Meet Pastor Brian of Minden United Church of Christ

I am an old farm boy at heart. I grew up in Southern Minnesota on a small family farm. It was my mom, dad, younger sister and me. I spent a lot of my free time helping my dad and grandpa on the farm with hog chores or field work. When I wasn't helping on the farm I attended a small to medium sized high school and participated in band (played the trombone), football, basketball and tennis. My family and I attended a United Church of Christ in the small town of Welcome which was near the family farm. Growing up my family and I were very involved in church activities; from youth group to young adult fun outings.

After high school I attended Northwestern College in Roseville, MN. In college I pursued a degree in Sports Medicine with a second major in Biblical Studies. I know what you're thinking... Sports Medicine to Pastor? I knew I wanted to be a pastor since my senior year in high school. When I spoke to

As my wife can attest, I love sports, and I thought learning how to be an athletic trainer would be a lot of fun.

After graduating from Northwestern College I attended United Theological Seminary (UTS) in New Brighton, MN. There I earned my Master's of Divinity degree. My time at UTS was difficult and challenging at times, and also very rewarding. It was there I truly began to form my own theology and begin to understand what I believed. After seminary I spent one year as a chaplain resident at Ridges Hospital in Burnsville, MN. That residency ended in August of 2005, and I accepted the call to Minden UCC in November 2005.

That's enough of the academic and job history, now let's move onto the important stuff. I met my wife, Tracy, in college, but we really didn't get to know each other until after I graduated

" I think it is my calling to help each person discover God's love in their lives. I want everyone to experience the awesome power of God's love. " - Pastor Brian Wohlhuter
some pastors about preparation for
seminary they said I should take
something I enjoyed in college
because seminary would fill me
full of enough theology stuff.

from college. We each hung out with a mutual set of friends and our friendship and love grew from there. We were married on November 3, 2001, and life has been awesome ever since. Tracy has been more than I could have ever asked for and we are excited about our new life here in Minden and the start of our own family.

If I were to describe myself I would have to say I'm pretty laid back. Not too much gets me rattled. I love to participate in sports and watch sports. I like being outside with my wife and our dog Jasmine. I've even begun to enjoy camping a little bit! I would like to think I'm pretty easy to get along with, and I want my ministry to be about love and acceptance. I firmly believe that Jesus' core message was about God's love for everyone, and I think it is my calling to help each person discover God's love in their lives. I want everyone to experience the awesome power of God's love.