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Julie Burgess
713-822-5284
Michigan District
Julie Burgess works with our partners at the Church Extension Fund (CEF) in Michigan, assisting LCMS members in the creation of estate plans that provide for family members, but also for the church organizations they love. She received her Certified Gift Planning Associate (CGPA) Certificate in 2020.
Erich Faulstich
314-779-6494
Missouri District - St. Louis Region Only
Erich Faulstich is a devoted Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod member and an active member of Lutheran Church of the Resurrection. For the last five years he has served as chairman of the Green Park Lutheran School board. He ran his own successful home inspection business for seven years prior to accepting the position with the Foundation.
Kurt Fuhr
952-270-5878
Northern Plaines Region
Kurt has served his fellow Lutherans for over twenty-four years in various roles within the LCMS. He looks forward to serving congregations and donors within the Northern Plains Region. He and his wife Liz live in Eden Prairie, MN and have two grown children, Sarah and Kristen.
Terry Gerdts
314-409-5453
Kansas City Area
Terry Gerdts has been in Lutheran ministry for fifty-five years. First as principal and teacher, then short time with AAL, and the last 34 years as a Gift Planning Counselor for the LCMS Foundation. He served as SVP for Gift Planning for 8 years before going into semi-retirement for the last 11 years. He continues to serve congregations and members in Missouri. His wife and he have 3 children, 9 grandchildren, and 2 great children.. He resides in Concordia, MO.
Tony Hunt
260-222-1291
Florida
Tony has a heart for the Lord. A member of Faith Lutheran in Eustis, Florida, has served in various leadership positions including Director of Advancement. Tony has a passion in helping Lutheran ministries invest with faith. He looks forward to helping donors provide for their family and ministries they love.
Jason Jones
970-988-0305
Rocky Mountain District
Jason Jones joined the LCMS Foundation in 2012. He serves the Rocky Mountain and Western Regions. He is certified as a Christian Gift Planner and Christian Development Executive. He and his young family live in Colorado.
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Mark Muehl
260-241-4845
Indiana District
Mark recently joined the Foundation after 39 years of serving the Church in various educational vocations in Illinois and Indiana. Mark has also served the Church on boards, school accreditation visits and councils. Mark and wife, Dana, have been married for 39 years and live in Fort Wayne, IN. They are proud parents of three married children who have blessed them with 8 grandchildren.
Teresa Nelson
319-351-6529
Missouri District - St. Louis Region Only
Teresa Nelson was born and raised in the Missouri Synod and has been active in congregations over the years. She is a graduate of Iowa State University and served as an associate gift planning counselor both in the English District (2008-11) and Lutheran Hour Ministries (2011-17).
Scott Radden
618-977-4049
Southern Illinois District
Scott Radden has been serving the Foundation since 1998 and began as the gift planning counselor for the Southern Illinois District in March 2015. Scott is a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor. Scott’s passion is serving the Lord by building relationships with Christians to assist them in finding their plan for transferring their blessings.
Craig Stirtz
402-616-0312
Nebraska District & Concordia Nebraska
Craig Stirtz has helped Lutherans in Nebraska to plan gifts for loved ones and ministry for thirty years. He has provided gift planning services for thirteen years including the past 3 years through the LCMS Foundation’s partnership with the Nebraska District LCMS and Concordia University Nebraska. Craig has also assisted congregations with endowment creation, management and growth for the past 13 years.
Gary Vought
715-891-1447
North Wisconsin District
Gary grew up in the North Wisconsin District and has served LCMS ministries for 34 years. As a leader in ministry, he was blessed to see the Holy Spirit work in the lives of thousands of children, families and young leaders. He now looks forward to assisting God’s people with their stewardship goals and hearing their stories of how the Lord is working in their lives.
Rev. Dr. John Denninger
703-627-1863
Southeastern District
John joined the Foundation after serving as the president of the Southeastern District for almost ten years. Prior to that, he served for more than thirty years as a pastor in three congregations in Nebraska and Virginia. John and his wife Constance have been married for forty years and live in Alexandria, VA.
Rad Finch
319-551-9829
Iowa District East
Rad Finch is a dedicated member of LCMS. He was formally trained in estate and business planning before joining the LCMS Foundation in 1995 in Iowa District East as a gift planning counselor. From there, he went to Concordia Theological and LHM before retiring in 2018 and then returning to the LCMS Foundation in the same year to serve our fellow Lutherans in IDE.
Linda Gage
716-946-8111
LWML
Linda Gage has served in leadership and development positions with the LCMS for twenty nine years and is a certified Christian Development Executive. She brings joy, enthusiasm, technical skills and experience to assist you in creating or updating your plan. Linda resides in western New York with her husband, Don, on their 75 acre fruit farm of vineyards and orchards.
Ron Grimm
412-584-7039
English District
Ron Grimm holds a bachelors degree and an advanced degree, both in architectural studies. He has been employed for the past twenty eight years at DRS Architects in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ron is active in his church, bringing experience gained there over the years as congregational president, board member, stewardship advocate and ministry program leader to this gift planning position.
Brian Hyde
209-613-2125
Pacific Southwest District
Brian Hyde has been serving the gift planning needs of Lutherans in the Pacific Southwest District and Las Vegas for more than nine years. The Lifetime Plan for Giving process is the cornerstone to create blessings for family and ministry. Many donors state that they now have a great sense of peace knowing that family and ministry are taken care of in their plan.
Dionne Lovstad-Jones
219-380-1034
Northern Illinois
As a life-long LCMS Lutheran, Dionne Lovstad-Jones joined the LCMS Foundation team in 2022 as the gift planning counselor for Northern Illinois. With a background in Christian development and the tourism & hospitality industry, she understands both the joy in giving and the value of a genuine welcome.
Kirk Mueller
314-704-4389
Missouri - Lutheran High School Association
Kirk Mueller has served the church for over forty years—33 years as a Lutheran high school educator and 10 as a Senior Gift Planning Counselor for the LCMS Foundation. His passion is to help church members bless their family and their favorite ministries through their Lifetime Plan for Giving. He has 5 children and 8 grandchildren.
Ray Pagels
847-226-2262
Northern Illinois District
Raymond Pagels has been serving the Chicago and Northern Illinois areas as a Christian Gift Planner for more than five years. He is also a Christian Development Executive. Ray's past career was serving thirty five years in the pharmaceutical industry.
James Schroeder
515-490-7371
Iowa District West
Jim Schroeder is a graduate of Concordia, Nebraska. He was a Lutheran school teacher for four years and then an estate planning specialist with Aid Association for Lutherans (now Thrivent) for ten years. Jim and his wife Susie have four grown children.
Craig Toerpe
262-707-3005
South Wisconsin District
Craig serves Southeast Wisconsin, where he has a passion for helping God’s children understand and live out what it means to be a steward of all the gifts God has richly blessed us with. Craig most recently served for ten years as Director of Stewardship & Gifting at St. John’s Lutheran Church in West Bend.
Carol von Soosten
505-730-2064
LWML
Carol von Soosten’s desire to share Christ’s love by helping develop gift plans which provide for families and ministry makes her passionate about sharing the word about the free services available from the LCMS Foundation. She eagerly looks forward to hearing from Lutheran Women in Mission.
Rev. Phil Krupski
314-996-1684
Senior Vice President
Gift Planning Services
Rev. Phil Krupski has been a pastor for over 30 years, serving in three separate congregations for 26 of those years. Since 2015, Phil has served with the LCMS Foundation, first as a gift planning counselor in the Indiana District and then, since 2018, as the Senior Vice President of Gift Planning Services.
Phil’s passion for offering Jesus to a broken world through the Gospel drives his overall approach to service. He brings that servant heart into partnerships with ministries across the Synod and guides the Gift Planning team to provide humble service to ministries and donors alike, helping them achieve the plans God has placed in their hearts.
Andy Behrmann
317-374-2866
Director of Ministry Partnership
Andy Behrmann originally joined the LCMS Foundation in 2019, serving as the gift planning counselor for the Indiana District. Prior to joining the Foundation, Andy spent ten years in higher education, serving on the faculty and in development for Ivy Tech Community College. As Director of Ministry Partnership, Andy is responsible for providing gift planning training to the Church, growing our associate counselor program, and helping congregations maintain lasting relationships with their donors.
Rich Paul
716-870-5546
Vice President
Counselor Performance and Training
Rich Paul began his employment with the Foundation in 1999 as the gift planning counselor in the Eastern District (NY/PA). For the past nine years, he has served as the Director of Counselor Performance and Training serving as a mentor to the LCMS Foundation national gift planning counselors. As a former financial and estate planning specialist, Rich has attained many investment and planning licenses and certifications.
1 Corinthians 15:57
Our straightforward process begins with discussing what’s important to you. Then, with our knowledge and expertise, we'll help you establish goals, take full advantage of tax benefits, and thoughtfully provide for and your family and your faith, even after you've left this Earth.
Many wonder if they have “enough” to create a gift plan. The answer is always yes. All people possess God’s gifts, and even the humblest gifts can make a positive impact. And regardless of the gifts you wish to share, our counselors will work with you, at no charge. Learn more in our FAQ section..
Just as everyone has different goals and needs, we offer a variety of different options to structure your gift plan. Each option has its respective strengths and variables, and each can be of benefit to someone if applied thoughtfully, and with guidance.
We are thankful that we can leave a bequest to our children, and also through the Foundation’s work, make a gift to all the congregations we have served, our Concordias, and an agency we are passionate about.
Edward & Janet Krauss
We developed a plan that creates security for ourselves and our young son while furthering the work done by the church and others. Your process provided us the means to shape a plan that is useful now and easily flexible for the future.
Mark & Kristine
Indianapolis, IN
It was with great joy that we were able to work on our legacy for Lutheran ministries. The LCMS Foundation helped us to formulate a plan to ensure that a portion of the gifts God has given us would be used to bless others.
Charlotte & Roy
Radcliff, KY
The process provided us with an easy to use form to compose a gift letter that models for our children continued ministry support after our passing as well as a personal faith statement that will be given to our children and their families upon our passing.
Cam & Janet Fuerniss
Loveland, CO
