New pastor brings social work experience to Rosetown church

By David McIver

While he’s working on his second degree in Christian ministry studies, Ben Trachsel brings at least as much knowledge of social work as church work to his role as pastor of Rosetown Community Church.

Trachsel grew up in Tisdale and will be 34 in June.

He and his wife Jessica, who have been living in Saskatoon, recently celebrated their fifth anniversary and are expecting their first child in mid-June.

After preaching at the church several times in the second half of 2025, Trachsel was hired in December.

“We kind of fell in love with the place,” he said, noting the many connections he discovered between people he has known and those at the church.

The Trachsels plan to move into an apartment in Rosetown this weekend, with next Sunday marking their first as residents of the community.

His decision to pursue pastoral ministry came gradually. While his family lived in Tisdale, his father worked on a farm, but Trachsel said one sign farming might not be for him was his allergy to flax, a common crop in the area, along with eggs and nuts.

He grew up attending a Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada church and recalls his parents hosting a Bible study group, as well as attending Living Waters Camp south of Prince Albert.

At 16, Trachsel became a children’s camp counsellor there and quickly realized the impact he could have.

“I actually mattered to these kids,” he said.

He also noticed some campers were attending through the foster care system, including some who spent multiple consecutive weeks moving from one camp to another.

In the summer of 2010, just before heading to Horizon College and Seminary in Saskatoon at age 18, Trachsel preached his first sermon and was encouraged by feedback suggesting he sounded like a pastor. A speaker at the camp also told him, “Ministry is for you.”

That fall, he switched his studies to pastoral ministry.

He later completed internships in 2012 at churches in Carlyle and Maple Creek, which he described as “wildly different.”

After earning his bachelor’s degree, Trachsel stepped away from further studies for a time. He said he needed to “figure some different stuff out,” including dealing with previously undiagnosed and unmedicated attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

“What makes me different as a pastor comes out of that season,” he said. “So I ended up working in a bunch of places that most people in this line of work don’t get a chance to.”

That work included roles in two group homes for boys in Saskatoon, one for younger children and another for teenagers aging out of care, as well as a drug rehabilitation centre and, for two years during the pandemic, the Lighthouse in Saskatoon.

“It was a chance to work with people that have had a rough go, people that are suffering,” he said, noting the Lighthouse was especially challenging.

He also found it difficult working with minors facing mental health challenges, particularly those separated from their families.

At the same time, he described it as a valuable experience, especially working alongside Indigenous staff, which helped him better understand the diversity of First Nations experiences.

In time, Trachsel returned to Horizon College and Seminary and is now completing a four-year master of divinity program, having finished his third year.

He plans to pursue ordination, a process in the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada that combines education and experience and typically takes two to five years.

In addition to preaching, Trachsel has introduced the Alpha program, a 12-week video series exploring Christianity, which concludes this week.

Looking ahead, he said he hopes to expand outreach as his family settles into the community.

“We’re not just looking to grow. We’re looking to become more invested in the community,” he said. “Like it says Community Church on the outside, and that’s what I think we’re hoping to do.