by Mari Radtke
Pastor John Wesley Shungu Umatuku earned his appointment as Pastor to the Sutherland and Larrabee United Methodist Church in June 2024. The official appointment came during the last session of the Iowa Annual Conference. This is the first church to which Pastor Shungu is a full pastor.
Pastor Shungu’s appointment was made by Bishop Kennetha Bigham-Tsai. Supervising the Iowa Conference and oversight of all activities within the cabinet of the five Iowa districts are her duties. Bishop Bingham-Tsai is supervised by Reverend Doctor Jaye Johnson, Superintendent of Congregational Excellence and New Communities of Faith.
Pastor Shungu’s faith tells him to “serve the Lord. Go. Preach good news.” He was given a calling and appointed to serve at the Sutherland and Larrabee UMC. These churches were identified as a place where he is needed. Pastor Shungu arrived in Sutherland in June. He and his wife Bernice have two sons, ages 6 and 3, and expecting a third.

Pastor began his duties in Sutherland and Larrabee July. He had very little time to make a transition from the big city life of Lincoln, NE, from where he and his family come from, to the rural life of northwest Iowa. “We are soldiers of the Lord. We are dedicated to serve the way God wants,” John Wesley says of the big life changes. “We are prepared as ministers to live with reality on the ground. We are called to serve church and community. To feed the sheep. We first seek the Kingdom of God then you will be given. Other things come after.”
While in Lincoln, Pastor was earning his Master of Business Administration, Management from University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Prior to earning his MBA, his life was spent in service to God. As a youth in Democratic Republic of Congo he began his service to God through engagement. He became a leader, followed by getting elected to the circuit level. That was followed by advancing to a youth leader at the district level. He became Secretary of Youth at the conference level. From 2009 through 2018 John Wesley was assigned by the Bishop as Administrative Secretary. He trained as a lay-servant, level I in Congo. He could preach and minister. He advanced to lay-servant level II. This position is also in leadership of a church. He served in this position in Forest City, Iowa. He translates from English to French or French to English. He earned his license in Dubuque, Iowa. He is now assigned as a full pastor.
Pastor’s undergraduate degree was earned in Leadership & Peach in Zimbabwe. His education continued in Congo earning another undergraduate degree in IT Management.
There are many considerations when developing a service to a flock. Pastor Shungu describes his method as determining a balance of church calendar and the needs of the community. He goes on to say, “As Christians, leadership changes. Our faith should not change.” The goal of the church is to entertain and maintain the mission within the church. This is not a destination. It is an on-going process. There are those before us, and those who will come after us. We are to make disciples.” Preaching from the Bible is what Pastor believes people want. They want to get the Word of God from the Bible. The Word of God is the food and it continues to feed the soul. As a shepherd, Pastor says, “We are there to sustain, feed, visit the sick, grieving and even during happiness. We are accepting to be available for Christ; for these people. I have accepted that call.”
To make The Word available to the flock Pastor publishes a monthly newsletter. John Wesley quoted Jesus, “The field is big but there are few people, few workers.” He followed up with, “I am happy to be here to serve the communities of Sutherland and Larrabee. To serve God’s people and continue making disciples of Jesus Christ.”
Pastor John Wesley speaks six languages: French is his second language. It is the official language of education and administration in Congo. He also speaks English, Tshiluba, Lingala, a little Swahili and his mother language, Otetela. Over 100 languages are spoken in Congo.
Pastor puts language and God into very simple terms. God is God of many languages. From another language there are many different experiences to see and the diversity God has created those experiences from prior places.
Everyone is welcome at Sutherland and Larrabee United Methodist Churches.