From Plumber to Pastor

Pastor Steve Palm saw something in Ryan Shannon. He had the realization while observing Ryan’s adult Sunday school class. He was impressed by Ryan's vast biblical and theological knowledge and his ability to teach it to others. When the class ended, he approached him.  

“I could see God putting a call on your life to full-time ministry,” Steve said. It was the first time in Ryan’s life anyone had ever said anything like that to him.  

Ryan was a union plumber by trade. Before becoming a plumber, he worked as an operating engineer, handling heavy equipment like cranes and bulldozers. At the time, he traveled a lot, but he grew tired of it and wanted to settle down and raise a family. That drive compelled him to join a plumber’s apprenticeship. 

Growing up, Ryan rarely went to church. His family attended during the holidays and for weddings and funerals, but that was about it. Later in his 20s, he sensed he wasn’t living a life that was pleasing to God. His friend invited him to church, and after several months of hearing the Word, Ryan gave his life to Christ at age 27. From that point on, his life radically changed. He voraciously studied God’s Word, continued attending church and shared his faith with others.  

Two years later, he met his wife, Emily, and they started to attend Geneseo Evangelical Free Church (EFCA) in Geneseo, Illinois. In the first year, Ryan didn’t seek out leadership or service-related positions; he was content allowing the Lord to work through him in the plumbing trade. 

One day, an elder approached him and asked if he would consider substitute teaching one of his Sunday school classes while he was on vacation. Ryan hadn’t taught a Sunday school class before, but he was open to trying, so he agreed. He taught classes for six months until one Sunday, Pastor Steve decided to stop by and make an observation.  

A leader developing leaders 

In 1987, Steve Palm stood in the cafeteria line at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS), waiting to snag a hamburger, when a professor approached him with an offer he couldn’t refuse: teach homiletics at TEDS and work toward a second master’s degree in practical theology. 

“I wanted to help shape and mold the next generation of preachers,” Steve said.  

When Steve entered into ministry, this experience training new pastors fueled a passion in him for developing the next generation. After his fellowship, he became a pastor himself, leading several Free Churches until God called him to Geneseo. When he arrived, leadership at Geneseo recognized the lack of sufficient staff and tasked Steve to make it a priority to train and equip leaders within the church.  

When he saw Ryan teach in Sunday school six months after he arrived, it was like God handed him a gift. 

In the fall of 2017, Steve planned to go on vacation, so he approached Ryan. 

“Have you ever thought about preaching from the pulpit?” Steve asked. 

“That’d be wild,” Ryan said, “But no, I’ve never thought about it.” 

“Let’s find a day,” Steve said.  

In October, Ryan preached for the first time, and Steve was amazed. He considered Ryan a natural, but before he would let him preach again, he wanted to give him feedback. He scheduled a time to sit down with Ryan, watch the video of his sermon and give Ryan feedback from the congregation.  

“Watching myself teach and preach was one of the most painful experiences of my life,” Ryan said.  

Still, Ryan absorbed the feedback and learned from his strengths and weaknesses. Steve points to Ryan’s teachability and humility as key qualities in the leadership development process.   

“Having a teachable spirit is the most mission-critical thing,” Steve said. “If they’re not teachable, they’re not reachable.” 

Before Ryan went to preach for the second time, Steve cautioned him not to be overwhelmed—learning how to preach takes a long time. When Ryan finished his second sermon, however, Steve was amazed again. 

“He hit it out of the park,” Steve said.  

A fork in the road 

Throughout his training, Ryan received affirmation from the congregation as well. A year and a half into Ryan’s time serving in the church, several from the congregation approached Steve and the elders about hiring Ryan full-time as a pastor. At one point, a church member approached his wife and said, “Are you ready to share your husband with the congregation?”  

Despite this, Ryan was still moving fast through the plumbing trade. He completed his five-year apprenticeship, and his instructors asked if he’d consider teaching full-time. The teaching position meant better job security and higher pay, as well as a pension and other benefits. This appealed to Ryan, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that God was calling him elsewhere.  

After prayer and consideration, Ryan decided he wanted to serve the church. Shortly after turning down the teaching job at the plumber’s union, Geneseo offered him an associate pastor job. He accepted. 

When Ryan told his supervisor—who was not a Christian—that he was quitting his plumbing job to become a pastor, his supervisor caught him by surprise.  “I could see you going into ministry full-time,” he told Ryan. That felt like the final affirmation. 

Life as a pastor 

After Ryan became the associate pastor at Geneseo, Steve wanted him to pursue ordination with the EFCA. To do that, he enrolled in EFCA GATEWAY and applied for ordination afterward. When it came time for his ordination council meeting, he sat before several pastors in the EFCA Great Lakes District as they asked him biblical and theological questions. As he would later admit, that was one of the hardest parts in his journey to becoming a pastor, but the process strengthened him, and after a several-hour process, he passed and earned his EFCA ordination. 

Now with several years of pastoral ministry under his belt, Ryan is thankful to Steve for taking that first step in seeing something in him and calling it out. Ryan gives Steve credit for paying attention, noticing something in him and then inviting him deeper into discipleship that propelled him on his path into ministry leadership. 

Benefits of building leaders 

Now, Steve has time to focus on other matters in his ministry and life, and the congregation has thanked him for mentoring and building leaders. 

“Before, the congregation would say to me after I got back from vacation, ‘Oh pastor, don’t ever do that to us again. That was awful.’” Steve said. “But now they say, ‘I heard you’re going on vacation. I hope you have a great time.’” 

Steve has also received calls from local churches in the region, asking him if they can borrow Ryan to fill the pulpit or help in a crisis. Steve sees this as a win for the community and the church.  

In a climate where the number of qualified pastors is significantly decreasing, Steve reflected on why more churches don’t raise up more pastors from their own congregations. On the one hand, he admitted there was a time when his own church wouldn’t have considered a pastoral candidate without a seminary degree. But he also wondered if lead pastors worry too much about, “What if this new pastor is better than me and replaces me?”   

That hasn’t been his experience—instead, he’s seen deeper cooperation between his pastoral staff and greater appreciation from the congregation.  

With two church members discipled and placed into pastoral roles, Steve continues to look for more opportunities to equip leaders for roles in the church.   

“I just want to continue to raise up leaders and train them for ministry.”