Lead Pastor Devin Wintermyer

Hello, my name is Devin Wintermyer.  I am so blessed to have the privilege to be the Senior Pastor here at New Beginnings Church in Punxsutawney, PA.  I began ministering here in June of 2016. I moved here from MD, along with my wife, Joanne, and two daughters, Eliana and Jolena.  However, my wife and I are native Pennsylvanians.  I was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area, and my wife was born and raised in Howard, PA.  We ministered in TX and FL for 15 years before moving to MD and now back to PA.  So it's nice to finally be back home in Steeler's Country.  Yes, I am a fan of all teams Black & Gold.

Although I attended church as a child, I did not fully embrace Jesus as my Lord and Savior until the age of 15.  God ministered to me one night while I was watching a baseball game between the Pirates and the Padres on the West Coast.  That night I gave my life to Jesus, and I have never been the same since.

During high school, I had intentions of going into accounting, but during my senior year, God made it clear that He had different plans for me.  He opened the door for me to attend Valley Forge Bible College, from which I graduated with my Bachelor's Degree.  I have since received my Master's Degree in Theology, and am currently working on my Doctorate.

Being in full-time ministry has been an amazing journey.  I have ministered in the roles of Children's Pastor, Youth Pastor, Executive Pastor, Business Administrative Pastor, Campus Pastor, and Senior Pastor, and at times wore several of those hats all at once.  I am currently loving my role as the Senior Pastor here at New Beginnings Church in Punxsutawney, PA, and am so blessed that God called me to come here.

I am super excited about what God has in store for New Beginnings Church.  I know that God is doing and going to continue to do great things here.  I hope that you will come visit us some day.  Come in, shake my hand, and let's get to know one another.

My personal mission statement is this:  Jesus wants to be our personal Savior, so it makes sense that if we want to introduce others to Jesus, we need to get to know one another on a personal level to win the right to introduce them to Jesus.

When you visit, please know that it is my deep, deep desire to get to know you, your family, and what I can do to be the best Pastor I can be for you.  I hope to see you soon!

Have a blessed day!

Pastor Devin Wintermyer

 

Munsaka Shambweka - Worship/Creative Pastor

Munsaka grew up in Zambia, Central Africa. He was drawn to music and worship while in Highschool. He pursued higher education and ministry in neighboring Namibia where he served in different capacities as Worship director and this was the defining point of his call to ministry through worship. He also attended Rhema Bible Training Center and Northrise University for ministry and Bible training. He has spent time both in Zambia and neighboring countries doing worship ministry. In the last 5 years, Munsaka has continued to grow and pursue his gifts further by serving youth and women in Nonprofit ministries and churches, helping the less privileged in community sharing the love of God with them.

Munsaka is married to his wonderful wife, Abby who is a former NextGen manager at a church in Zambia. She is passionate about the next generation coming to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and remaining faithful to impact generations after them.

When Munsaka is not serving or leading worship, he likes to watch movies with his wife, beat his wife at online scrabble, cook, go on outdoor adventures and also likes to watch Youtube videos learning all things music.

When asked, "what are you most excited about as you come into this role?" Munsaka says, "I love Jesus and I love people. I am excited to get to know everyone and build great relationships. God loves when we worship Him and I love worshiping God and so I’m excited to help build an atmosphere of worship as we lead people into God's presence worshiping God in Spirit and in Truth and as we await a mighty revival. The best is yet to come.”

 

Abby Tumelo-Shambweka - Children's Pastor

Pastor Abby serves at New Beginnings Church alongside her husband, Pastor Munsaka Shambweka. Originally from Zambia, Central/Southern Africa, Abby’s heart for ministry was shaped early through serving widows and orphans as a teenager and deepened in her twenties through active church ministry. She counts it a great blessing to follow in the footsteps of her mom and dad—missionary evangelists whose faith and service modeled what it means to live for God’s Kingdom.

 

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Nelly Gonzalez - Youth Pastor

Hello, My name is Nelly Gonzalez. I am originally from New Jersey and Philadelphia. I'm a mother of four and have been living in Punxsutawney and attending New Beginnings Church since 2009. Because of my background in working with children and youth throughout the years, I am certain that God has me as the new Leader of the youth and be a hand in His kingdom for your teens. I am outgoing and energic and ready to take on new tasks when asked. I started on staff at New Beginnings as the janitor and loved helping anywhere I could. I helped with children's Sunday school for a few years and have now stepped down to work with the youth. I am looking forward to the youth group to grow and be willing to step up and help others when needed or asked. I have shadowed the last youth pastor for a bit, and I love the teens so much. They have been great to work with and I can't wait to see what God has in store for us next. 

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Lynnette Long - Church Secretary

Hello, my name is Lynnette Long, and I am the Secretary at New Beginnings Church. I have been a member of the church since 2020 when I married my wonderful husband Robert Long, who has been a member of New Beginnings Church since he was born.

I have been a Christian all my life and I had attended Temple Baptist Church out of DuBois for most of my adult life. I began attending New Beginnings Church after I met Robert, and I have been coming since. We were married at New Beginnings Church in 2020.

I am a graduate of DuBois College with an Associate’s Degree in Executive Assistant. I have worked in many offices, and I am excited about working in this one. The other staff members are amazing and the church itself is a wonderful and joyful family.

I love taking walks and spending time with my family. I like to attend bible studies and learn more about the Bible and Jesus. I love autumn because of all the beautiful colors and the cooler weather. I also love spending time at home just hanging out with my husband and our cat.

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Bernice Condron (Bernie)

My name is Bernice Condron. Most people call me Bernie. I was born and raised in Porter Township and graduated from Punxsutawney High School. My first job was Lorrie Footwear. I was married to Bill in 1967. We moved to Newcastle area in 1969 and stayed there and in the Butler area until 1998. I have two sons, Troy and Eric. I gave my life to the Lord at the South Newcastle Burrow Christian Missionary Alliance Church in 19980. It was the best thing that every happened to me. I am so blessed. My favorite versus: "My peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you, not as the world gives to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27. I have worked many places: Wonder Boy, Airway Luggage, Store Manager, PAEC Staff, CNA, Truck Driver where I saw 47 states and 5 Canadian Provinces through the windshield, also Fayette Staff where I retired.

I am blessed and privileged to be the Outreach Pastor for New Beginnings Church. Besides the Lord Jesus and serving Him, I enjoy traveling, my family, friends, Bible Study and many other activities. I enjoy working with the staff at New Beginnings Church. 

 

Elizabeth Mallory

Hi! Firstly, let me say “I love the Lord”! I am married to my best friend Jim. We’ve been together 35 years and he’s still the love of my life. We have a beautiful daughter, Holly, and Evelyn, the best granddaughter in the world! My family moved to the Smicksburg area when I was 5yrs old from Pittsburgh. They literally drew a circle on a map and chose the center spot, and that was the beginning of exciting times for me. I grew up on a farm with chickens, ducks, geese, goats and sheep. At one time we had 30 horses and a riding stable, which is where I developed my love for horses and riding. Our pasture was full of dairy cattle which had to be milked twice a day by my siblings and I. That’s where I learned to love life and God’s creations. Nurturing baby animals. Feeding and caring for God’s creatures who relied on us for food and caring. I will say that I learned a lot about life that way and I am incredibly grateful for that. We went to church every Sunday, and I accepted Christ as my personal savior when I was about 8 yrs old. I knew there had to be a glorious God just by looking at the beautiful world around me. I’ve found comfort in His arms and joy and peace in knowing Him.

I’ve done quite a variety of jobs. I’ve worked as a care nurse, cleaned homes and offices and trained horses. I was a secretary and managed Windgate Vineyards branch store. And I was a princess! Haha I was the Dairy princes for Indiana county when I was 17! That was fun. I’ve spent the last nearly 20 years as a floral designer and managing a local florist shop. My country roots are probably why I like to bake and cook. I really am a country girl at heart.

I have attended other churches along the way. But about 4 yrs ago Jim and I found this amazing Church and church family at New Beginnings Church in Punxsutawney Pa. The congregation here is truly a family. I am a member of a prayer group, I sing on our worship team, and I am the Executive Director of Birdie’s Haven Free Medical Clinic.

I am incredibly blessed to be even a small part of Birdie’s Haven. This community outreach program has already blessed hundreds of people. There is an amazing staff of caring volunteer doctors, nurses and support staff on board. I know the Lord is working here. And I am excited to see what the future holds!

Always remember “When you draw close to God, God will draw close to you.”