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Winn shows the love of Jesus by giving of his time
“People show the love of Jesus in different ways,” stated Bill Winn, Winona Lake. “They might help clean a person’s house or bring them a meal when they’re sick. I enjoy watching people learn. I think we show the love of Christ most when we give of our time.”
Winn did not go to church as a child. “My parents had a lot of struggles in their lives. I went to live with an aunt when I was 15. It was then that I started to go to church regularly.”
After he graduated from Butler University with a pharmacy major, he and his wife Sherry moved to Warsaw in 1974. “We were both pharmacists. As I was working at Brennan’s Pharmacy, a coworker asked us to attend his Presbyterian church. We’ve been going to Warsaw Presbyterian Church ever since, almost 50 years. We raised all three of our children there.”
However, Winn admits that even when he joined the church, he didn’t understand totally what it meant to truly serve Jesus Christ. “It was when Sherry and I were in a small Bible study group that we began to understand what being a Christian was all about. I was always the one who questioned what I read in the Bible. But my teachers were very patient with me. I began to see that Christianity places the world’s system on its head. It’s a paradox, the very opposite of our human logic.”
Winn began to realize Christianity wasn’t about being happy, or even loved by people in return. “Jesus tells us in order to save our lives we must lose them. It’s not other people’s job to make us happy. It’s our job to make others happy. It’s also our job to love others more than ourselves, even if that love is not reciprocated.”
He also learned he couldn’t do this in his own strength. “Jesus gives us a template for our lives. He sets standards by which we need to live. He teaches us that instead of craving material wealth, we need to share with others. His way of life is impossible for a person to achieve in their own strength. It’s only in walking in relationship to Him that we are able to get closer and closer to the mark. And as we continue our walk, things will be well taken care of.”
Over the past 49 years, Winn has occupied almost every office in his church. He was a deacon, an elder and has taught children and youth Sunday school classes.
“I especially enjoy teaching junior and senior high kids and hearing how they process Christianity, hearing their world views. I always thank them for allowing me to teach them. When I dig into my Bible to prepare a lesson, I am learning even more than they are. It’s a privilege.”
Winn has always had a special place in his heart for young people. He was part of the Lunch Buddies program at Lincoln Elementary School for two years. He has also been a volunteer in the Homework Club at the school, where he helped students with their lessons. His latest endeavor is teaching an adult to read through the Project Read program.
“Spending time with people lets them know we value them … that we believe they’re special.”
