Faces Of New Bedford #107: Kenn Bongiorno

Meet Dr. Reverend Kenn Bongiorno, 51-year-old Pastor and Professor.

Kenn didn’t grow up in a spiritual home or one that attended church. At 19-years old he spent three weeks with his grandfather in the hospital during his grandfather’s last days alive. With a lot of emotions running through him, he spoke out and told God that he needed to know if he was real, and if he was to show himself to him. One late night, Kenn saw all the pain his grandfather was going through and thought that if he could, he would take his place for him. Kenn said that at that moment, “God told me that he took my grandfather’s place at the cross and my place and that my grandfather would live beyond this life.”

That night transformed Kenn and he would spend the next decade of his life trying to learn about who this God was, traveling to Southeastern University in Florida to attend college and then up to Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, MA. During his time at Southeastern, he felt a strong call to New England, although he knew little about it or had ever even visited it, to bring the hope he found in Jesus. After a four-year pastorate in Pennsylvania and a sabbatical in Switzerland, his call was answered, as an opening at the multicultural city by the sea that he had envisioned many years before became available

Since moving here, Kenn has worked to strengthen the core members of his congregation to be able to impact their church and community of New Bedford. They’ve held services at the Zeiterion Theatre and have done a lot to impact our community. They’ve partnered with local non-profit United New Bedford, sponsoring their I Love My City Annual Event and more recently, went to Satellite Village to provide food and activities for all ages.

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Faces of New Bedford is a project by Colton Simmons. If you are interested in booking a shoot or getting prints from the series email all inquiries to colton@coltonsimmons.com.

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Read more of the Faces of New Bedford series here.