JOEL SHORT, PASTOR
Joel Short has been the pastor at Hopewell Mennonite Church since 2009. After attending Hesston College (Hesston, KS) and Goshen College (Goshen, IN) where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Bible and Religion, Joel attended seminary at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (Elkhart, IN) where he received a MDiv with a concentration in early church history.
Prior to becoming the pastor at Hopewell, Joel was an associate pastor at a Mennonite church in Ohio for 6 years.
Joel enjoys reading, astronomy, working outside, camping and travelling to scenic places. Joel and his wife Karen met at Hesston College and were married in 1998. God must have know what he was doing in bringing Joel and Karen together…they even share the same birthday! Karen is such a great support to Joel in his role as pastor, and he is extremely grateful to God for bringing her into his life. Together they have two young children, Evan and Emma.
One of Joel’s (many!) favorite verses from the Bible is Psalm 148:3-5:
Praise him, all you shining stars.
Praise him, you highest heavens.
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for at his command they were created.“It is my prayer that we at Hopewell would all be ‘shining stars’ in praise to our Creator and to Jesus Christ!” – Pastor Joel