Greetings, my name is Pastor John Schwartz. God has blessed me throughout my life on my way to being a pastor. Let me share with you how God has shaped my life leading me to have the privilege of being the pastor of Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church in Pierre, SD.

I was born in the crisp autumn air in Sioux Ste. Marie, MI in October of 1990. A week later my parents had me baptized at church. If God hadn't started creating faith in me yet, he did when I was baptized. 

The first church I remember going to was not in Sioux Ste. Marie, MI, but Trinity in Watertown, WI because we moved when I was very young. At Trinity I fell in love with singing hymns, hearing God's Word, and helping out around church. Even at an early age, a heart for serving God was being fostered within me.

I wouldn't realize that being a pastor was what I wanted to do until high school. I attended Luther Preparatory School in Watertown, WI. (It is one of two WELS high schools whose focus is to train pastors and teachers.) There I grew in God's Word more and was encouraged to become a pastor. During my junior year, each student had to teach the rest of the class a chapter from the Bible. I remember sitting in the library with the Bible, commentaries, and my notes open. I had so much joy studying God's Word and preparing to teach it to others that I wanted to do that for the rest of my life!

I gradutated from high school in 2009 and moved on to Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN. At Martin Luther College I was taught the basics of being a pastor. We focused on learning God's Word, including learning Greek and Hebrew in order to read the Scriputers in the original languages. In May of 2013, I graduated from MLC with a Bachelor of Science in Biblical Languages, but I wasn't ready to be a pastor yet.

After college I attended Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, WI for four more years. Three of those years was on campus using those biblical languages to study God's Word even more and learning further what it means to be a pastor. The remaining year was spent vicaring (similar to interning) at St. John's in Mukwonago, WI. In the spring of 2017 I was called to be the pastor of Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church. I thank God for being with me throughout my life, keeping me close to his Word so I may serve him as a pastor.

I've been serving God's people in Pierre since teh summer of 2017. What a joy it has been serving God as my faith continues to grow as I learn, teach, and preach God's Word to and alongside the member of Redeemer Church.

God has blessed other parts of my life including my family life. In the summer of 2014 God blessed me with a wonderful wife. Then in the winter of 2016 God blessed my wife and me with a baby boy. Then in the spring of 2019 God blessed us again with a baby girl. Our lastest family blessing came in the summer of 2021 with another baby boy.

Now that you know more about me, I would like to know more about you. Please join us hearing God's Word at Redeemer, God's house--your home. I'll be there, welcoming you home.