Kevin Leveck and his wife, Jill, are both Methodist pastors, and while the appointment to lead Nevada's Methodist congregation is Kevin's alone, his wife has already had to come to his rescue with her pastoral abilities.
As he was being interviewed for this story last Thursday, Kevin was just recuperating from a bad case of bronchitis and laryngitis. The Saturday before, he said, "I was at the (Methodist) church stand for the breakfast, and I could feel something coming on." Kevin said he performed what he called a "lovely wedding ceremony" that afternoon at the church, "but it took just about all the voice I had left. I knew when I woke up Sunday morning, I just didn't have much left. And my wife said, "Fine, I'll find something out of my file, and she did fill in quite capably."
The Levecks come to Nevada from Albia, where Kevin had been pastor for the past seven years. Prior to Albia, they had spent 11 years at Scranton. These two longer appointments had followed earlier and shorter appointments at North English, South English and Millersburg in eastern Iowa; Mingo-Farrar, which is not too far south of this area; and Oakland in southwest Iowa.
Jill has taken a number of appointments over the years in churches that are in close proximity to her husband's congregations, but for now, she's not filling a church appointment. She's on a leave of absence from the ministry, her husband explains, to pursue the end of her doctorate studies - a five-and-a-half-year process. "She's now preparing her dissertation. She'd eventually like to teach somewhere," he said.
The Levecks, who follow Pastor Steve Williams and his wife Janet into the parsonage, arrived in Nevada on June 29, and moved into their home the next day. Kevin's first Sunday was July 5, and he feels it went well. "There was a nice crowd and they seemed appreciative. They laughed at my jokes and seemed to be a very friendly congregation," he said.
Kevin goes on to say that he and his wife have been given a very warm welcome. "We had lots of people come to help us move in, had meals brought to our house, a couple folks invited us to their homes for meals ... our welcome here has been very warm, we've been very pleased."
The Levecks have two daughters, Jennifer, 27, of Solon, is a librarian. Anne, 25, works as the assistant manager at the Movies 12 theatres in Ames. Kevin said Anne will be living with her parents in Nevada now. "Logistically, this move has really done some good things for us. We're much closer to family now than we've ever been," he said.
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Kevin grew up mostly in Aurora, Ill., which is located just west of Chicago. He graduated both from high school and college there. The college, he said, used to be Aurora College and is now known as Aurora University. He studied seminary in Evanston, Ill., where he met his wife, who is originally from Des Moines. "Before we got married, we decided we would come to Iowa, and I haven't looked back since," he said.
Kevin laughs when he's asked how he came to be a pastor. "I guess you could say one reason I'm here is because I failed math."
When he entered college, Kevin began as a math major, saying at that time, the math/computer field was wide open. "But college math turned out to be very much over my head, so I was taking some philosophy and religion courses at that time, and decided maybe I was starting off in the wrong direction."
The more coursework he did in philosophy and religion, Kevin said, the more suitable he found it. He said he also was very close to a pastor in his hometown. "He always had time for me, and that made an impact too."
As a pastor, Kevin said there are a lot of things he enjoys. He loves leading worship, preaching. He loves the opportunities to teach, especially confirmation and bible study.
"I enjoy the visiting I do with folks. I like to hear the stories that people tell, particularly older folks, about what life used to be like for them when they were younger. I like sharing the gospel, letting people know there is a God who loves them, and that there was one who came who showed that love upfront and personally.
"I believe strongly in the message of grace that's in the Bible, and any time I can share that with someone, it's a joy."
Along the way, Kevin said he's become active in some issues that are close to his heart. One is the issue of hunger. "I've been involved in CROP walks over the years and have organized a lot of them over the years."
He also is passionate about the Methodist camp programming. "We now have three church camps. The one I'm involved with is Wesley Woods (near Indianola), and once a year, I go down there and organize an event that lasts three days and involves second- and third-grade children. We offer them the love of God in an outdoor setting." If Kevin made it past his bronchitis, he was scheduled to be at Wesley Woods this week.
In thinking about his new congregation and his job as pastor of the congregation, Kevin said he has set a goal for himself - to find out how this church works and build upon the ministry that has been built, particularly by former pastor Steve Williams and other previous pastors.
Kevin speaks highly of Williams, saying their friendship goes back quite a few years. "When I heard I was following him, I was very happy about that. Whatever ministry Steve performed here, I'm sure he set a pretty good table for me. Now, I need to find out where this church can continue to grow in mission and discipleship."
Though it's still very early in his ministry at Nevada's First United Methodist Church, Kevin said he's encouraged by what he sees and by what he has heard. "Everything ... tells me they're very active and very committed in mission and ministry. I feel very fortunate to have been appointed here."
When it comes to the community of Nevada, Kevin also feels fortunate. "The town is beautiful and has a lot to offer in terms of comforts and services. What's really nice is I can just walk a few steps outside of my door, and within a couple minutes be at a restaurant, a bank ... there are many things within easy walking distance, and that's been very nice."
"The people here in town," he adds, "the ones we have met have been very gracious toward us. We have a very positive feeling about the church and community."
