A rancher begins training to take care of a different kind of flock.

“If you want to understand the Bible, get some sheep.”

Nate Rooney, a rancher from Brewster, Nebraska, knows that caring for sheep might not teach you the finer points of doctrine, but it does help you understand more about the biblical symbolism behind Jesus as the Good Shepherd for us, his sheep.

“When you talk about the Good Shepherd, the sheep know his voice,” says Nate. “Sheep aren’t as dumb as everybody thinks they are. They do wander, but they follow. We can move 500 head of sheep by just hollering at them. With cows, it would take you all day to move 100 head anywhere because they don’t follow your voice like a sheep does.”

Although Nate spent most of his life on the ranch working with cows and sheep, he now is training to be a different kind of shepherd—one of people. He just completed his first year at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wis., studying to be a second-career pastor.

“My number-one goal is being a shepherd. That’s it,” he says. “[I want to be] that shepherd to a flock that needs somebody. I am not in it for the big numbers. I’m in it because people need somebody to lead them, to take care of them, to feed them, to show them where to go, and to help them along the way. That’s my heart.”

A rancher’s life

A fourth-generation rancher, Nate was born and grew up in Brewster, the smallest county seat in the US with a population of 12.

His church, St. John, Brewster, had its beginnings from his mom’s side of the family. “They brought the church over in a box and had an in-home church for the first probably 15 to 20 years there in German Valley,” he says. “They were basically all cousins that settled there from Germany. And then the church started [in 1904].”

He continues, “The church has always been important to us, you know, family-wise.”

Since Nate’s early teens, St. John has been served by vacancy pastors or as part of a dual parish rather than by a full-time pastor. “I’ve seen the struggles of small churches and not having called workers who want to live out there in the middle of nowhere,” he says. “I mean, Walmart is two hours away.”

After graduating high school in 2003, Nate attended college for a few months to become a veterinarian but decided quickly that wasn’t for him. He returned to Brewster and the ranch.

In 2007, Nate, then in his early 20s, started helping out more at St. John. “A pastor from 100 miles away was filling in at that time,” he says, “and the church needed to do something different. We were looking for lay leaders, and I started filling in.”

Besides making sure everything was running smoothly at church, Nate would lead worship and Bible studies, using materials provided by the pastor when he was not there. “I’ve always wanted to serve people and also had a desire to help at church,” he says. Serving at church as a lay leader started Nate thinking more about becoming a pastor.

Yet ranching was still in his blood. In 2013, he married Jamie, who grew up on a farm and ranch in North Dakota. “[Ranching] was my passion,” said Jamie. “That was all I was going to do the rest of my life. When we got married, if you would have said we’d be here today and Nate would be becoming a pastor, I would have laughed and said no.”

The Rooneys bought the ranch from Nate’s uncle and continued raising cattle and, later on, sheep. Nate also owned a trucking company, and they both served as EMTs for the local volunteer rescue squad. They had three girls. Nate still served at church, even taking classes through the Congregational Assistant Program at Martin Luther College (MLC). He continued to think about becoming a pastor, but the time wasn’t right.

Life on the ranch wasn’t without its hardships. In 2011, Nate lost his home and everything he owned in a fire. In 2014, a flood caused considerable damage to the Rooneys’ home six months after they built it. Cattle prices were fluctuating, and market conditions were difficult.

Then in 2019, historic flooding hit the area, swamping the Rooneys’ home, this time making it uninhabitable. They moved in with Nate’s parents but continued to struggle. Jamie, who never thought she would want to leave the ranch, was ready to go. Now was the time to make a change.

A student’s life

In 2021, the Rooneys picked up their life and moved to New Ulm, Minnesota, so Nate could begin his studies toward being a pastor. While New Ulm isn’t a metropolis for most people, for the Rooneys it was the biggest town they’ve ever lived in and quite different from the wide-open space they were used to. “I’ve never lived in a town. I don’t know how to live in a town. What do you do with garbage? Who do you talk to about lawn care? Figuring out things like these was very difficult,” says Nate.

“I will be honest, when we got to New Ulm and reality set in, I did not want to be there,” says Jamie. “We are ranchers, and I wanted to go back home.”

Not only did the Rooneys have to adapt to city life, but Nate also had to become a student again. “I had not picked up a schoolbook in 20 years when I started at MLC,” he says. “It was a daunting task. I’ve been dragged by horses. I’ve been run over by cows and sheep. But I would say schooling has been the worst thing ever.”

Yet God was with them as they adapted to their new life. They lived in a parsonage owned by St. John’s, New Ulm, and sent their daughters to St. Paul’s school—giving the girls the blessing of a Lutheran education. Nate started getting into the swing of schoolwork again, and Jamie decided to go back to school online for her master’s degree. They still owned their ranch and worked it during the summer, making it possible for Nate not to work during the school year.

Nate graduated with his seminary certification in 2025, and the family moved to Mequon, Wisconsin, in the fall of that year so Nate could attend Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary.

A grateful family’s life

While Nate and Jamie have made sacrifices along the way, they both say that they wouldn’t be where they are without the support of multiple people through the years.

It started with the Rosebud Circuit, the group of churches out west where Nate grew up. “The whole Rosebud Circuit has been more than a blessing,” says Nate. “Most of the congregations got to know me before I started this [journey], and they have been a big financial help for us along the way.”

The support continued with MLC, especially when the family had to deal with medical issues. As Nate prepared to return to Minnesota for his third year at MLC, Jamie gave birth to their fourth daughter, Naomi, in Nebraska. They soon discovered that Naomi would need heart surgery in Nebraska in a few months’ time. Although the family still moved back to New Ulm that fall so their girls could attend school, they decided Nate should take a year off to take care of his family.

Says Nate, “The surgery was successful, but it was a stressful time in our lives. God got us through, and we’re grateful for all the support we had.”

That support continued as the Rooneys prepared to move to Wisconsin. Loving Shepherd, Milwaukee, provided a parsonage for them during the school year (see sidebar). When first a flood and then a fire at their Milwaukee storage unit damaged all of their belongings just days before they moved—yes, really!—Loving Shepherd and congregations back home immediately responded. “Within a week, we basically had our household back together because of their support,” says Jamie.

This care shown through the years means the world to the Rooneys. “When times get rough school-wise—just as tough as it can be—it just [helps knowing] we are loved. We are supported,” says Jamie. “It’s uplifting knowing that there are people behind you who want to see you through. That has been a big driver in moving forward.”

When the 2025–26 school year came to a close, Nate and Jamie and their family returned home to Brewster for the summer, where Nate again is tending the flocks—both on the ranch and in whatever area church needs him this summer.

Because being a shepherd is in his heart.

Author: Julie Wietzke
Volume 113, Number 07
Issue: July 2026

God’s hand

When Paul White, then pastor at Zion, Colome, S.D., agreed to serve a permanent vacancy at St. John, Brewster, Neb., in 2007, he didn’t know God was setting him down a path to help Nate Rooney in his ministry journey.

“Nathan got a taste for doing ministry work during those years,” says White, who sent his sermon and Bible study for Nate to use the two Sundays a month White didn’t travel to Brewster to conduct worship.

When White took a call in 2011 to Loving Shepherd, Milwaukee, he lost track of Nate until White’s daughter met him at MLC. In 2023, White ran into Nate while attending his daughter’s graduation. He never expected Nate would train for full-time ministry. “I had been out west long enough to understand that ranch life is very much a commitment,” he says. “For Nathan to choose to prepare for ministry is unique because there’s a lot of blood, sweat, and tears that goes into a ranch and to leave that is remarkable.”

After White discovered Nate’s plans, he wanted to do something to help. He asked his congregation’s members if the Rooneys could use a small home the congregation owned during the school year rent-free when Nate transitioned to Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. The reply was an immediate yes. “Their love and care for our ministry students are obvious,” says White. Then when White moved out of the parsonage in July 2025, the congregation offered to let the Rooneys use the larger parsonage instead.

“This was all on a very specific timetable that wasn’t ours; it really was the Lord’s. It’s tough not to see God’s hand in this,” says White. “We’re glad to be part of Nathan’s ministry journey.”