Beloved pastor dies after suffering injury on cruise ship at son's wedding

Weeks after suffering a cervical spinal cord injury and nearly drowning during his son’s wedding celebration aboard a cruise ship in Italy, Pastor Steve Junker of Chippewa Lutheran Church in Brandon, Minnesota, has died. He was 58.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Read online   Support The Christian Post September 12, 2026 Beloved pastor dies after suffering injury on cruise ship at son's wedding Weeks after suffering a cervical spinal cord injury and nearly drowning during his son’s wedding celebration aboard a cruise ship in Italy, Pastor Steve Junker of Chippewa Lutheran Church in Brandon, Minnesota, has died. He was 58. Read more › A message from Upward Sports How Your Church Can Reach Families Through Sports Ministry An intentional way to create repeated touchpoints with children, parents, and families, while keeping ministry leadership with the local church. What if outreach created relationships, not just attendance? Learn more › Skillet’s John Cooper says he endured ‘brutal’ abuse from church of 30 years, depression that inspired ‘After the Storm’ Read more › Labor Day: How the mov't became a national holiday Read more › Jonathan Cahn says violent exchange on airplane was caused by 'forces of darkness' Read more › Why Christianity can be proven wrong — and most religions can't Read more › A message from Upward Sports How Your Church Can Reach Families Through Sports Ministry An intentional way to create repeated touchpoints with children, parents, and families, while keeping ministry leadership with the local church. What if outreach created relationships, not just attendance? Learn more › When vulgarity becomes ordinary: What the F-word says about us Read more › Trump promises $5K 'Trump dividend' to every American if GOP keeps Congress Read more ›   CP RECOMMENDS What Do Human Trafficking, Adult Entertainment, and Gay Rights Have in Common? On the surface, modern society appears quite complicated. While a litany of important issues clutter our social feeds and news sites every day, Scripture continually brings us back to the things that really matter Learn more › Free Report: Why are they changing their tune now? Central banks and major institutions have quietly accumulated massive physical gold reserves for real protection while Americans were told no. Now advisors can no longer ignore gold’s global rise. Learn more › Microsoft Office 2024 Professional Plus for Windows: Lifetime License - $49.97. It provides a comprehensive and stable productivity suite for organizations that prefer a traditional perpetual license model. This version offers the complete set of Office applications with advanced features, while maintaining consistent functionality without frequent feature updates. Learn more › *This is sponsored content   And, that's a wrap See you next week. - CP Editors     Donate | Latest News | Podcasts | Events | Advertising | Shop | Subscribe   © 2026 The Christian Post, INC. All rights reserved. 6200 2nd Street NW Washington, DC 20011, United States Manage preferences | Unsubscribe