Pastor Stephen Jennings

Pastor Stephen Jennings
Pastor
sjennings@trinityracine.com

Pastor Jennings loves being with people. He enjoys talking and laughing with them, listening to them, and sharing the good news that Jesus loves them. He knew by the age of sixteen that he wanted to be a pastor. 

Stephen was born in Fort Gordon, Georgia, on the Army base where his parents were stationed. From the base they moved to Hazel Park, Michigan, where Stephen grew up with his sisters. Stephen attended Concordia University Ann Arbor and earned his bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Religion. Then it was on to Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Pastor Jennings did his vicarage at St. John Lutheran Church and School in Ocala, Florida, preaching every week at a local mission congregation established by St. John’s. While living in Ocala, Stephen also met his wife, Jan, St. John’s fourth-grade teacher at the time. They have been blessed with a son, David, who lives in Green Bay with his wife and two children, and with a daughter, Kristen, who lives near the Twin Cities.

After graduation Pastor Jennings accepted a call to Redeemer Lutheran Church in Auburn, New York. He served there for three years before accepting Trinity’s call in late 1988 and has been our pastor ever since. 

Stephen has held a variety of jobs over the years, everything from busing tables to cooking to repairing grandfather clocks. Here at Trinity, Pastor Jennings teaches confirmation classes, offers weekly Bible studies, visits the hospitalized and the housebound, attends church meetings, prepares sermons, and leads worship services.

Besides working at Trinity, Stephen loves spending time with Jan, watching Netflix. He also enjoys cooking, especially on his new grill, the Big Green Egg (ask him about it). And when he can spend time with his grandchildren, Grace and Luke . . . well, it doesn’t get any better than that. 

Pastor Jennings rests in the promises of John 10:27-28. 

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”