Ted Wolfe

Ellensburg Site Pastor

I come from a small town in the heart of the Cascade Mountains. I grew up in the church, but not with my family. I had a friend invite me to Sunday school in the third grade and I only went because there was free candy. From then on, I continued to go every Sunday but I never went to church until I was in high school. My father had smoked cigarettes for many years. The effects of smoking eventually caught up with him, and in one moment, my father had gone from healthy to near death. I cried out to God that night to reveal himself, to show me that he was real and that he was listening to me. That same week, we went back to the hospital and my dad’s sickness had receded. I could not believe it. God had answered my prayers. After that I believed in Jesus.

It was not all daisies and roses from then on. I had zero community, zero pursuit of Jesus, but a foundation was set. Each summer my home church attended a camp that was filled with overly joyed kids. It was hard for me to understand why I was not like these kids, even though we believed in the same God. This camp would give me a Jesus high filled with joy and satisfaction. But after every camp, I would fall back into sin and what I thought was normal life.

While I was at Central Washington University for orientation I came across two strangers. They told me that they were planting a church at CWU. In that moment, I knew God wanted me at Central. At CWU is where I had seen the gospel lived out by people my age. It was evident that Jesus was the center of their lives.

Through my first three years of college, I have experienced transformation only God can give. He has truly softened my heart and shown me grace through my sin. I have been called out, had my sin exposed but have continued to receive love from my community. This is the reason I know what grace is, this is the reason I put my hope in Jesus, this is why I choose to love others, because Jesus first loved me. Jesus has paid my ransom as well as the rest of humanity’s. I could no longer sit idly by while broken college students settle for the pleasures of this unfulfilling world. That is why I decided to join staff with Resonate Church. I want to bring the name of Jesus to the masses so that his name would be risen high and proclaimed on campuses across the world.

My prayer for Resonate is to make disciples who make disciples that make disciples even if they move onto a different church. I pray that each and everyone one of us who is a part of Resonate Church would be a godly grandparent when they are older.

Myers Briggs: ESFP

Top 5 Strengths: Includer, Activator, Communication, WOO (Winning Others Over), Belief