GET TO KNOW JAMES
If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday
Isaiah 58:10
I’m extremely thankful and humbled to be one of the pastors at Mercy Gate.
My primary responsibilities here are to lead the youth ministry and the music ministry.
Here are some fun facts about me: I love to meet people — my favorite thing to do is drink coffee and listen to people talk from the heart. I love to read — the most influential book in my life is Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I love music in any genre — the most influential artist for me is Coldplay.
My favorite sport is baseball — I’m a Philly fan across the board. I love riding fixed-gear bicycles. I aspire to be an improv jazz pianist in the spare time I don’t have. I’m also a tech nerd — I had a subscription to Popular Mechanics as a kid. I also dream of completing an Ironman triathlon some day.
More than any other title, role or job, I love being a husband and father the most (read more about my family below).
I want you to know that I’m always eager to hear what’s on your heart and to support you on the journey of loving and serving Jesus more every day!
-JAMES WOLSTENHOLME
THOUGHTS & UPDATES
The Year of Caleb’s Faith
As many of you know, we took a break from studying the book of Revelation at the start of 2021 to refresh our vision for what this year holds.
To help cast that vision, we launched a short sermon series titled “I Want That Mountain: Growing In Faith For Tomorrow.”
OUR FAMILY STORY
Kait and I were both in college when we met at the Pier in St. Pete, Florida during the fall of 2010. She was in her first semester, and I was in my last, about to finish a B.S. in Information Systems Management (nerd). Just a few months earlier, the Lord had radically transformed my heart and my plans and had given me a brand new desire to pursue missions and urban ministry - the only problem was I had no experience with either.
While Kait continued studying (she finished a B.S. — Psychology in 3 years!), I joined a YWAM Discipleship Training School followed by a mission trip to Thailand. I absolutely loved Thailand and the missionaries we met there, and I didn’t want to leave, but the Lord confirmed that the next step for me was to return home to pursue ministry in the city of Philadelphia (and marry Kaitlyn). Despite my lack of knowledge and experience, I got a job as a street outreach worker at Covenant House, a youth homeless shelter in Germantown. This providential position became the ultimate training ground for all aspects of urban life and ministry.
We got married in 2013, and God provided a house (one of my numerous crazy stories of God’s providence and provision) in the Logan section of Philadelphia where we’ve been ever since.
Before long the Lord made it clear that I was to pursue not just parachurch ministry, but more specifically, pastoral ministry in the local church. I enrolled in the M.Div. program at Westminster Theological Seminary and continued working full-time at Covenant House, where Kait also came on staff in the fundraising department.
It was during my time at WTS in the spring of 2015 that Kait and I joined Mercy Gate Church, and Dan began mentoring and equipping me as a pastoral intern.
At the end of 2016, Kait and I both quit our jobs, and I paused my studies halfway through the program in order to free up my time to serve at the church. We subsequently launched Kaitlyn’s online clothing business alongside the Jethro Project fundraising initiative to supplement the church operating budget and to provide a salary for my position, and I officially began the ordination process with the Sovereign Grace Northeast Region. In August of 2020 that process came to a close as I was installed as an ordained pastor here at Mercy Gate, and now I’m incredibly grateful to begin a new chapter with each of you in a journey of obedience to King Jesus!
We have 4 children—Izaak, Vivian, Judah and Jeremiah. Our desire as a family is to be radical in crossing barriers to love other people like Jesus does!