Staff - Church Workers
Pastor Keith E. Wiens
First Lutheran's senior pastor, came to the congregation in 1983. He is married to Carol and they have three sons. He is a native Kansan, born in Garden City and raised in Pratt.
Pastor Keith was ordained as a pastor in the Lutheran Church on July 21, 1974. He graduated from Concordia Senior College in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1970 with a B.A. in social-psychology, and from Christ Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1974 with a Master of Divinity degree. While at the seminary he completed field work education at Messiah Lutheran Church and at the St. Louis Juvenile Court. Clinical Pastoral Education was completed at the State Psychiatric Hospital in Topeka, Kansas. A year of internship was served at Christ Lutheran Church in San Pedro, California. In 1994 he received the Doctor of Ministry degree from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago.
Prior to coming to First Lutheran, Pastor Keith served three congregations. His first call was to Trinity Lutheran Church in Great Bend, Kansas, where he worked primarily with youth and evangelism. He then served as Pastor/Developer of a mission congregation in St. John, Kansas, and as Pastor of Garfield Lutheran Church in Garfield, Kansas. In 1983 he was called to serve as Associate Pastor of First Lutheran. In 1985 the congregation extended a new call for him to serve as Senior Pastor.
In addition to his work in the congregation Pastor Keith serves on the Board of Directors for the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago and on the Board of Directors for Bethany Home in Lindsborg, Kansas. He is a member of the Konza Rotary Club and has worked in the community with Shepherd's Crossing, United Way, the Red Cross, the Manhattan food pantries, and Flint Hills Breadbasket. When his sons were younger he coached youth soccer, basketball and baseball teams. He enjoys reading, traveling, working in his yard, and doing home improvement projects.
Kyle Olson
Director of Christian Education
Kyle assumed the duties of Director of Christian Education in July of 2010. Prior to this call, he was the Director of Student Ministry at First United Methodist Church in Manhattan.
He grew up in Highland, Kansas and attended a small high school where he graduated in a class of 22. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from Kansas State and is currently pursuing his Master of Arts degree in youth and young adult ministry from Southwestern College.
Kyle married the love of his life, Sarah, in 2005 and they are expecting their first child in December of 2010. His father is the plant coordinator at a factory that makes medical equipment and his mother teaches special education. Kyle has one sister who works as a physical therapy assistant at OrthoKansas in Lawrence.
Kyle loves sharing the Good News with young people and feels called to minister to the next generation of Christians. His favorite Bible passage is Matthew 28:16-20, the great commission, and his favorite quotation comes from Saint Francis who said, “Preach the Gospel everyday; if necessary, use words."
Greg Knittel
Handbell Choir Director, Chancel Choir Director
Jane Boys
Organist
Natalie Springer-Barnes
Executive AssistantBeing committed to God through Christ and to the mission of the church, Natalie assists the Staff in a ministry of welcome and in fulfilling the clerical responsibilities of the church office. Additionally Natalie is the churche's Financial bookkeeper and schedules the use of the churche's facilities. Natalie has three wonderful children (two girls and boy). Her children's names are Jasmine, Jozlynn and Jordan.
Agne Eggerth
Administrative Assistant I / EditorAgne assists the staff, greets visitors, and does other clerical tasks in the Church office. She also helps to maintain the Church's website. Agne is married to Andy Eggerth, who is a track coach for Intercollegiate Athletics at Kansas State University.
Becky Marsh
Admisnistrative Assistant IIBecky assists the staff, greets visitors, and does other clerical tasks in the Church office. Becky is married to Matt Marsh, who does maintenance for Park Place Apartments. They have a daughter named Takara and 2 sons named Tarik and Kalan. She has been a member of First Lutheran since 2007.
Sue Drach
Financial RecorderSue records and deposits the weekly offerings and provides quarterly statements to all individuals who make contributions. She has a degree in Information Systems from KSU and is retired from jobs in the accounting and programming fields. Sue and her husband John joined First Lutheran Church in 2007. They have three grown children and five grandchildren.
Carolyn Wells
Marcus Hoover
Sexton/CustodianMarc provides custodial and security services for the church. He was born in Germany and graduated from Schiller International University before coming to the US as a young man. He has worked as a farmer, insurance agent, bartender and in retail. He has worked at First Lutheran since June 2008.