To say John Klawiter’s path to the ministry was anything but traditional would be an understatement. However, the newly appointed senior pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Forest Lake says that his life experiences pre-ministry are the very things that helped shape the kind of pastor he has become.
“I grew up in South Dakota as a pastor’s kid,” Klawiter said. “It was helpful to be able to learn the inner workings of the church at such a young age, but I didn’t initially think that being a pastor was my calling. I felt a calling to serve the world in other ways.”
Klawiter earned an English major from St. Olaf College and when he graduated in 2002, he embarked on a journey to Japan where he taught English for one year. He then came back to the states and married his wife, Taryn. Soon, Klawiter would learn that Japan would not be his last international adventure.
“Taryn and I talked a lot about joining the Peace Corps and she got us all set up with an interview and we were accepted into the program,” he said. “They make you wait one year before you are allowed to go, and so I did some temp work with (financial services firm) Piper Jaffrey during that time.”
When the year wait was over, Klawiter and his wife were dispatched to Uzbekistan. Four months into a planned 2 1/2 year assignment, violence erupted as the political regime battled the natives and all of the Americans were pulled out.
“We could have asked to be reassigned, but we instead decided to come back to America and start fresh,” Klawiter said. “I called a contact I had from Piper Jaffrey and was able to secure work in the financial sector with a company called DST Tass. I stayed there for 3 1/2 years.”
During his stint with DST Tass, the church that Klawiter’s family attended, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran in Hopkins, had need of a treasurer.
“I had the financial background and I was starting to learn the numbers game, and so I thought I would step (up) and take on the role of treasurer,” Klawiter said. “That role brought me deeper into the church, and I started feeling pulled toward the ministry.”
Klawiter was also pulled in a ministerial direction by his Shepherd of the Hills pastor, Dan Nordin.
“Pastor Nordin was someone who could use the gospel to connect social justice with our lives,” Klawiter said. “I decided that if this was something I could preach and be true and responsible to the gospel, then this was something I felt like I could do and genuinely be myself. I felt like I was finally hearing God loud and clear.”
Shortly after Taryn, a nurse by profession, gave birth to the couple’s second of six children (currently ranging in age from 6 months to 9 years), they decided it was time for John to go to seminary. He spent four years at Luther College in St. Paul and, after graduation, took a post at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Roseville.
“I was able to reflect that the traveling abroad and my business background and the diversity of cultures that I had been exposed to were completely valuable to my ministry,” Klawiter said. “I was feeling like I had a bigger view of the world and that was going to help me understand how to relate with people on a personal level. I don’t know how effective as a pastor I could have been if I would have gone straight into ministry.”
Klawiter stepped into the job of senior pastor at Faith Lutheran March 1. The church had been spent two years with temporary pastors following the retirement of Phil Peterson in 2013. Klawiter said that connecting the community to the church and to each other is a large part of the reason he was drawn to Forest Lake.
“I want to be known as somebody that people can talk to and connect with,” Klawiter said. I am somebody who is going to see the bigger picture. I want to know how Forest Lake as a community relates to each other and how are we in this as a community. I want to be able, as a church body and as a community, to respond to the needs that are around us.”
Klawiter said he is confident that he will be able to accomplish his goals as he can already see that the congregation is very strong.
“I applaud the fact that this congregation really stepped up to owning the ministry in between periods of senior pastors,” he said. “I won’t take over, but I will empower, teach, preach and encourage what is already happening.”
Klawiter wants to reinforce the notion that Faith Lutheran is a place where God’s work is being done.
“I want to let people know that Faith is a place where they know that we care about the rest of community and the world,” he said. “My mission is to use the Word of God to make a difference in Forest Lake.”
To implement that mission, Klawiter plans to spend a good amount of time just listening.
“I want to spend time in the community where the people are just listening and learning,” he said. “I want to know the community history, and I want to meet the people, and I want to be able to interact with those people both in and outside of the church.”
So far, Klawiter has been impressed with the church staff and considers Faith a great place to work and Forest Lake a great community to be a part of. He is eager to reach out and begin working with the schools and service and social organizations.
“I want the message to be that we are here because we love you,” Klawiter said. “We are not here to judge you or make you feel uncomfortable. Will everyone always agree? I really doubt it, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find a common purpose with our faith.”