As a child growing up in rural south-central Wisconsin, Timothy Casey had a less than stable home life. His mother was married four times. However, he learned the value of hard work and always desired the stability of lasting relationships. At 15, he became a Christian; shortly after, he realized his call to pastoral ministry. Rev. Casey studied Religion at Olivet Nazarene, receiving a B.A. in 1986. Two years later, he received an M.A. In 1990, he was ordained in the Church of the Nazarene, and in 1992, he attended Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston. He has served United Methodist congregations in Nebraska, Plainfield, and Bartlett, IL (his current pastoral post). After suffering an auto accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down and postponed his hope of becoming a full member of the UMC's Northern Illinois Conference in 1998, Rev. Casey became a member in 2001, when the Conference recognized his ordination in the Church of the Nazarene. Rev. Casey and his wife, Becky, have been married for 24 years. They have three children. His family is his greatest joy. "God has blessed us beyond measure...and seen us through the crisis of my disability."