Meet your neighbor Pastor Steve Hartman. He is the interim pastor at the Stronghurst and Carman United Methodist Churches.
The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Meet your neighbor Pastor Steve Hartman. He is the interim pastor at the Stronghurst and Carman United Methodist Churches.
He was born in Mount Carroll, to Gerald and Joyce Hartman.
He married his childhood sweetheart, Judy in 1969. They presently live in Andover.
They have a son, Shawn (Angie) who is a landscaper near Springfield and they have two children, Lexi and Desi.
Their daughter, Megan, is married to Tim and they live in Alpha with their two children, Marissa a high school senior (soon to graduate) at Orion and Mikah, an eighth grader. Megan works for Pioneer Seed Company in Woodhull.
Pastor Steve has one brother, Joel, who is a provost at Central Florida University in Orlando , Florida. Joel's wife is the family travel agent and locates great travel deals for family coming for a visit.
Pastor Steve attended school all twelve years in Mount Carroll and did his undergraduate studies at Western Illinois University in Macomb, majoring in music education, with a minor in business education. He earned his first Masters Degree at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb and a second masters at Trinity International University in Deerfield, just north of Chicago. He taught music for ten years in a small school, called Chadwick. He then worked in sales and traveled for ten years.
In 1988 he received his call to the ministry. He lamented that he was "considering continuing to work on his doctorate in Educational Administration' but that process was interrupted by a higher calling.
He thought he had retired in June of 2012, but received a call from the United Methodist Church. Stronghurst and Carman Methodist Churches needed an "interim' pastor. From Andover it is a seventy mile commute, one way to the Stronghurst Parsonage. He tries to make the most of his time here and counts on the loyal volunteers at the churches to help with many of the tasks that need to be done.
On Easter this year the Carman Church, which usually has 30-35 people, had ninety-five people in attendance.
The Stronghurst U.M.C. is a steadfast church, looking into doing more community outreach.
Knowing his time for retirement was coming, back in 2008 Pastor Steve and his wife Judy purchased, in Andover, the [then closed] first Swedish American Methodist Church in the country and have been living in and remodeling it as their home. He is doing a little of the renovation himself.
Pastor Steve and Judy have a time-share in Branson, Missouri and really enjoy a getaway when they can. There are many Christian programs and family oriented activities available in the Branson area. They especially enjoy Silver Dollar City.
His primary hobby is golf, but currently has very little time for that. He won't be able to golf in Henderson County, but Andover has a golf course nearby.
He is greatly enjoying the people of this area, and looks forward to meeting many more.