Open house planned for pastor's 25th anniversary

The Fox River Lutheran Church community is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Pastor Kevin Garner.

Kevin and Susan both grew up on farms in East Central Illinois, near Watseka. Kevin has been serving as pastor of Fox River Lutheran Church in Norway since March1994, and has spoken at numerous special meetings, evangelistic rallies, and family or youth Bible camps and retreats. His sermons are broadcast each Sunday morning on two area radio stations, WCMY at 7:15 a.m. and WSPY (Plano) at 8 a.m., and have an outreach to approximately two million people.

Following graduation from Watseka High School, Kevin attended Illinois Wesleyan University, where he received a bachelor’s degree focusing on world religions in 1985. Kevin then returned to Watseka, where he farmed with his father, worked in a grocery store, and substitute taught in the area school districts. Having accepted Christ in 1984 at the age of 21, Kevin became involved in Christian ministry in his home congregation by teaching Sunday School and helping lead the youth group in his community through a jail ministry at the county jail. Kevin felt God calling him to seminary in 1991, and he graduated from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield in 1993 with a Master of Divinity degree. He was a recipient of the Lloyd Perry Preaching Award at Trinity that year.

In 1993, Kevin married Susan. They met at their home congregation, Faith Lutheran Church in Watseka, and worked together as youth group leaders for a couple years. Susan is a licensed clinical social worker and a certified alcohol and drug counselor, who currently has a part-time Christian counseling practice, Sonlight Counseling, in Ottawa, offering professional counseling with a Christian perspective. She graduated from Aurora University with a master’s degree in social work in 1997 and has worked as a therapist at various agencies, including North Central Behavioral Health Systems, Iroquois Mental Health, ADV/SAS, and Guiding Light Hospice. Prior to their marriage, Susan had worked as a legal secretary and as an executive secretary/administrative assistant at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Film Ministry in Minneapolis, at Samaritan’s Purse & World Medical Mission in Boone, N.C., and at Iroquois Memorial Hospital in Watseka.

An open house for Kevin and Susan is planned for 1:30 p.m. Sunday, March 31, at Fox River Lutheran Church. Those who cannot attend can send cards to the church at 2785 US Rt. 71, Sheridan, IL 60551.