Pastor Steven Rye

Here’s a brief overview of my life and ministry journey:

I grew up in a East-Central Iowa town: Grundy Center. Throughout my high school, college, and a year after college, I spent eight summers at Bible camps. I then pursued my theological studies at Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. While at Wartburg, I married Suzanne, an occupational therapist. She’s the daughter of a Swedish Lutheran pastor (Augustana Synod). We met in college outside the door of the intern pastor, not a place known for finding a girlfriend. We got married during our seminary years, and she accompanied me to my internship in campus ministry at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. I was ordained in April 1994. My ministry career began with serving as the associate pastor in International Falls, Minnesota. Later, I moved to Strawberry Point, Iowa, where I served as a parish pastor in a small rural town. (The entire county had no stoplights.) My campus ministry connections led me to Purdue University, where I served as a campus pastor for 12 years. As my time in campus ministry came to an end, I began to consider the family cabin near two harbors in Minnesota. I felt a strong call to ministry in the Northeastern Minnesota synod. I served as Senior Pastor of Lord of Life Lutheran Church congregation of 800 active members for 10 years, and then as an Interim Lead Pastor at American Lutheran Church in Windom, MN. I’m currently working on our house in anticipation of selling it for our next move. Along the way, my wife and I have raised two children: a daughter, Rebecca lives with us and works for Conductor Power in Baxter and a son, Kristofer, who works as a computer programmer for EPIC, a medical records company in Madison.