Alumni Council Spotlight: Rob Mehner
Rob Mehner, MDiv 2006
Rob grew up in a Christian home and was always a believer from as long as he can remember. Rob left high school feeling called to ministry but decided to pursue chemical engineering and business, and during this time his faith grew stagnant. Between the ages of 28 and 30, Rob developed a deeper relationship with God as he had more interaction with God than a simple knowledge of God. Rob had been an engineer in Minnesota for over seven years before moving back to his hometown in Missouri. At this time, Rob began regularly attending a growing church in his hometown, and he joined a small group within the church. In this small group, Rob’s fire and passion for God was ignited as he heard God’s call to ministry once again after all those years. After wrestling with God for about a year and a half, he finally submitted in obedience.
He began working at a church as the discipleship pastor, though initially, he served more as a consultant for church growth. Many people in his life told him, “you should go to Asbury,” and he began working with Asbury’s extended learning program in 1999. He took one class at a time while raising two small children. He finished seminary in 2006 after seven and a half years of hard work. Though the online and intensive formats did not allow him to experience the local Asbury community, he was very thankful that he was able to immediately apply what he learned in his coursework to his ministry in the church. While at Asbury, he played basketball with David Goss often and felt quite old at age 41 playing with the young guys. However, he was pleased to be told many times, “you don’t look that old.”
Rob worked at La Croix United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, as the Pastor of Spiritual Formation for fifteen years from 1999-2014. After his graduation from Asbury, Rob began to teach about prayer and how we can powerfully encounter Jesus and the Holy Spirit. After his children graduated, he moved to Indianapolis as a part of Missionary Church USA, which is similar to the Christian and Missionary Alliance (CMA). He served as the Executive Pastor, overseeing all ministry staff and helping the congregation remain as healthy as possible. In February of 2017, Rob and his wife Kristin moved to Villa Nueva, Guatemala where they serve as missionaries at New Life Children’s Home. Kristin tutors children at the home and helps with administration, while Rob oversees training and pastoral care of the missionaries and Guatemalan staff. They have two children, Stefan, 27, and Casey, 24. Rob’s passion is for people to become all that God intended for them to be, and he is passionate about helping those who serve in ministry stay spiritually, emotionally and relationally healthy.
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