The Staff of Immanuel Lutheran Church

Pastor John most recently served at Christ Lutheran Church in Shakopee, MN.  He and his wife Barb will be married 22 years this August.  They have two children.  Kevin is a freshman at Vermillion Community College in Ely, MN.  Paula is graduating from Shakopee High School and will be attending Northwestern College in Saint Paul, MN.

Please take the opportunity to meet with and get to know Pastor John and Barb as time allows.  Pastor John encourages all of us to be committed to our Lord's ministry here: "I look forward to doing ministry here with the 'disciples' at Immanuel and am excited about the ministry of our Day School as well."

Greetings in Christ!

I am Pastor Mike Stecker, called as the associate pastor in April of 2006 and joining the Immanuel community in July of that year following my graduation from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO. Since that time I have been working with the people of God to create an atmosphere of mutual love and respect as children bought and paid for by Christ Himself.

Much of my ministry focuses on areas of confirmation, outreach, teaching and preaching, counseling, visitation and Christian instruction. I’m really excited about our Family ministry opportunities as our church is entering an intentional 3 year program to help and aide us in reaching all people in our congregation with the love of Christ. I will be working closely with members of our staff and congregation to oversee this effort in the coming months.

I am approaching 5 wonderful years of marriage to my love, Tammy. God has been pleased to grace us with two children: Our son Gabriel, born May of 2006 and our daughter Trinity, born January of 2008.

I enjoy time in my workshop building and tinkering. As a family we prize our walks together, our laughter and our time at play as we soak in the gifts of God.  

Greetings in the Lord!

I joined the Immanuel family in April 2008 as the Directory of Family Life Ministry.  I grew up on the other side of the water in North Branch, Michigan - a small town in the “thumb.”  My dad teaches 5^th grade for the Lapeer Community Schools and my mom runs the family book store.  My older sister, Lori, has been married to husband Mike for near five years and they were blessed with the birth of daughter Alison in December 2006.  

I went to Central Michigan University and earned BAA in Photography and Entrepreneurship.   After graduation I moved to the Metro-Detroit area to work in the photography industry.  In 2004, I began attending Our Shepherd Lutheran Church in Birmingham, MI and continued to be involved in various ministries and Bible studies.  It was during this time that God called me into full-time ministry.  I completed the Director of Christian Education colloquy program through Concordia-St. Paul in September 2007.  Shortly after my internship at Our Shepherd, God called me to serve as Director of Family Life Ministry here at Immanuel Lutheran Church. 

I am excited about my call here at Immanuel and for the many opportunities God has presented to the congregation.  I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone and working together to build relationships within the Immanuel family and beyond and supporting both parents and youth in their faith and family formation.   

In my free time, I enjoy time with friends and family, bicycling, reading, playing games, camping, and cooking.