Steven M. Peterson

Steven M. Peterson

July 15, 1950 – October 22, 2020

Steve Peterson, beloved husband and father, successful businessman and spiritual mentor to countless Christians in Omaha and around the world died October 22^nd.  Steve dedicated his life to advancing the gospel and built a prodigious legacy that touched lives on five continents.  More than anything else, Steve was devoted to his Savior, Jesus Christ, his wife, Mindy and their three children.  Twenty years before his death, Steve Peterson founded Fresh Start, which has become a global ministry dedicated to helping people deal with issues of the heart, including helping them to forgive one another.

Steve was born in 1950 in Fremont, Nebraska, to Donald E. and Marjorie J. Peterson.  He spent his early childhood years on an acreage outside Fremont, where he developed a lifelong love of horses.  Steve’s favorite horse was Lassie San. In 1965, competing alongside his father, Steve and Lassie San won competitions at 4H, Aksarben, and at the Nebraska State Fair.  Around the same time, Steve developed a passion for Nebraska football, which has been passed on to his two sons.

After graduating from Fremont High School in 1968, Steve attended Midland Lutheran College, where he lettered in golf multiple years, and led the college to a conference title. More important, it was at Midland that Steve met and married Mindy, the love of his life and wife of 49 years.

After graduating with a degree in business, he joined Don Peterson and Associates as a realtor, eventually becoming Vice President and Partner. In 1978, he was elected President of the Fremont Board of Realtors, and the Fremont Jaycees honored him with its Outstanding Young Man Award.

Despite this commercial success, Steve felt a strong call to full-time ministry. In 1981, he left his business and moved his family to Phoenix, Arizona, to begin training in biblical counseling at Neues Laben (New Life).  The next year, he was offered the position of director of counseling at Neus Laben, but instead moved his family back to Nebraska to join the staff of Trinity Church, as counseling and family pastor.

For the next 25 years, Steve served as a pastor and eventually as associate pastor at Trinity, under the leadership of the Rev. Elmer Murdoch. During this time, he built a multi-faceted counseling department – Complete in Christ Ministries – which had a vision of reaching not just the congregation of Trinity, but also the city of Omaha and the world.  This vision ultimately led Steve to found Fresh Start for All Nations in 2000.  Today Fresh Start is a thriving international ministry, with operations in countries around the world.

Steve is survived by his wife, Mindy; their three children, Justin Peterson (Kiersten) of Washington, DC; Joshua Peterson (Kristin) of Houston, TX; Joy Chatfield (Kappes) of Omaha, NE; brother, Jeffrey Peterson (Shelly) of Fremont, NE; sister, Amy Havekost (Scott) of Franklin, IN; sister, Jill Scott (Richard) of Austin, TX; and nine grandchildren.

VISITATION following CDC guidelines: Sunday, November 1^st from 2:30pm to 4:30pm, at the West Center Chapel.  FUNERAL SERVICE: Monday, November 2^nd, 1pm, Westside Church (15050 W Dodge Rd.)  Family Interment: Memorial Cemetery in Fremont, Nebraska.  Memorials are suggested to Fresh Start for All Nations, P.O. Box 540373, Omaha, Nebraska 68154 – https://freshstartforallnations.org/donate/.

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