Our regular writers will come mainly from our Partner ministries.
Albers, Jessica
Jessica Albers is the 6th generation of her family to serve the LCMS in professional ministry. Her 15-year career has focused primarily on strategic ministry growth. In 2022, Jessica completed the Director of Church Ministries program through Concordia Wisconsin and in 2023 she joined Lutheran Bible Translators as Social Media + Content Coordinator.
4 Posts
Anderson, Carol & Paul
Carol & Paul Anderson are University of Minnesota graduates: Carol (Elem. Ed), Paul (B.S./Ph.D. Biochemistry). Paul retired in 2001 after 30 years research/teaching at the U of MN Medical School-Duluth. Active members of First Lutheran Church, Duluth, MN, they are involved in many programs and initiatives. They have 3 children and 3 grandsons.
1 Post
Breidenbach, David
Spiritual Orphans’ story speaks deeply to Pastor David Breidenbach. Raised in an agnostic household, David heard the Gospel for the first time during a Good Friday service in 1992. Touched by this experience, he quit his broadcasting career to become a Lutheran pastor. He has been Executive Director of SON since 2015.
3 Posts
Burney, Phil
Phil Burney Has been a part of the Mission Team at Christ the King Lutheran Church, Dodge City, KS, since it formed in 1999, and the chairman of the team much of that time. He is a retired postal worker, and previously served on the Board of ALWM.
0 Posts
Byars, Chris
Pastor Chris Byars is a native of Grand Forks, ND. He and his wife, Dawn, have 6 children, ages 15 to 7. Graduated from Luther Seminary (2007) and ordained (2008), he has served congregations in Florida, Indiana and Wisconsin, and currently at St. John's Lutheran Church, Gillett, WI.
0 Posts
Chim, Pich "Sam"
Pich Chim (Pastor Sam) is the leader of LCMC Cambodia. Born in a Buddhist family, he became a Christian in 1987. In 1992 (age 16), he began to preach and plant churches with his father. He splits his time between Cambodia and Canada, where his wife and two sons reside.
0 Posts
Derricks, Elliot and Serena
Elliot and Serena Derricks have served since 2018 in Cameroon in Bible translation and literacy. They work alongside a local language group, revising their New Testament, translating the Old and increasing literacy rates community wide. They have 3 children, Lydia, Josephine and Chikodi.
0 Posts
Dorfmeyer Karen
Karen Dorfmeyer has served at her church for many years as a leader and a teacher. She has a passion for children’s ministry and missions. Karen has participated in seven short-term mission trips to Hong Kong and to the countries of Haiti, Russia, Latvia and Viet Nam.
0 Posts
Eldred, Lea
Lea and husband Paul are second career missionaries and served in Turkey for 12½ years. Now living in Southern Minnesota, they serve as Midwest Representatives for ALWM. They speak at churches, Christian schools/events, and give workshops on missions or Biblical archaeology/history. They have 3 grown children and 8 grandchildren.
1 Post
Gassman, Philip
Dr. Philip Gassman is an Environmental Scientist at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, and a 24-year member of Ascension Lutheran Church (ALC). He has been involved with the ALC Evangelism and Missions team for nearly 15 years and currently is ALC’s Evangelism/Missions (EM) team leader.
1 Post
Gemachu, Dagaga
Rev. Dagaga Gemachu (MA) is a NALC Global worker and lead pastor of the Oromo Christian Fellowship Nairobi (OCFN). His focus is on evangelization and discipleship of refugees in the local area and its outreach to the Borana community in northern Kenya. He and his wife, Bruktawit, have one son.
1 Post
Groethe, Kent
Kent Groethe has pastored for 35 years and presently serves Living Word Lutheran Church in Milbank, SD. Kent is director of Bible Alive Ministries and was the founder/ executive editor of Connections magazine for 10 years. He has authored 10 books & numerous study guides. He and wife Kay have 3 children and 4 grandchildren.
0 Posts
Gronewold, Carmen
Carmen Gronewold has been involved with human trafficking issues since 1996 when WMPL sent her to Nepal to serve with Peace Rehabilitation Center (PRC), a Nepali charitable organization dedicated to fighting and preventing sexual exploitation. In October 2009, she became the PRC Associate Director for North America.
1 Post
Grulke, Carl and Kelsey
Rev. Carl and Kelsey Grulke have been missionaries with LBT since 2016. They share a love for the Word of God and for helping it come alive in the hearts of those who hear the Good News. Carl and Kelsey have served in Botswana since 2018. Carl is currently working as Exegete and Project Coordinator and Kelsey as Scripture Engagement Coordinator among the people of Botswana.
0 Posts
Hanson, Nathan
Nathan Hanson has been a pastor in over a dozen rural congregations, serving since his ordination in 1984. His experiences have been expanded by mission opportunities and ministry working with chemical dependency. He lives in Vining, Minnesota with his wife, Ruth. They have 3 grown children.
1 Post
Heber, Rebecca
Pastor Rebecca Heber, ordained in 1987, served as an early member of the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee, Provisional Dean of the Sonshine Mission District, and on the NALC Executive Council. She and her husband, Pastor Bill Heber, planted OASIS Church, the first NALC church in Florida, in September 2010.
1 Post
Hinz, Seth
Seth Hinz joined Lutheran Bible Translators as Director for Branding + Marketing in March 2023. For over 14 years he has helped churches, schools and ministries develop marketing strategies. He is a founder of the resource Facebook group Lutheran Communicators, and became a StoryBrand Certified Guide in 2019.
0 Posts
Isaacson, David
Dr. David Isaacson (PhD), Melbourne, Australia, is an educational professional and consultant in eLearning and educational technology. He consults for educational institutions and corporations, specializing in learning design, training and compliance. He is also the chief research and grant writer for FOMM.
2 Posts
Johnson, Jackie
Jackie (Corlett) Johnson designs artisanal textiles and crafts in Bangladesh since 1989 and runs her Business as Mission venture, Motifhandmade.com, since '98. Through WMPL friends she met Jay Johnson in 2001, and they wed in '03. Jackie's now grafted into the WMPL family and happily serves as secretary on the board.
0 Posts
Kinser, Lucas
Pastor Lucas Kinser has been in ministry for 14 years, serving as a youth pastor, outreach pastor and associate pastor. He has served at Faith Community Lutheran Church in Longmont, Colorado, for the past 10 years. He and his wife have a 3-year-old daughter, Lilly.
0 Posts
Kraft, Shannon Lee
Shannon Lee Kraft has been a missionary to Bolivia and beyond since 1998, and is currently based in Chiclayo, Peru, on South America’s northern coast. In 2010, she and her husband Nicolas founded Go Missions International. Currently, they run a discipleship and renewal center called Casa del Alfarero, “The Potter’s House”.
1 Post
Kuentz, Jennifer
An 11-year member of St. John Lutheran Church, Boerne, TX, Jennifer desires to serve to the glory of God. An active member of many committees, she enjoyed serving on the Mission Committee under Janet Blackburn’s leadership and became Chairman in January 2023.
0 Posts
Leiyoole, Julia & Vincent
Julia and Vincent work in the Samburu area of northern Kenya, showing The Jesus Film to unreached people in these isolated areas. They maintain the WMPL mission station, work on building projects, provide discipleship to leaders, and operate Outreach Mission Team, the non-governmental organization (NGO) they founded in 2016.
1 Post
Lerseth, David
Pastor David Lerseth served parishes in Rosholt, SD; Bartonville (Peoria), IL; and Aberdeen, SD. He also served as an assistant to the Bishop in the former Iowa District of the ALC and as Executive Director of the ELCA Office for Global Mission Support. He is the founder and current Executive Director of Friends of Madagascar Mission (FOMM).
2 Posts
Lindquist, Chuck
Chuck and his family served with the World Mission Prayer League (WMPL) since 1976, both in Ecuador and in the Prayer League's home office in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He most recently served WMPL as its General Director. Chuck and Cindy retired in 2017 and live in Minneapolis.
0 Posts
Madsen, Kristopher
Rev. Kristopher Madsen (NALC & LCMC), a pastor for 13 years, currently serves as senior pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Ridgecrest, CA. He and his wife, Jenn, have three children. He enjoys watching baseball, trying to golf, and off-roading with the family in their jeep on the trails of the upper Mojave Desert.
0 Posts
Miles, Carol
Carol Miles and husband Tommy, both nurses, cared for refugees in Cambodia, provided healthcare for Navajo children in Arizona, and served as missionaries in Vietnam. They formed Vital Link for Humanity, leading teams to Vietnam for 30 years. Carol and Tommy have 5 children and reside in Gulf Shores, AL.
1 Post
Miller, Amy
Rev. Amy Godshall-Miller is a pastor in the North American Lutheran Church and has been a Lutheran pastor for 34 years. She serves with her husband John at Christ Lutheran Church in DuBois, PA. They previously served congregations in Reading, PA, Baltimore, MD, and on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
1 Post
Moberly, Bill
Rev. Bill Moberly, director of Awakening Lives to World Missions (ALWM), helps churches with global mission outreach. He authored Igniting a Passion for Missions: A Guide for Church Leaders. He and wife Sally have 7 children, 21 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren, and have traveled to 23 countries to share the Gospel and equip leaders.
8 Posts
Negassa, Dure
Dure has served the displaced/destitute Ethiopian Oromo Christians living in Kenya for 24 years. As a visionary of the North Kenya mission outreach, operated by the Oromo Christian Fellowship in Nairobi (OCFN), her focus is harvesting souls and planting churches. Dure is married to Dr. Asfaw Kumssa, an international economist.
0 Posts
Phan, Van
Van Phan has served as part-time project manager for ALWM for their Vital Links ministry in Vietnam since 2005. He is also a teacher and translator. He and his wife, Thuy, and their children, Peter and Anna, live in Ho Chi Minh City.
0 Posts
Rabenasolo, Lanto
Lanto Rabenasolo, FOMM Program Director in Madagascar, has 38 years experience with church-related organizations, strategic and organizational work, and in Christian leadership. He is a deacon in the Ambatovinaky Lutheran Church. A multi-disciplinary manager with background in Economics and Micro-management from the University of Antananarivo Madagascar, he served 22 years with SALFA.
1 Post
Raun, Don
Don Raun served as a Lutheran Brethren missionary in Chad for 40 years. After retiring from the mission field, he wrote a number of books and taught study groups. After the homegoing of Orpha, his wife of 62 years, he remarried and currently lives in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.
0 Posts
Rodewald, Mike
Dr. Mike Rodewald, retired Executive Director of Lutheran Bible Translators, was a missionary in Liberia (1981-87) before pursuing graduate studies in the U.S., where he met his wife, Cindy (who was also preparing to serve in Bible translation). They served in Liberia, then later served for 15 years with the Kalanga Bible translation project in Botswana. Mike has a Ph.D. in missiology from Concordia Theological Seminary.
0 Posts
Rudowske, Richard
Rev. Dr. Rich Rudowske serves as Executive Director for Lutheran Bible Translators since January 2023. In 2013, he served as Regional Director for Southern Africa before returning to the U.S. in 2014 as Director of Program Ministries and Chief Operating Officer at LBT’s international office.
0 Posts
Schoelles, Douglas
After 30 years of ministry, Pastor Douglas is more excited than ever about reaching people with the Gospel and seeing the life transforming power of the Holy Spirit as people grow as disciples. He has served congregations in Texas, California and now Indiana. He podcasts the Daily Plunge.
0 Posts
Shields, Matt
Pastor Matt Shields is an ordained LCMC pastor currently serving a congregation in central IL. He and his wife served in South Africa in 2008-09 and 2014. In 2014, with their first child, they lived in northern South Africa helping to plant a church that is still thriving today. Pastor Shields is also in the Augustana District of the LCMC and serves as part of their Board of World Missions. He loves spending time with his wife and three daughters, camping, woodworking, and traveling the world.
0 Posts
Smude, Julie
Julie taught English for nearly 20 years in Chiang Rai, Thailand, and trained English teachers from all over the world. She is founder/president of Deeper Still Ministries International, a foundation focused on discipling young people. Now retired, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren as much as distance allows.
0 Posts
Strege, Vicki
Vicki Strege, a retired Spanish and Family & Consumer Science teacher, serves with her husband on Living Word Lutheran Church’s Mission Board. Vicki also serves as coordinator of ALWM’s E-Learning Friendship English Conversation program, assisting volunteers using a video platform for nurses in Vietnam to improve their English skills.
0 Posts
Stubbs, Randall
Randall Stubbs, a new Global Worker with the North American Lutheran Church (with ALWM as sending agency), has lived/worked in Tanzania for 16 years at Tumaini University Makumira, a Lutheran university, as a Music Lecturer and Manager of their Cultural Arts Centre. His family also is important in this ministry. More information: alwm.org/Tanzania.
0 Posts
Teeples, Jeff
Pastor of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Fountain Hills, AZ, since 2018, Jeff served 30 years as pastor and 6 years as youth minister. He is the North America contact for LCMC churches in Nicaragua. Jeff and his wife Kris have 3 married sons and 4 grandchildren.
0 Posts
Thorstad, Thomas
Rev. Thomas Thorstad is a Lutheran pastor serving in Northern Illinois. He is connected with the Lutheran organizations of LCMC, NALC, and LOC. He is the director of Heart for Mission Laos/Thailand. He is a missionary and a theologian. He and his wife, Deuane, have three children.
0 Posts
Urie, Leslie
Leslie Urie leads the Prayer Mobilization team at the World Mission Prayer League (WMPL), seeking to help grow an understanding of the mission of God in the church by inspiring educated and thoughtful prayer. She serves with the Home Office, often being astounded at the ways “God provides.”
3 Posts
Wade, Marti
Marti Wade is a researcher, writer, editor, and curator with almost 30 years experience in mission mobilization and communication. Since 2004, Marti is the managing editor and publisher of Missions Catalyst. She is a member of Pioneers and also serves on the board of directors for MissionWorks. She lives in Hillsboro, Oregon.
0 Posts
Warne-McGraw, Ryan
Ryan Warne-McGraw has been a Pastor of Outreach and Global Missions at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church since 2006. He started doing mission work as a teenager in Oregon, and now enjoys helping others to participate in short-term missions. Ryan’s wife, Nicole, and three daughters have all been in the mission field together.
0 Posts
Wilson, Emily
Emily Wilson serves as the Development Officer for Lutheran Bible Translators. She is enthusiastic about sharing with churches, individuals, and organizations about the impact of Bible translation.
0 Posts
Wind, Mike
Mike serves as Director of Development and Adult Education for Spiritual Orphans Network (SON). Known for his practical, relational approach, Mike combines business expertise with ministry passion to help individuals and churches integrate faith into daily life, demonstrating how living relationally can transform both personal spiritual growth and entire communities.
1 Post
