Pastor Dar and Jan
Dar and Jan Karsten have been married since 1968. They have three children—Kyle, the Executive Director of the Lutheran School Association of Decatur, Illinois; Sara, a Registered Nurse working for “Nurses for Newborns" in St. Louis; and Joel, Sr. Vice President of an insurance agency in St. Louis. All their children are married to Christian spouses and have made Jan and Dar grandparents eight times—5 boys and 3 girls. Family is a top priority in their ministry!
Pastor Dar was ordained as a pastor in 1969 and has served congregations in Wisconsin and Missouri, serving as the pastor of a church in Eureka, MO for 34 years. Since taking retirement in 2006 (which Pastor Dar calls his “re-firement”), he has been working to start new ministries and plant new churches in the Branson/Springfield area of Missouri. He also is involved in a leadership/mentoring process with pastors from that area. Pastor Dar and Jan pray that God will use them effectively in the “Praise and Worship Ministry” now in the Branson area, seeking to bring people into a living and growing relationship with Jesus and other Christians.
Jan is a Registered Nurse and has worked in a long-term senior care facility for over 30 years. She helps conduct health fairs and really enjoys mentoring young women in Christian living. She also has served as a MOPS (Mothers of Preschooler) Mentor Mom for 4 years. God has truly blessed her relationships with these young mothers.
Pastor Dar and Jan have also traveled around the world doing mission work—particularly in India and Central America, most recently—and have conducted marriage retreats and seminars to enrich the marriage and ministry of pastors and lay people. One of their top priorities in ministry is conducting workshops and seminars about “Passing a Christian Legacy” to the next generation. Their ministry has truly taken them worldwide and it has been filled with many blessings from the Lord.
