Meet Our Pastor:
Reverend Randall Bessette




Pastor Bessette believes that First Lutheran Church and School is a very important place, where people come and hear the Life-saving Word of God, and where they feel and experience God's Word in action. It is a sanctuary from the harshness of the world, while taking on the challenges that make the world so harsh -- a place where people can come and be fed both spiritually and physically, by God's Word, with the family that comes together in this very special place. As pastor and shepherd of First Lutheran, Pastor Bessette is devoted to fostering the Joy that is free to all people through a risen and living Savior, Jesus Christ. First Lutheran exists to be a light to all those who seek true Joy, Love, Peace, Hope -- as well as to actively go out into the world to proclaim Christ Crucified to those who do not know Jesus. Under Pastor Bessette's Christ-centered leadership, it is our ministry to feed all of the sheep who come to First Lutheran, to reach every lost sheep and gather them into the fold of our Heavenly Father. This we will do until Christ comes again!

Reverend Randall T. Bessette was born on March 27th, 1961, in Ware, Massachusetts. He attended local Holyoke schools and graduated from Holyoke High School in 1979. He attended Holyoke Community College to fulfill the requirements to enter Concordia Theological Seminary. In May of 2001, Randy and his wife, Bonnie, left for Concordia in Fort Wayne, IN. That June he started his seminary education. He graduated from Concordia on May 20, 2005, with a Master of Divinity degree.

In April of 2005 Pastor Bessette received his first call to be the Pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Mashpee, MA. He was ordained as a pastor on June 12, 2005 at First Lutheran Church in Holyoke, and was then installed at Our Savior on July 10, 2005, where he served faithfully for four years. Pastor Bessette received a Call to be the Pastor of First Lutheran on June 23, 2009 and accepted that Call on July 12.

Pastor and his wife, Bonnie, have been married for 30 years, and they have two children, Randall Jr. and Melissa. They also have been blessed with a granddaughter, Geneva, daughter of Randall Jr. Their daughter, Melissa, is expecting her first child in December of 2009.

Pastor and Bonnie are excited about coming back to their home church, where their walk into the Holy Ministry all began. Before leaving for seminary, they were members of First Lutheran Church, and the school was the Gospel tool that the Lord used to bring the Bessette family into the flock; both Randall Jr. and Melissa attended and graduated from First Lutheran School.