Lutheran pastor takes winding path to pulpit
Staff writer
Pastor Frank Johnson recently was installed as pastor at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Marion. He also will serve Zion Lutheran in Hillsboro.
He was a vicar at Zion for five years before being ordained through a four-year Specific Ministry Pastor program at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. He will complete the formal program in January.
“What I thought my ministry would involve was pulpit supply, filling in as needed,” Johnson said.
“I had no desire to be a full-time pastor,” he said. “It’s a joy.”
He served as a fill-in at Abilene and Strong City, but he was called into a different role.
Between service schedules of the two churches, finishing Our Savior’s 9 a.m. service leaves him a half hour to get to Hillsboro for service at Zion.
A church sharing a minister is a common occurrence in rural Kansas. But for Johnson, accepting the call of a second congregation moved him up the ministry career ladder from vicar to minister.
Johnson is no stranger to Hillsboro, having lived and worked there since 2010.
His first career was higher education.
He spent 15 years as vice president for academic affairs and provost at Tabor College. He was the longest-running academic dean in Tabor’s history.
Before going to Tabor, Johnson worked for Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana; Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Mount Vernon, Ohio; and Sterling College.
When he was in higher education, he never imagined he would end up in ministry, he said.
He’s been a member of Zion Lutheran for five or six years.
“I found my home in the Lutheran Church,” he said. “I’m thankful to the people and God for the opportunity to serve in these places. It’s a privilege I don’t take lightly.”