Name: Aaron Cole
Graduation Year: 1994
Major: Bible & Theology
Current Position: Senior Pastor of Life Church Wisconsin
City and State: Milwaukee, WI
Tell us about your career and what you do now.
After graduation, I married my CBC college sweetheart, Tammy Cole (Honeycutt). I spent my twenties as a staff pastor of churches in Arkansas and Oklahoma. I am currently the senior pastor of Life Church Wisconsin. I have been here since 2002 when Life Church began as a store front church plant. Today, Life Church has developed into a multi-site congregation in four physical locations: three locations in and around Milwaukee, and one location in Appleton, Wisconsin.
What is your favorite memory from CBC?
My calling. It was fall of 1989 at CBC College Days during a Friday morning chapel service. During worship, there was a message in tongues and interpretation given: “My son, I have your life and your steps planned out before you, if you will but keep your eyes on me and follow me; I will guide, direct, and fulfill the desires of your heart, if you will keep your eyes on me.” As I write those words thirty plus years later, I still feel that moment. It was that day my calling to vocational ministry was sealed and the next step of my journey, CBC, was confirmed.
How did CBC help you identify/develop your calling?
CBC developed my calling in two ways: relationship and exposure.
Relationship: It facilitated the framework of ministry connections I have today. It has been through faculty and students that God has fulfilled His call on my life.
Exposure: CBC opened my world up academically to later earn a master’s degree and ultimately a Doctorate in Ministry. It also exposed me to leaders, pastors, teachers, and ministries that shape the way I think and work today.
How did your experience at CBC prepare you for life after graduation?
CBC gave me the foundation of an education that would open doors and opportunities that, without my degree, would be otherwise shut.
What advice would you give a current student preparing for the workforce?
Don’t quit! Whatever you do, don’t quit! Lean into, learn from, and soak up all the possibilities, opportunities, and even hardships that may emerge during your education. It is the basis by which God is building not only your calling and ministry, but your life.
What would you look for if you were in a position to hire a new graduate?
Hunger. I want to hire and work with people that have a veracious appetite to grow, learn, and develop themselves. I want individuals that don’t quit, give up, or give in but rather lean into and learn from successes and failures.