Our Pastors
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. — St. John 10:27-28
The Lord has blessed Emmaus Evangelical Lutheran Church with faithful pastors who are called to preach His Word and administer His Sacraments - to tend the Lord's flock gathered here. We give thanks to God for the men He has placed in this office among us.
Rev. Ronald Stephens
Pastor - Installed January 26, 2023
Born and raised in Southern California, the Rev. Ronald A. Stephens is a 2004 graduate of Concordia College, Bronxville, NY, where he met his wife, Becky. The Lord has blessed them with five children: four daughters, Evie, Lily, Ava, and Lizzie; and one son, Ronnie.
Receiving pastoral formation at Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, IN, Pastor Stephens served his fieldwork at New Hope Lutheran Church, Ossian, IN, and his vicarage year at St. John's Lutheran Church, East Moline, IL. He received his Master of Divinity in May 2008.
Pastor Stephens received his first Call into the Office of the Holy Ministry as Associate Pastor of Historic Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ft. Wayne, IN, and as Headmaster of her Academy. There he received Holy Ordination on June 15, 2008. While at Zion, he served as a member of a steering committee which oversaw the consolidation of three Lutheran schools into one; the result of which was the conclusion of his duties as Headmaster in June 2009.
In March 2011, Pastor Stephens accepted the Call to serve Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Garfield, NJ, as their pastor and was installed on April 2, 2011. At Holy Trinity he served on the mayor's clerical advisory committee and also oversaw the parish's financial support of Rev. Tom Chryst, former LCMS missionary to Singapore, the Issues, Etc. internet radio program, the Ft. Wayne Seminary, and other outreach projects. His service there ended on December 25, 2017.
He served Zion Lutheran Church of Garrett, IN, as their vacancy pastor from October 2018 to September 2019 before accepting the Call on September 1 to serve Historic St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church and School of Aurora, IN. He was installed on October 19. The majority of his time there revolved around responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. He fought to keep the church and the school open as much as possible; the church never closed. He also worked to instill a distinctly Lutheran identity in the school. On December 11, 2022, Pastor Stephens accepted the Call to serve Emmaus Evangelical Lutheran Church of South Bend as their pastor and was installed on January 26.
Pastor Stephens has served the wider Synod in writing prayers for the Historic Lectionary through the Synod's "LetUsPray" resource, leading Bible Study and preaching for Matins on the KFUO radio program "His Time," having sermons published in the liturgical journal Gottesdienst, as a contributor to the now defunct theological blog "Alien Righteousness," articles published for the online edition of the Lutheran Witness, a few different projects for LCMS Worship, as an editor of The Lutheran Missal, and as a member of the Society of St. Polycarp.
His theological interests include the history, theology, and conduct of the Divine Liturgy; the Sacramental and Christological nature of the Scriptures (especially the Old Testament); Christology in general; Sacramental theology; the history of the early Church; iconography; and the confessional revival of Lutheranism, especially in America.
His non-theological interests include spending time with his family, the Green Bay Packers, good beer, superhero movies (especially Batman), video games (Batman, WWE, and Madden Football), and the TV shows "Lost," "The Office," and "Community."
Rev. Dr. Richard Stuckwisch
Pastor - Installed May 1996
Pastor Stuckwisch has been married 40 years. Over that time he and his wife have shared ten children born (six boys, four girls), three sons and four daughters added by marriage, a son who went ahead of them to heaven from the womb, and twenty-four grandchildren and counting. Ordained in 1996, he has ever since faithfully served this same congregation of Emmaus as a pastor. Since 2022, however, he has served the Church Militant full-time as the president of the Indiana District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. He has a Ph.D. in Liturgical Studies from the University of Notre Dame (2003), and an S.T.M. from Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana.
His interests include Theology, Liturgy, Hymnody, Catechesis, Church History and Tradition, The Lutheran Confessions, Family and Friends, Movies and Music, Harry Potter, Reading to my children, Paul Gerhardt, Guinness (liquid bread), Starbucks (liquid desert), and Cold Stone Creamery (blame it on the Bean).