Milton J. Kersten's Obituary
Milton J. Kersten, minister, missionary, and educator died at his home in Waupaca, Wisconsin on November 17, 2010. He was 86.
He was born in Appleton, Wisconsin on June 9, 1924, the second of five children to Adolph William Kersten and Sarah Leona Tompkins. The family moved to Wausau, Wisconsin in 1927. He attended John Marshall Elementary school. His father died when he was nine. Milton graduated from Wausau High School in 1942 and then worked at Employers Mutual Insurance for one year. In 1943 he was called to serve in the US Army. He spent one year in medical technical training and as instructor before being sent to the Pacific Theater to serve as medic in the 132nd Medical Hospital for 20 months. He was stationed in New Guinea and the Philippines. He returned home in 1946 when World War II ended.
He attended North Central University in Minneapolis where he fell in love with Dorothy Wilke, also from Wausau. They were married May 20th, 1950 at Wausau Christian Assembly. After receiving a degree from Vanguard University in California, he and his wife moved to Seymour, Wisconsin in 1952.
He established two Assemblies of God Churches, one in Seymour and a second in Oneida while supporting his family as a house painter and decorator. His two sons were born at this time.
In 1962 the family moved to Guyana, South America where they served as missionaries until 1976. In Guyana, he served as pastor of Wortmanville Assembly of God in Georgetown, then as Superintendent of the Assemblies of God in Guyana, and as Principal of the Assemblies of God Bible School in Guyana.
Milton became the Area Director of Assemblies of God missions in the Caribbean in 1976. At the invitation of the Bahamas Council, he and Dorothy moved to Nassau, Bahamas from where he oversaw missions in Surinam, Guyana, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and the Bahamas. They transferred their home base to Hollywood, Florida in 1979. In 1985, he became the founding president of the Caribbean School of Theology.
He and his wife moved to Waupaca in 1992. Officially retired in 1994, he continued to travel to the Caribbean, Central, and South America to teach and speak until 2001. He also served as interim pastor in Lodi and Seymour, Wisconsin. He is survived by his wife Dorothy, two sons, Daniel (Joanne), Edina MN; Philip (Cindy), Arena WI; four grandchildren, Alyssa Theisen (Eric), Elias Kersten (Kristen Nelson), Emily Kersten, and Lydia Kersten; great-grand children Emmett, Eisley, and Ender Theisen; sister Melva Marsceau (David, brother Edward (Betty)and a sister-in-law Ann Kersten. He was preceded in death by his brother Clyde and sister Joyce. Funeral services will be on Tuesday, Nov. 23 at 11 AM at First Assembly of God Church in Waupaca. Military graveside services will follow in the Spencer Lake Memorial Cemetery. Visitation will be on Monday evening from 4 to 6 PM at the Holly Funeral Home in Waupaca.
One of the oft-quoted scriptures that guided his teaching came from the Apostle Paul's admonition (And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also) (2nd Timothy 2:2). Through the training of ministers, Reverend Milton Kersten left a legacy of students who have gone on to establish and build churches in Guyana, Central, and South America, and who have in turn sent their trained ministers to such far away places as the inner-cities of North America. He was a firm believer in promoting self-sustaining, indigenous leadership.
In lieu of flowers, monetary gifts may be sent to the Caribbean School of Theology, P.O. Box 3416, Springfield, MO 65808-3416, web address: ctsonline.org.
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