When David Kettner stepped to the Salem Lutheran Church pulpit for the first time in June 1989, he told the congregation he was here to stay. The thought of ministering in a small town and a close-knit church family was intriguing to him and his wife, Tana.
The Kettners later found that small-town life would be very important to them.
“I grew up in a big city, (Lee’s Summit) but I like what a small town offers and how it can help raise a family,” Kettner said. “I just love small towns. We have no desire to go back to a big city.”
True to his word, Kettner stayed, raised three children, is a grandfather to one – soon to be two -- and has worked with the congregation and the community to make the church and Dent County area stronger.
The church celebrated his 25th anniversary this past Sunday. To Kettner the church is home, the congregation is there in the good and bad times and makes life enjoyable in Dent County.
The church has also grown physically, through a three-stage building project and in membership. All of the Kettner family has been involved in community activities. Tana is a teacher and former girls’ basketball coach, Rachel, Hannah and Jacob participated in high school sports and helped in community activities. David is there when needed and helps promote local events and people.
“We love this community, and the church is like one extended family,” Kettner said. “We celebrate the good times and are there for each other in sadness.”
Kettner started his local ministry June 18, 1989, when he followed the Rev. Norman Ellerman, who served as an interim pastor from Feb. 1989 to June 1989.
Salem Lutheran Church had its first dedication service on July 30, 1950. Some may recall former pastors including Rev. Paul Barth from 1954-1956, Rev. Armin Schroeder from 1956-1958 and 1962-1965, Rev. Martin Rohlfing from 1958-1961, Rev. Peuster from 1965-1978, Rev. Walter Snyder from 1978-1980, Rev. James E. Otte from 1980-1986, Rev. Robert Rossow from February 1986 to February 1989 and Rev. Ellerman from Rolla.
Kettner was born in Lee’s Summit, and is the son of Wilbert and the late Mary Kettner. He graduated from Lee’s Summit High School in 1981 and received his bachelors of arts in history-political science from Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas. Following college graduation, he enrolled at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, Ind. After his second year, he married Tana (Green) of Hill City, Kansas, whom he met in college. They moved to Boulder, Colo., where he served as Vicar (intern) at Mt. Hope Lutheran Church under the guidance of Rev. Harold Reiss. Their first daughter, Rachel, was born in Boulder just before they returned at Ft. Wayne for David's fourth and final year of seminary training, and he received his Masters of Divinity degree and his call to Salem Lutheran Church in May of 1989.
David and Tana had two more children who were born in Rolla and also raised in Salem. Hannah was born in 1991 and Jacob in 1994. In 1994 David accepted a second call to serve a dual parish with Holy Cross Lutheran Church, in Houston, and has served that church for the past 20 years.
The pastor and Tana have fond memories of having both of their daughters being married at Salem Lutheran Church, with their father officiating. They anticipate the baptism of their second grand-baby, Hannah and Luke Heithold’s child, at the church in December. Kettner had the privilege of baptizing his first granddaughter at Zion Lutheran Church in Cologne, Minn., in February.
"This church has become our extended family, and the members have not only partnered with us in the message of the Gospel of Jesus, but have helped us raise our children, and have shown incredible love and support for our family through the years,” Tana Kettner said.
