New pastor begins July 1 at Bartlett’s Living Lord Lutheran Church
Living Lord Lutheran Church in Bartlett recently called a new pastor to lead the congregation. The Rev. Kristian Johnson will begin ministry at Living Lord on July 1.
After the departure of the church’s former pastor, the Rev. Sue E. Allen, in February 2023, the church soon embarked on the process to call a new pastor.
As a member congregation of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the church formed a call team and coordinated with the synod to identify pastoral candidates in a process that lasted nearly 16 months.
Once the call team connected with Johnson, both the call team and Johnson soon discovered a mutual sense of call. This calling was affirmed at a special meeting of the congregation on June 1, when the congregation voted overwhelmingly to call Johnson as the new pastor.
“The first time the call team met Pastor Kristian, we were convinced that he should be the one to lead our congregation,” said Pete Marinelli, call team lead. “His servant heart, dedication to welcoming everyone into our faith community, and desire to engage with leaders in Bartlett and the surrounding areas to find opportunities for Living Lord to serve our neighbors truly resonated with us. The more we got to know him, it became clear that his values matched ours very closely, and that he was the right person to help us grow in faith and service.”
Johnson brings close to 25 years of pastoral experience to his new call at Living Lord. Most recently, he served as pastor of Pilgrim Lutheran Church and School in the Lincoln Square/Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago, leading the church to grow in many areas over his 12-year tenure.
With a passion for outreach and helping others, Johnson and his spouse, the Rev. Anna-Kari Johnson, also an ordained ELCA pastor, have led a mission trip to assist the people of El Salvador for the past 15 years, involving their entire family and many people from the Chicago area.
“Living Lord is a truly special place rooted in God’s love and full of gifted people,” Johnson said. “It is committed to welcoming all people, growing in faith, and making a difference in the community. I’m excited to see what God has in store for us!”
June 1 began with an uplifting morning of worship led by the Rev. Mark Sundberg, the church’s interim pastor.
Congregation members also enjoyed fellowship time between and after services with Johnson and his family. At noon, Steve Schwarz, congregation president, assisted by the Rev. Carla Thompson Powell, assistant to the bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, led the special meeting to consider the call of Johnson, during which the call team answered questions from the congregation.
By secret ballot, the congregation then voted to call Johnson. “God once again answered our prayers and planted the seeds at Living Lord for new beginnings,” Schwarz said.
The installation service for Johnson will take place at Living Lord Lutheran Church at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14. Bishop Yehiel Curry of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod of the ELCA will lead the special service, in which Johnson will be formally commissioned to his calling in the Living Lord congregation.
The Rev. Sunitha Mortha, assistant to the bishop, will also participate. All are invited to attend this special event in the life of the congregation.
Living Lord Lutheran Church, at 1044 Congress Drive in Bartlett, is an active and lively Christian community growing in faith, love, and service and reaching out into the world as God’s hands and feet. The large church holds two engaging worship services each Sunday and has a long-standing commitment to youth and family ministry, supported by dedicated staff.
The church cultivates a robust music ministry with children’s choirs, a praise team and worship band, and an adult choir, organist, and multiple musicians. In addition to outreach and service activities both within the congregation and in the local community, the congregation equips and sends two mission teams — a youth mission team and an adult mission team — to different regions of the country each year to provide direct, hands-on help to people affected by disasters.
The church also supports global aid and other ministries and missions of the ELCA. Learn more about Living Lord Lutheran Church at livinglordlutheran.org.
As a congregation of the ELCA, Living Lord Church welcomes all to participate in its community of faith.