry. At Northeastern I also met Johanne Davis who became my wife on Aug, 22, 1970. God has given us two wonderful daughters, loving devotion in our marriage and years of faithful service together for Him in His kingdom.
My first pastorate was in Inwood, Long Island, NY, a formative ministry of keeping open a church which was thinking of closing it’s doors. The ministry did continue and after we left, they moved to a new building to accommodate growth.
The Lord then lead us to move to New England to begin a church plant in Ware, Mass. Though fraught with hardships and sacrificial struggle, a work was established which witnessed to that spiritually hardened community for over 25 years.
Our next ministry was at the First Baptist Church of Plainville, CT. Again it was a small struggling church which needed to see change and growth. The Sunday school ministry was reestablished with the involvement of younger families. During our stay we saw new converts baptized, a missions program established, the church go through a denominational association change, the installation of a new baptistery, and growth in membership and attendance.
In June of 1984, the Lord closed the door of our ministry in Plainville and we sensed it was time to take a sabbatical from the pastorate. We moved to our present home in Woodstock, CT, and established a commercial food service appliance repair business, our principal account being Denny’s Restrauants. The business ended six years later when Dennys decided to go in-house with all its appliance maintenance. Since then I have driven bus for a local para-transit company, worked for a defense contractor building submarines and now am employed as a factory service technician for a major appliance manufacturer.
During these last twenty plus years, we have remained involved in ministry that has included working with youth, another church plant, pulpit fill and interim pastoral ministry.
We continue to be committed to serving the Lord in whatever capacity He so chooses. We do still regard the service of God to be the most noble, holy, and highest calling one can pursue. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:1&2
In Christ
Jim Wenger
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