Inside Out

Young Adults Ministry

Jonathan Ramberg

I was born and raised in Oregon. Both my mom and dad were in education. My father taught Special Education for the Beaverton school district for many years. I graduated from Tigard High School in 1983. I was a fairly good student and a decent athlete – playing soccer and basketball throughout jr. and sr. high. I never attended a day of church growing up.

Prior to my 18th birthday I moved into an apartment with a friend. I worked as a busboy for a local restaurant. As I moved up the ladder in the restaurant business, I noticed one thing for sure – with quick cash in hand, it was never difficult to find drugs. Before long my “career” in the restaurant business led me from busboy, to server, to bartender, and finally as a manager. All along I was having the time of my life – but alcohol and drugs began to take their toll. By the time I was 28 years old I had lost my car to repossession, lost my apartment as the rent money was swallowed up by the cost of drugs. In short, I was a mess. I ended up living in a tent for about 3 or 4 months in the middle of nowhere.

In the fall of 1994 a good friend of mine rescued me from my situation. He convinced me to go to “Jammin’ Against the Darkness,” a Christian event at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland. Through a speaker’s voice, I heard the Lord talk to me and I responded to an alter call. About six months later I fully committed my life to following Christ. In the summer of 1995 I began attending CCWC. I was a newborn Christian with tremendous zeal to serve the Lord and to learn from His Word. In the spring of 1996 I volunteered to serve at an orphanage in Mexico for severely disabled children. It was there that I met the Lord in a very special way – and it was there that I would meet my eventual wife (Laurie and I married in Sept. 1997).

In October of 1997 I was hired by CCWC as the Sr. High Youth Ministries Director. In 1998 I worked for the church full time, and went to Multnomah Bible College (now called Multnomah University). In 2003 I graduated with a BS in Theology and Pastoral Ministries. From 2002 to 2004 I led the Tigard Calvary Chapel as their Sr. Pastor. In 2004 I was hired by the Dept. of Justice for the State of Oregon. I am currently working full time as the branch manager of the Tigard Division of Child Support office.

In 2005 I returned to CCWC on a part-time basis to assist with our youth ministry. Since then I have moved into my current role with the church as the Young Adults pastor. We call our ministry “Inside Out” and we meet every Friday night at 7pm at CCWC.

Along the personal lines, Laurie and I have three children (Ayana, 10; Monique, 8; Isaac, 5). They attend Emmaus Christian School in Cornelius where Laurie works as the Office Manager. As a family we love tent camping, playing games, participating in sports, and rooting for the Portland Trailblazers and Minnesota Vikings! :-)

My favorite verse comes from Joel 2:25-26, “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten… ... You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you.”