GETTING TO KNOW PASTOR TEDD

Pastor Tedd was born in Topeka, Kansas & grew up in Wichita. He was baptized at the age of 12 by his longtime pastor. He heard a call to full-time ministry at age 17 & later that year preached his first sermon at his home church. He attended Southern Nazarene University as an undergrad and went to seminary at the University of Chicago Divinity School. While in seminary he began serving a church part-time in Northern Illinois and quickly decided to make this area his home.

Pastor Tedd & his wife, Rev. Sherry Steele, married in 2017. Sherry is an ordained deacon serving as the Minister of Faith Formation at Plainfield UMC. Together, they have a big, blended family with five children & two dogs.  Jadyn is the oldest at 19. She is in the first year of the STEPS program, a post-high school program that prepares young adults with special needs for a vocation and independent living. Anna (15) and Nathan (12) attend Plainfield UMC with their mom.  Anna loves drama and choir and Nathan can’t stop talking about, thinking about, and playing baseball.  Sophia is 10 and is looking forward to playing trumpet in middle school next year.  Brooklyn, the youngest at 9, has just taken up piano.  Samson is a chocolate lab who barks at everything that moves and Ella is a pit bull mix who thinks she is a lap dog. In his free time, Tedd is a voracious reader, an avid cook and baker, an amateur photographer, and occasional guitarist.

Tedd is passionate about discipleship.  The church is where God nurtures and develops disciples at all ages and stages. We learn how to live faithfully when we share life in the church. When we worship together, pray together, study together, and serve together, we experience what it means for us to love God and love our neighbor. As the body of Christ, we are compelled to live faithful lives in the world. Tedd is deeply committed to compassion and justice. We are sent out with the mission and ministry of Christ. He looks forward to partnering with you in ministry!