VALPARAISO - A relatively new member to the St. Paul Catholic Community is getting to know parishioners there as he continues his work as a Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) missionary. While Tim Wheeler, of Valparaiso, might be new to the parish, he is not new to the Diocese of Gary.
Wheeler grew up in Valparaiso with his mom, dad and sister. They attended Augustana Lutheran Church in Hobart, however, Wheeler acknowledges the family was not deeply religious. He was baptized and received first communion and confirmation in the Lutheran church, but stopped attending regularly shortly afterwards.
Wheeler went to school in Chesterton and graduated from Chesterton High School in 2021. After graduation, he went on to attend Indiana University in Bloomington where he studied law and public policy, completing his degree in 2025.
Reflecting back, Wheeler stated his faith journey started to change during his junior year of high school. The coronavirus lockdowns had started around that time and his parents shared with him that they were getting a divorce.
“I was lost and alone and searching for meaning,” he said. “I initially went back to my Lutheran faith, but I was not content being Lutheran just because my parents were, so I began searching for truth on my own.”
Wheeler loved how the Catholic faith valued truth. He had never even considered the idea of a Church that Jesus Himself had started and how He set that up.
“The Catholic Church has presented that idea to me and answered questions about God and the faith that I did not even know I had,” he explained. “I have come to really love the intellectual tradition and history of the Church.”
The summer after Wheeler was fully received into the Catholic Church, he started discerning the call that God wanted him to serve the Church in a deeper, more intimate way. He then started focusing on his vocational discernment, looking into different religious orders and the diocesan priesthood.
Wheeler learned about the FOCUS during his time at the Newman Center at IU, which had FOCUS missionaries serving there. They initially invited him to discern potentially becoming a missionary, and after he found out he could not enter seminary out of college, his decision became clear.
“It was a way for me to serve God and His Church before I decided if I wanted to pursue the priesthood,” he said.
This year, Wheeler was sent back to home to Valparaiso where he serves at Valparaiso University and now attends St. Paul. He will be working with Father Jacob McDaniel, chaplain at St. Teresa of Avila in Valparaiso, and the rest of his FOCUS team to reach students at VU. FOCUS missionaries initially commit for two years, and then can continue to commit for more years after that time.
“For me, I am pretty sure that God is calling me to move on after this year, so my time serving at VU will be for the year,” he said. “We are hoping to help the students this year who are already involved start leading their own Bible studies, so that they can learn how to be missionary disciples and work to fulfill Jesus's Great Commission themselves.”
For young people trying to live out the faith, Wheeler shared two pieces of advice. The first is to remain committed to a life of prayer. He has told many students he has worked with that the most important part of being a disciple of Christ is having a prayer life.
“It is hard for us to live out the Gospel message, especially since we live in a culture that is often actively hostile to it,” he said. “Jesus wants to help us, so we should be going into prayer to ask Him for His aid and His graces.”
Wheeler acknowledges that can be difficult in a noisy and fast-moving world, but he encourages everyone to commit to at least 30 minutes a day of silent prayer – “waste time with God.”
Wheeler’s second piece of advice to young people is to find a faith community. He feels in a society so opposed to the Gospel, it can often feel isolating trying to live it out.
He said, “It can feel that no one else our age is trying to, but they are. There are many young adult communities that exist for fellowship and accountability. Jesus never expected us to do this alone, so find others that can help you on this pilgrimage to heaven.”
Wheeler is enjoying getting to know the parishioners of St. Paul and is always happy to share his faith testimony. What are his plans after his year of service ends? His future is still unsure. Wheeler admits his prayer and discernment has been difficult at times, but added he still believes God is telling him to ask for a seminary application.
“After that, my future is more or less out of my hands, as it often is,” Wheeler said. “For now, I am going to continue to pray and ask the Lord for the wisdom to know His will and the courage to pursue it.”
For more information on FOCUS, visit https://focus.org/. For more details on St. Paul Catholic Community, visit https://saintpaulvalpo.org/
