The Rev. Josh Evans (he/they) has served as pastor of St. John’s since April 2023. Previously, Josh has served congregations in Glenview, Illinois, and Brookfield, Wisconsin, and has also worked as communications director for the Metropolitan Chicago Synod.

Originally from Shelby Township, Michigan (a northern suburb of Detroit), Josh is a lifelong Lutheran, with a mission of creating sacred spaces of welcome and inclusion for all people, regardless of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, religion, ability, or any other barrier that would seek to divide and exclude. They also have a tremendous passion for preaching, liturgy and worship, and spiritual practices and formation.

Josh holds degrees from Concordia University Chicago (B.A., English, 2011) and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (M.Div., 2018) and is a member of Proclaim, a professional membership organization for publicly-identified LGBTQIA+ rostered ministers and seminarians in the Lutheran Church. Josh now resides in Troy, New York, where he lives with his three cats, Sophia, Boris, and Edgar. When they aren’t busy with ministry, Josh enjoys reading, drinking too much coffee, discovering delicious local eats, taking in the splendor of urban beauty, and cheering for the Cubs.