On February of 2005, Unger was attending a Sunday service for high school students and young adults at Living Hope Fellowship Church in Beaverton, when Pastor Jess Strickland walked up and asked him to head a junior high congregation.
"I was taken back at first," Unger said. "But then I prayed and talked with my parents about it. I said I would give it a shot and pretty much I've been running with it ever since."
Unger officially started working with the children in May of last year and completely took over as junior high pastor on June 1.
"It's all been sort of a whirl wind experience because I never thought I'd do anything related to leading a congregation," said Unger.
Upon graduating from high school, Unger admits he was a rowdy, party going youth. He had been taught from the Bible but it wasn't something he really built his life around.
Unlike some other pastors, he never attended seminary or a Bible College. Unger feels he became prepared for the task of leading others religiously through three key experiences in his life.
First, it took some discussion with his high school girlfriend, who was an atheist at the time, to start his change. Unger's girlfriend raised questions and intense discussions mingled among the couples interactions.
"Having to defend my faith was one of the biggest motivations for me to actually believe in it," Unger said. "She eventually accepted Christianity. I thought, wow, I had changed the course of someone's life."
Then during the summer of 2003, Unger had been diagnosed with pinched nerves in both his neck and back. The pain caused him to lie in his bed for hours a day. Due to the pain of simply sitting, he had to resort to taking classes from Clackamas Community College via the internet.
During this time of consistent sadness, Unger delved into the Bible for comfort and learned the value of humility.
"Growing up I had an easy life," Unger said. "Nothing came too difficult, but after I graduated from high school, I had a lot of humility put into me."
During his senior year in high school, Unger lost only three matches on way to a third-place finish at the 2002 OSAA High School Wrestling Championships and had been offered athletic scholarships at Oregon and Cal Poly. He had turned it all down in order to spend more time with his girlfriend.
Almost a year after the pain began, Unger went to see a sports and spine therapist who suggested the very reason he was in pain was due to his lack of athletic activity. Unger had not been active in athletics since the finish of the 2001-02 high school wrestling season. He began weight lifting on a regular basis to stretch out his back.
Patrick UngerThe junior from Cornelius, Ore., has remained humble in the wake of his transition to wrestling in the tough Pac-10 conference.
"Where I left off I was more successful," Unger said. "But I'm still having fun with it. The high point of the season has been just being able to wrestle. "
Lastly, Unger and his girlfriend went their separate ways during the winter of 2004 but with his newly strengthened faith he was able to make it through.
Through his three experiences, Unger has built his foundation of belief. "I have the hunger because I went through the hurt," Unger said.
But it is through athletics that he focuses his teaching examples. In his sermons, Unger relates athletics to, among other things, the hardships of life, while always stressing to take peace and humility with every competitive situation your life may encounter. He hopes his message touches the children he leads.
"With competition comes conflict, and emotions are stirred," Unger said. "I use what I've gone through in my personal and athletic life as an advantage to help the kids with becoming better losers and winners."
"One of our biggest ministries is with the neighborhood kids around the building itself. They don't have a lot to do because they come home and their parents are working. Giving them a positive environment is one of our biggest focuses. We want to get those kids out of the cycle."
Personally, Unger also benefits from his interaction with "his children".
"I feel like I need to be in a good place as far as my relationship with the Lord because I'm leading 70-80 kids," Unger said. "It gives me more motivation and responsibility than I've had in the past."
Although a college student, Unger sustains from any activity, which he believes could affect how others will look upon the church he represents.
"I don't want things in my life to cause others to stumble," Unger said. "Even if I don't think drinking is wrong, if my drinking justifies it to someone else who has a drinking problem, and they slip back into alcoholism, then I can't be drinking."
Along with the responsibility, Unger feels this to be the happiest time in his life. He's learned to build on his roots and cherish humility, while stretching out and lending a helping hand. He's back wrestling, almost 180 degrees from where he once was.
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