Faces of Faith: The Rev. David Peters

• Reprints

Senior Pastor Dave Peters inside the Zion Lutheran Church, 17100 S. 69th Avenue in Tinley Park. | Matt Marton~Sun-Times Media

Updated: March 11, 2012 8:00AM

What does he do?

After seeing communion being celebrated at church, 4-year-old David Peters was awestruck.

“I was so awestruck by what happened that Monday morning I asked all my friends to gather at my house” for a communion service, said Peters, who since January 2010 has been the senior pastor at Zion Lutheran Church, 17100 69th Ave., Tinley Park.

“I sat on the couch (that morning dressed in several blankets so it’d look like a pastor’s robe) and gave the kids Ritz crackers and Kool-Aid and said this is what I want to do on Sundays,” Peters said.

How did he get into his job?

Peters, who was born and raised in Milwaukee, said his teachers at the religious schools he attended encouraged him to pursue his dream of becoming a pastor.

After graduating from a Lutheran high school, Peters enrolled at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Ind., where he earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology with minors in speech and drama in 1976.

“I selected courses that I considered (would provide me) the skills related to ministry,” Peters said.

Later, Peters enrolled at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, where he earned his master of divinity degree in 1980. After graduating from the seminary, Peters was part of a campus ministry staff for several years.

Then on March 20, 1983, Peters was ordained in Oshkosh, Wisc., in a ceremony attended by his parents. “There was a lot of pride, tearful pride, from both of my parents,” Peters said. During the service, “I gave both of them a pin to wear as a token of appreciation.”

After his ordination, Peters’ first parish assignment was as an associate pastor in South Dakota for four and a half years followed by several assignments in Wisconsin.

“I then saw the light and went into enemy territory, crossed the border and went to Evanston” (Illinois) to serve as a pastor for a year, Peters said with a laugh. Then two years ago he became the senior pastor of Zion Lutheran.

What’s the best part of the job?

“The day-to-day best part of the job is sharing the gospel to all sorts of people in various situations and conditions, whether preaching, going to hospitals or energizing youth groups. The word gospel translates into good news, and I enjoy bringing goodness from God to people,” Peters said.

What’s the worst part of the job?

“Little things like budgets are a challenge, and it’s no fun sitting in meetings. That’s probably the least enjoyable part. But the death of an infant is the most devastating part of life for anyone, and it’s challenging to be welcome” into people’s lives during such a loss, he said.

What does he do for fun?

“I love to travel domestically and internationally. I’ve been to the Persian Gulf, Iraq and India. I also love to read and to motorcycle as well as see the arts, whether a play or a symphony,” he said.

Peters is single and lives in Frankfort.