Pastor Ken Nelson, Senior Pastor
flcnelson@minot.com

Pastor Nelson is a native of St. Paul Minnesota, and is married to Marcella,who is from Watford City ND. They have 3 daughters, Johanna Grace, Else-Marie and Ingrid Anne.

Ken is a graduate of the University of Minnesota where he studied accounting, and later graduated from Luther Seminary. He has been ordained since 2000. After serving in Nebraska in his first call, Ken came to First Lutheran in the fall of 2004 as Pastor for Discipleship. He became the Senior Pastor in September 2007.

Ken's passions in ministry are preaching, teaching the Bible, and finding new ways to connect people to Jesus Christ through worship, study, service and prayer. Outside his congregational work, Ken loves to play golf, ride his bike on some scenic Western North Dakota highways, and spend time watching and helping his kids grow.

Pastor Mike Pancoast, Associate Pastor
flcmpancoast@minot.com

Pastor Mike Pancoast grew up as a pastor's kid in Victoria, Houston, & Longview, TX and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in English from Texas Lutheran College in Seguin, TX.  Rich and varied work experiences have included working in a large & small animal veterinary clinic, waiting tables, managing a bar & grill, running a movie theater, industrial pipe painting, being an apprenticed scaffold builder for a major industrial construction company, camp counseling, and managing a one-to-one household arrangement in the developmental disabilities field.

Mike attended Luther Seminary in St. Paul, served his internship in Big Timber, MT, and graduated from Luther in 1996.  He has served congregations in Hayward and rural Rice Lake, Wisconsin.  His most recent emphases in ministry have been in studying with the Youth & Family Institute, Bloomington, MN and overseeing and developing congregational resources that help households plant, nurture, experience, witness to and live out daily faith in Jesus Christ. 

Mike is married to Kari, the one primarily responsible for turning a Texan into a Midwesterner, and is father to Olsen, Laura, Ann, and Eleanor.  Mike loves cooking, reading, bicycling, running & cross-country skiing, gardening, hunting & fishing, and canoeing in the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota. 

Pastor Kari Pancoast, Associate Pastor
flckpancoast@minot.com

Pastor Kari Pancoast grew up in Austin, MN, graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN with a degree in Elementary Ed and Art.  Kari spent her college summers working at Camp Onomia, an ELCA Bible camp near Onamia, MN.  After teaching and working as a youth director, Kari attended Luther Seminary, graduated and was ordained in 1996.  She served churches in Hayward, Glen Flora and Ladysmith, Wisconsin before coming to First Lutheran in July 2009. 

Kari's passions in ministry include teaching people to see God's grace and presence in their everyday lives and helping people see how they are called to care for each other with the love and mercy that God has for us in Jesus Christ.

Kari is married to Mike and they have 4 children, Olsen, Laura, Anna and Eleanor.  Kari enjoys spending her time with her family & their dogs, and walking, biking, camping, working in the garden, doing crafts and projects of all kinds, and being involved her kids' schools & activities and in the life of the community.

Pastor Heather Brown, Shared Ministry North Pastor,
Trinity Lutheran Church in Glenburn & Trinity Lutheran Church in Lansford

Pastor Heather Brown is the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Glenburn and Trinity Lutheran Church in Lansford.  This is our Shared Ministry North agreement between those two churches and First Lutheran.  She has served Trinity Lutheran Parish since 2006.  Her background includes ministry overseas in Cairo, Egypt, and youth & education ministry.