BATTLE CREEK, Mich. –
A person’s mission in life is not always easy to find. U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Trenton Wollberg, 110Th Wing chaplain, at Battle Creek, Mich., found out at a young age what his calling in life would be.
He was born into a military family and his father was an active duty U.S. Army chaplain. It only seemed fitting that he would follow in his father’s footsteps and continue the life of servitude that he had grown up in.
“I knew when I was about 12 years old that being a pastor is what I wanted to do,” Wollberg said. “Growing up, talking about church and theology at the dinner table, and living that life became a calling.”
When he decided to join the military in 2008, it was a way to pay for college and continue his path of becoming a chaplain.
He did not start out as an officer, and instead started in the enlisted ranks. He worked in services where he was able to continue his life’s mission of helping others.
“Since I wasn’t finished with college or a pastor yet. I found another way to serve my country and help service members,” he said.
Joining the military felt natural to him due to growing up in a military household, but he did not feel called toward a full-time military position like his father.
When he learned that joining the guard would give him the opportunity to serve his country part-time and still be a full-time chaplain that became the logical choice.
Wollberg spent the first ten years of his career working in services at the 110th Wing, helping with lodging, meal preparation, and recreation opportunities. While working there he continued on his journey of becoming a pastor.
He has served as the pastor at the Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Onaway, Mich., which has fallen under the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod for four years and has been a chaplain with the 110th Wing since March of 2020.
“Helping others, whether it is serving meals, ensuring that they have a place to sleep, or guiding them spiritually, is all I’ve ever wanted to do with my life,” he said.