Houghton Wesleyan Church Pastor Wes Oden to Receive Willard J. Houghton Medal at Commencement

Pastor Wes Oden, lead pastor of the Houghton Wesleyan Church, is set to retire this year after 29 years of service. He and his wife, Cindy, along with their two sons, first arrived in Houghton, N.Y., in 1996. Oden will turn 66 this summer, though he said he doesn’t look it. He recently received an unexpected honor from Houghton University’s President Wayne D. Lewis, Jr., who announced that Oden would be awarded the Willard J. Houghton Medal at the university’s Commencement ceremony in May.

Oden expressed humility upon receiving the award, noting that such recognition is never solely about the individual. “It’s always about other people,” he said. He compared the experience to acceptance speeches at the Oscars, emphasizing that “whatever the recognition is for, it’s always about everybody in my life.” The Willard J. Houghton Medal, established in 2008, is given to individuals who exemplify the values central to a Houghton education, including Christian leadership and service. President Lewis praised Oden as the embodiment of these ideals, stating that his ministry and life reflect the university’s mission of being a Christian scholar-servant.

Before moving to Houghton, Oden served as a pastor in two Wisconsin churches for ten and a half years. He recalled feeling intimidated by the Houghton Wesleyan congregation during his candidating process, as many were well-versed in the Bible and appeared more educated than him. However, a conversation with his wife, Cindy, on the plane ride home helped him see the congregation differently. She reminded him that “they’re just like everybody else. They want to be loved. And they want to experience the love of God and they want to experience the love of people.”

Oden’s tenure at Houghton Wesleyan Church has been marked by significant changes, including the church’s decision to replace its aging organ. When he first arrived in 1996, there were discussions about addressing the organ’s condition. A decade later, in 2006, the church began the lengthy process of purchasing a new one. “We finally said ‘We gotta do something’ because it was falling apart,” Oden explained, noting the organ’s importance to the church’s worship. However, not everyone supported the purchase, and Oden acknowledged the potential for the issue to become divisive.

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