Bishop Shock of The Allegheny Synod

The Rev. Kevin T. Shock began the work of bishop on February 1, 2026, having been elected during the 2025 Allegheny Synod Assembly. Prior to his election as bishop, he served as Assistant to the Bishop for the Allegheny Synod since 2022, having concurrently served as Director for Evangelical Mission (DEM) from 2022-2023.

Prior to this role, he was Pastor at St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church, Pleasant Gap (2006–2022) and Intern Pastor at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Verona, NY (2004–2005). Before entering ordained ministry, Bishop Kevin worked as Ministry Assistant at Zion Lutheran Church, Hollidaysburg (1998-2002) and as a counselor at Camp Sequanota, Jennerstown (1995). 

Bishop Kevin earned his Master of Divinity degree from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (now United Lutheran Seminary) in 2006 and Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education (English/German) from Juniata College in 1998. 

Despite his strong identity as a central Pennsylvanian Lutheran, Bishop Kevin feels at home in Kevin feels at home in situations that stretch his comfort and understanding. He has lived or traveled on four continents and has worshiped alongside people of various faith traditions. Bishop Kevin believes we learn more about ourselves and about God in learning the stories and experiences of others.

He and his spouse, Lisa Bahr, live in Howard with two dogs (more dogs always pending). Thanks to Lisa, his other passion is animal rescue. Bishop Kevin finds renewal in praying, hiking, bicycling, kayaking, and listening to his record collection.

The Rev. Shock cohost a bible podcast called tend

tend: a bible podcast is a new project of the Allegheny Synod and Sequanota Camp and Conference Center intended to invite all people into discussion with scripture. Each week, Pastor Nathan Pile and Bishop Kevin Shock ask three questions about a text and discuss. The podcast can be used as a tool for personal reflection or for group discussion in congregations or elsewhere. The podcast can also be accessed on these platforms:

Apple listeners: https://tinyurl.com/tendbiblepodcast-apple

Spotify listeners: https://tinyurl.com/tendbiblepodcast-spotify

Website listeners: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2071358.rss

tend can also be found on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/tendbiblepodcast/