On Sunday, March 23, the congregation will convene after the second service to deliberate on three candidates recommended by the Call Committee following virtual meetings with each candidate via Zoom. Here is a summary of what the committee learned about the candidates (in alphabetical order):
- Reverend Nathan Hill is 39 years of age, and attended seminary at Concordia, St. Louis (M.Div. 2012). He has all the coursework done for a Doctor of Ministry (DMin) degree. His Vicarage was at Trinity Church in Baton Rouge, LA. He serves St. Michaels Church in Winchester, TX (199 communicants, 90 average attendance) which is the only congregation he has served. He and his wife Candice (DCE trained) have 2 sons (John and Carter) who live at home. His current District President comments regard him as a gifted pastor who relates well to people and is energetic in ministry. He is very strong in stewardship, and active in the community. He is flexible in all styles of worship, with a personal preference toward the tradition handed down through our hymnals. He is Pastoral Leadership Institute trained (PLI – a Ministry Leadership training program) and participates as a chaplain/fire fighter for the Winchester Volunteer fire service.
Reverend Hill defines his passion for ministry in three areas: Teaching; Mission Work; and Counseling in Ministry. He places an emphasis on the sick, injured, homebound, and bereaved. He is passionate about involvement in devotional time, both in congregational worship/bible study and in the home with family devotion time. He believes in uniting the congregation in one service as he has previously seen factionalism occur. He aims to be active in shepherding and leading God’s people, caring pastorally throughout their lives.
- Reverend Brian McQuiggin is 46 years of age and attended seminary at Concordia St. Louis (Master of Divinity (M.Div.) 2009). His Vicarage was at Christ/Grace/St. Peters, Columbia NE. He serves River of Life Church in St. Peter, MN (160 average attendance). He just returned from a mission trip to Guatemala, and does summer camp trips every year with the youth of the church. He is a second career pastor having worked in accounting previously. He has served 2 congregations during his ministry, having moved to River of Life in 2021. He acts as chaplain for the Sheriff’s office. He and his wife Jessica have 6 children at home (Hannah, Eli, Chloe, Caleb, Rebekah, Rachel) including two sets of twins. Jessica home schools the children. His current District President comments regard him as personal and caring, meeting people where they are at, and has a passion for outreach. He is flexible in liturgical attitude from traditional to contemporary and is currently in a very contemporary young congregation.
Reverend McQuiggin defines his passion for ministry as hands-on, and prioritizes outreach, counseling, and proclaiming Jesus. He loves to listen. He believes that the best way to minister to people is to become involved in their lives, sharing joys and sorrows, which helps him minister and equip people to live daily as followers of Christ. He strives to put Christ at the center through Word and sacrament ministry. He is passionate about outreach and describes a love for a strong “out of the walls mentality” while strengthening the core of believers and proclaiming Jesus to everyone around us. He looks to reach out of the church and gather with people, to be vulnerable and ‘do life together,’ a ministry focused on serving the community.
- Reverend Erik Stadler is 55 years of age, and attended seminary at Concordia, Fort Wayne (M.Div. 1998). His Vicarage was at Red Bluff and Corning in CA. He is a second career pastor, having worked in Industrial Sales first. He serves Redeemer Church in Odessa, TX (45 weekly average attendance; 5 kids in SS). He also serves a congregation in Midland which worships 35 weekly. He is a circuit visitor to 10 churches in the area and participates in community coverage, doing 1 service per month in Ft. Stockton (12 members).
He has served 3 congregations during his ministry, all in Texas. He has a Master’s degree in Family Science (2008) from Concordia in Seward NE. He and his wife Julie have one daughter (Ava) who currently attends college in Indiana. His current District President comments regard him as a kind and relational pastor who shows love to people and regards him very strong in visitation and pastoral care. He is flexible in liturgical attitude, kind and evangelical in his faithful approach to ministry.
Reverend Stadler defines his ministry as loving with connection to everyone. He describes himself as an introvert who is a loving pastor. He strives to develop strong lay leaders. He is passionate about involvement in bible study and worshipping together. He looks to always be available to his members.
The Call Committee has not ranked the candidates because all three are qualified to be our next pastor. You can find more detailed information on each candidate in their Pastor’s Information Form (PIF) and Self-Evaluation Tool (SET), which are available for review in the church office (217-367-8923). Feel free to ask the Call Committee members about their individual impressions of the candidates. The committee members are Joyce Bell, Phil Bell, Nina Frank, Jennifer Holhubner, David Lange, David Nation, Chris Roegge, Dan Roney, Harry Rouse, DeeDee Williams, and Rick Winkel. (Members Lange and Roegge could not attend the meetings with the candidates.)
Blessings, The Call Committee