John Gronseth '80

 

The Lord has led me to several different careers, each with a significant learning curve.  MA was a part of equipping me to be able to do that. It taught me the importance of keeping my focus on the Lord and relying on His guidance.

John Gronseth has had multiple callings and careers in his life. He was a missionary pilot for Wycliffe in Indonesia, he started a coffee house ministry in China, and most recently has worked in supply chain logistics in Wisconsin.  “For me, MA was preparation for my future because of their commitment to academic excellence and Christ-centered living. This helped provide the foundation and the tools that I needed to adapt in life. The Lord has led me to several different careers, each with a significant learning curve.  MA was a part of equipping me to be able to do that. It taught me the importance of keeping my focus on the Lord and relying on His guidance.”

John grew up as a missionary kid in Taiwan and came to South Minneapolis in time for 7th grade. In 9th grade, his closest group of friends at public school were starting to get into various kinds of trouble. That spring, his parents offered him the chance to switch to MA, and he jumped at the opportunity. “If I had gone to public high school with my friends, the pressure would have been great to go in a different direction with my life. It was at MA that I was introduced to Dawson McAllister, and it was at one of his events my junior year that I re-dedicated my life to Christ. I feel like God gave me Minnehaha when I was at a real crossroads in my life.”   

“I loved my time at MA. It was a real oasis for me. It gave me an environment I could thrive in and grow. The teaching was Christ centered and the teachers all clearly cared about each of the students. It’s the first time I can remember enjoying going to school.”

John majored in economics at St. Olaf College where he met his wife Betsy. Right after graduation he and Betsy moved to Phoenix, where he worked for a builder, managing the building and selling of subdivision homes. During this time, they built a home and had their second daughter, and were starting to sense that God had something else planned for them. “We didn’t know what it was and tried to think it through and prayed about it. One night we realized we had not totally surrendered it to the Lord.

We got down on our knees and prayed, ‘Lord, whatever you want us to do, wherever you want us to go, we’re willing.'

The next day in the mail they got a card from a long-time missionary pilot from Wycliffe Bible Translators.  It simply said, “Have you ever considered missionary aviation?”  “We didn’t know him, had not heard of Wycliffe, didn’t know anything about mission aviation, and I was not a pilot!” John was intrigued. “I called him up. I talked to him, and my wife talked to his wife. We prayed about it a few more days and sensed that was what God had for us.”  Within six months in 1989 John got his private pilot’s license, they sold their home, left John’s job, and headed to Grand Rapids, MI to get trained in missionary aviation. “It was a drastic switch and a big learning curve. With missionary aviation, you not only have to become a pilot but also an airplane mechanic. Mechanics is not my strength!”  

(John, pictured on the right)

Five years later, they were on their way to Indonesia for their first term with JAARS (Jungle Aviation and Radio Service); serving in the easternmost province of Indonesia, which is the western half of the island of New Guinea. With very few roads, the interior is almost entirely supported by airplanes using airstrips carved out of dense jungle and high rugged mountains. They spent most of their 12 years with Wycliffe in Indonesia. 

After returning to the States, they sensed a call to China where some relatives had started an outreach near Wuhan, an area where John’s grandparents and great-grandparents had worked. The first couple years they spent studying Chinese and John taught English at a university, while seeking a ministry focus that could also provide a visa. They felt led to open an English language coffee house as a ‘business as mission,’ and ministered there through 2017. They served American-style drinks and snacks in an English language environment, where the locals could come and practice their English. “We meant it to be a meeting place and a bridge between languages, cultures and worldviews, where we could share our lives and our faith.”  They had an English club three hours every day and six hours on Saturday, youth camps two times a year, a weekly music night, and events such as a Christmas party.

It was a place people could come and ask the bigger questions of life, and many did.

 

After 10 years in China, they came back to Wisconsin. Since his return, John has been working as a supply chain analyst, and helping his son and daughter in law with their emerging e-commerce business. His role has primarily been managing inventory, forecasting, and logistics; helping them wherever they need to grow the business.  "My experience at MA and the training I received there provided the foundation and the tools to be able to adapt and grow while seeking to keep my eyes on Jesus.”

“Everyone’s path is different.  Some people know what they want to be—they’ve got one goal, one career.  Mine has been just a lot of different things that God has led me to with distinctly different careers. It wasn’t boring!