Nate Renbarger: Presence Over Time
By Amy Boyle
There is no single track to shepherding. Discipleship is dynamic. It doesn’t move in a straight line but in many directions.
Few know this as well as Nate Renbarger. The grandson of a pastor, son of cross-cultural missionaries, husband to Betsy, and father to seven children—Sydney, Libby, Esther, Andrew, Hannah, Sophie, and Noah—Nate believes that “discipleship starts within the family.”
Not everyone inherits a legacy of faith, but each person chooses whether to deviate from or develop what they’ve been given. Watching his parents follow Jesus inspired Nate to do the same. Their obedience—leading small groups, investing in couples, responding to God’s call to serve overseas—shaped in him a heart for discipleship. His own shepherding reflects that same long, steady sense of family, where discipleship flows both ways.
For Nate, shepherding happens at home, in the workplace, and in the church. When asked what he hopes others will remember, he answers simply: “Longevity matters more than our culture suggests.” Discipleship takes time—time to belong, time to share life, time to work through difficulty. “It’s worth the time,” he says, “because there are things that happen over time that bond you in ways that cannot happen in a hurry.”
That conviction has shaped both his family life and career. When the Renbargers came to College Wesleyan nearly twelve years ago, Nate experienced what he calls a shift from Sheep to Shepherd. It influenced how he approached his first management role at Slingshot and continues to guide how he leads today.
Shepherding in the workplace has been, as Nate puts it, “an interesting process.” IT jobs often have high turnover, yet his team has remained unusually stable. His decision to stay in one place for more than a decade has allowed him to build a team rooted in Christian values. “Work will be frustrating,” he admits, “but coworkers care about each other—not merely about a job getting done.”
Several years ago, Nate sensed the Spirit leading him to invest in an intern from Ivy Tech. The internship lasted only a few months, but the student kept returning, even after credit ended. Eventually, Slingshot hired him, and today he’s been with the company for five years.
Stories like this reflect the steady, relational culture Nate has cultivated. “Stereotypical groups of nerds don’t like to socialize,” he laughs, “but when the pandemic mandates lifted, we wanted to be together in the office.” That desire came from years of choosing to stay, investing in relationships, and working through disagreements with patience.
“Our culture tends to downplay difficulty,” Nate says. “But when you’re able to spend time with and learn about other people, even working through conflict, discipleship shifts from a choice to a way of life.”
That same vision shapes Nate’s involvement at College Wesleyan. For him, shepherding is rooted in a steady commitment to relationships where both sheep and shepherd are formed through consistency over time.
For more stories of how God’s at work within every vocation, visit discipleshipatwork.com.