Craig & Tina Holmquist 

Position: Ministry Partnership Director 

Spotted: where two or three are gathered, Craig can be found, lunch table, coffee shop, where a kickball or volleyball are bouncing

Experience: On missionary staff since 1996

In Their Own Words: How did you know you were called to ministry/Fort Wilderness? What advice would you give to someone that is trying to discern their calling/next steps?

The Lord often works in ways we would never expect. This rings true for the Holmquist family. Craig and Tina grew up in very different families. Craig said this about his childhood. “I was born in Waukesha and then soon after, was heading to Brazil for my parents second term as missionaries on the Amazon River. In Brazil, I’m the youngest of four and so very early on I got to see and live out another culture, country, and language.” Craig spent his schooling years in Milwaukee Public Schools. He went on to share about how being a missionary runs in his family. His grandparents served in South America, his parents in Brazil, and now he is at Fort Wilderness. “So, my passion to be a servant, a missionary, began early because of my upbringing. And as a 10-year-old, with as little faith as I had, I knew Jesus, I said I want to be a missionary.”

Tina also shared a little bit about her past and how she became a believer. She shared that she grew up in a non-Christian home around Muskego that could be described as chaotic and unstable at times. Although her family never attended church, she would hear the bells from the Catholic church nearby and wonder about it. “My mom had a Bible from when she was young and I would read it sometimes and read her little notes she took in it, but she always said that [the Bible] was for people who needed it.”  

Tina went on to share that in high school she lived for herself, and when she was 18, she got pregnant with her son Mike. But the Lord was working behind the scenes in her life. “For the first five or six years, I raised him as a single mom, and I always thought I wanted him to have a different upbringing so I’m going to go to church.” She began to attend Elmbrook church in the Milwaukee area, and soon after met many women that made her feel welcome and cared for. Through that community, she heard the Gospel and accepted Christ for the first time. “I accepted Jesus with some of the elders up in the little room one Sunday, but I didn’t really believe that it could be that easy. It took me a little while to truly believe it.” As time went on, both Craig and Tina were introduced to Fort in different ways and met in the fall of ’96 – Tina was volunteering in the kitchen and Craig had just started on missionary staff. The rest, as they say, is history. 

How did you know you were called into ministry? 

 About his beginning years on Fort staff, Craig shared, “Here I am serving full time at Fort Wilderness, and you know, I’m just a person who has been called to serve the Lord. Everyone’s called to serve the Lord, mine happens to be in a full-time way where churches and friends have said go and be full time in the ministry.” For Tina, the call was a little different. “I never dreamed of being in ministry because of the way I grew up in my family and they’re still not believers. I love Fort so then getting married to him [Craig] was perfect. I get to be where I love.” She told Craig shortly after they were engaged that she was willing to follow him wherever he went.  

When Craig was first considering joining Fort’s staff, he shared that he was continually praying, “God, what do you want?” Through prayer and fasting, he was intentionally seeking the Lord’s will for his life. “I wanted him to maybe put in a fiery arrow or a cloud or something and he didn’t do that. The Lord did not give me clarity and I was afraid to take the step of faith, but I did, and he confirmed it was okay.” After the first couple years, Craig took some time to reevaluate and he shared, “I just felt like this was my place to use my gifts and skills and my passions. I just think I’m called to this for the long haul.”

When I asked for clarity on how you can tell what God wants, Craig said, “[sometimes] there’s no one answer but being led by the Spirit of God and looking for confirmation through people, through prayer, and through circumstances.” His encouragement was to keep looking for the next right step in front of you and take it. “It’s amazing how little steps like that over the course of days, weeks, months, years and decades add up to bring joy to one’s life through to one’s ministry and glory to God.” 

What advice would you give to somebody that is trying to discern their next, their calling or their next steps? 

Craig mentioned what has been most impactful to him and Tina in this season. “Something that Tina and I’ve been practicing in our lives a little more is trying to begin our day, [asking] God, what do you want from us today? Our Daily Bread. God, would you please help me and prepare my mind for what you got today?” Craig and Tina both went on to share some wise advice on discerning your next steps. Here are some of the things they recommended: 

• Lots of Prayer. “Prayer and seeking wisdom from older wiser people. We’ve been just praying together regularly to start today, and it’s given us a real peace through some real challenges the last three years…we had got to the end of ourselves. The Lord sustained us and friends sustained us, and [now] our perspective is a little different.”  

• Being reminded of who God is. “Who God truly is, sets the foundation for everything in life, and I’ve discovered more about God the last couple years that I maybe wish I would have known back in my 20s, it was more about me going and doing things. Now I’m discovering it’s more of a response to God doing something and me joining Him.” 

• Do not worry. “There’s nothing that can stop our Father, so I don’t need to worry. I do worry at times, but I don’t have to worry. I can trust the character of who God is and how much He cares for me. Then to know and to be reminded that I must go through hard things in order to learn to trust God so that He can use me more.” 

• Seek out unhurried time. “I’ll leave my phone somewhere or turn it on silent and pausing with no noise but God’s. [When] I am getting out in nature and simply listening, reflecting, observing God’s nature, His handiwork reminds me that everything is in order and on purpose in God’s plans. When I slow down like that, it truly shapes me at key decision points in my life.” 
• Building Community. “The hours in a healthy, good, God centered place is going to bear fruit. The family that plays together, stays together. And it’s true for all people.”