St. John Lutheran Church

I am a native of Benton, IL and was raised in the Southern Baptist tradition. At the age of 15, I began to discern a calling to pastoral ministry. I became involved in different ministries in my church soon after. I started to learn how to preach, teach Sunday school, and administrate over other ministries. Pastor Preston Foster started to mentor me and instruct me in the catechism. At the age of 19 I left the baptist church over theological and ethical disagreements with my pastor.

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I joined Christ the King Lutheran Church and began to work as a youth Sunday school teacher. I enrolled in classes at the Institute of Lutheran Theology (ILT) in fall of 2017. In 2019 I received my Pastoral Ministry Certificate and was accepted into the Master Divinity program. I was allowed to earn dual credit toward a Bachelor of Arts in Ministry. As of June 2022 I have completed my Bachelor’s degree and am on track to graduate with my Master Divinity in 2024.

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In 2020 I was accepted into the NALC Candidacy Process. This is the process the NALC uses to determine if an individual is suited to pastoral ministry. Shortly after my first interview I started doing pulpit supply at Trinity Lutheran Church in Shumway at the request of General Secretary Mark Chavez. Over the next two years I began to take on more pastoral responsibilities. Because I had this experience, the candidacy only required me to serve a six month internship with off-site supervision rather than the traditional year with direct supervision. In addition, St. John’s Lutheran Church of Shelbyville, IL formed a two-point parish with Trinity for the duration of my internship. I have cared for both congregations since June of 2022 and officially ended my internship on November 30th, 2022.

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Now that my internship has ended, I will continue pursuing my M.Div. through ILT. I am excited to proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ among the folks at St. John. I was drawn to this congregation for many reasons. I recognize the various ministries they are already engage in such as your prison ministry, among others. I hope to engage in these and explore other ministries such as NALC Disaster Relief or the Mission District Youth Initiative. My wife is also from Metropolis, which means taking up this office is also a homecoming for us.

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I met my wife Kristin (Foster) at a Chrysalis/ Walk to Emaus Retreat in 2015 after her father introduced us. We were married at St. Paul’s in Metropolis on August 29, 2020. We have small dog named Link and are expecting our first child in may of 2023. We are very excited to raise our child so close to both sets of grandparents and my sister. We look forward to getting to know you all and walking our baptismal journeys with you.

 

Yours in Christ,

Aaron M. Dawson, B.A.M.

Vicar

St. John Lutheran Church, NALC