You can imagine how tough it must have been for him to start school as a child. It takes 21 letters to spell “Kenneth Streitenberger” if you don’t count his middle name, Dean. That’s pretty intimidating when you’re just learning to use a pen on that grainy paper they give you in elementary school. Ask him now, and he says, “Call me Ken.”
Ken Streitenberger is the Assistant Pastor of Epworth United Methodist Church. A graduate of Ohio University with a master’s degree in theology from Boston University, Ken handles day-to-day administrative functions of the church, as well as preaching, pastoral visits, and service on several of the church’s committees.
Ken began his ministry at Epworth in 1996 after serving several other parishes around Ohio. He is also an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church.
He’s one of the rare people who needs the extra-thick Passport. Ken estimates he’s visited 30 different countries in his life either on personal trips or mission trips, many of those with his wife Sharon at his side. France is his favorite place to visit, followed by Egypt.
But you can tell where in the world Ken feels a real connection. Any time you ask him about his mission trips to the Kafakumba Pastors’ School near Ndola, Zambia, Ken’s voice changes and his face brightens. Ken will tell anyone who’ll listen about that hallowed ground, and Epworth’s support for a school that trains pastors and spreads God’s word through Africa.
Kafakumba Pastors’ School was originally founded by Ken and Lorraine Enright, United Methodist missionaries who went there more than 50 years ago. With Epworth’s help, Kafakumba now has new buildings, banana plantations, a door and window factory, aquaculture, and other business ventures to make the Pastors’ School self-supporting. For the men and women training to be pastors, there’s no tuition, no charge for room and board, and travel expenses are all covered by the school.
His best day in Africa, Ken says, is when he was a part of everything a church can do except for a funeral. “I preached, led worship, served communion, confirmed several youth into church membership, baptized and received six adults into church membership, and baptized more than forty infants and children,” Ken said.
Closer to home, Ken helps guide Epworth’s mission work in Toledo and other parts of the country. He also takes care of Epworth’s buildings and grounds, occasionally trimming a hedge or calling a plumber.
There’s been a shift in Ken’s thinking in the past few years. Instead of trying to direct his ministry the way he thinks it to go, Ken says he now waits for God to reveal the plan and lead him. “It works a lot better that way,” Ken says.
He’s also searching for somebody with a longer last name than his. “14 letters, that’s a lot,” Ken says with a curious smile. “I haven’t met anyone yet with 15.”
You can e-mail Ken Streitenberger at ken(at)epworth.com.
