After over a year without a permanent pastor, Rejoice Lutheran Church in Clearwater is excited to welcome Pastor Steve Timm to lead their congregation.

 

Pastor Steve brings with him a wealth of experience, including 17 years as a pastor. After graduating from the University of Minnesota and Luther Seminary in St. Paul, he served at three congregations prior to Rejoice; Central Lutheran in Edgerton, WI, United Lutheran in Red Wing, MN, and First Lutheran in Barron, WI.

 

Along with those experiences, he’s also spent 13 years in the Minnesota Army National Guard as a chaplain. Currently he’s a major in the 1st Brigade Combat Team headquarters based out of Bloomington, where he supervises eight other chaplains, helps coordinate some of the statewide “Beyond the Yellow Ribbon” initiatives, and provides religious support to every soldier, no matter their religious affiliation.

 

“I have a respect for people of all religions,” said Pastor Steve. “It’s definitely a challenge, but I think it makes me a better pastor to have that breadth of experience.”

 

This past June he spent a month at Fort Irwin, CA, which is in the Mojave Desert, in simulated war training at their premiere National Training Center.

 

Pastor Steve and his wife, Megan, recently moved to Becker from Barron, WI, and have a blended family of five children. Megan’s children, Christian, 17, and Kennedy, 9, will be attending school in Becker, and Pastor Steve’s children, Charity and Jessica, 14, and Bethany, 12, attend school in Elk River. 

 

The entire Timm family is excited about the move as it brings them all closer together during the week instead of just on the weekends. The move is also closer for Megan’s career, as she works with the Caribou Coffee headquarters in Brooklyn Center.

 

Although he has little free time, Pastor Steve loves getting outdoors. He hunts deer, rides motorcycle, runs, and enjoys getting out on the water. 

 

He has a number of goals he would like to accomplish at Rejoice.

 

“I want to be connect and be engaged with the entire community,” said Pastor Steve. “I don’t want to just sit here in the office all day.”

 

With his military background, he indicated he would also like to connect with the local military community. In Barron he was a member of the American Legion and is considering joining a local organization here. 

 

“My hope and goal is that church will be relevant and matter to people’s real lives,” said Pastor Steve. “That it will be relevant to the community. I would like people to say the community would suffer if Rejoice weren’t here. One of the things that really attracted me [to this position] was the outreach Rejoice provides, and the opportunity to share with a group of people.”

 

Pastor Steve’s first service at Rejoice is this Sunday, July 10, at 9:30 a.m. Everyone in the community is invited to attend and welcome him to the area.