Kevin Westergren

Education

Business Management Degree from Concordia University, Austin TX
Masters of Divinity from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO

Ministries Served

Congregations in Arenzville, Cottage Hill, and Chicago IL, Lancaster PA, Cedar Falls IA and Minneapolis, MN. Outreach Pastor of Redeemer since 1993.

Favorite Bible Verse

2 Corinthians 5:17-21:Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Hope for Redeemer Lutheran Church

That we will fulfill our call as the people of God (church) to ministers of reconciliation that God wants us to be. . . peace with God and with one another through Jesus Christ. How do we do that? Multiple sites throughout city? Yes.   Caring, biblically based small groups? Yes. Intimate and challenging worship? Yes.   A church which is more concerned with our community than ourselves? Yes.   But ultimately being a people who understand and are passionate about Jesus Christ as the hope and peace of this world. 

About Kevin

I have been on a ministry track since the seventh grade when I was involved in our downtown Houston congregation’s education program for Jr. High students. If God exists and His call is for everyone to be in a relationship with Him, I figured ministry would be a full time job. It certainly has been!

Over the years I have been amazed at how the Lord has changed me to realize that the Christian faith is lot less about right and wrong as much as it is about relationships- first, with an amazing God who loved us so much that he sent His Son Jesus Christ and second, with the people the Lord places around you. 

A good part of my ministry was serving high school students and young adults. I love youth because they ask very real questions about their faith. It forces you to be real. They also understand just how important relationships are to life. Some of my best life experiences were experiencing life with students on mission trips to Mexico, Appalachia, Alaska and youth gatherings around the country.

Now that I’ve grown up a bit most of my ministry is focused on figuring out how to serve our community. Throughout my ministry I have always been the one to connect with our visitors. Teaching our 101 class with people new to the faith is still the highlight of my ministry. So many have misunderstanding about the Lord and His amazing love for them.   Many times I’ve convinced that the church has not always been that helpful to God’s cause! But the Bible tells us that “God has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors as though God was making His appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:19-20).  That honor of sharing God’s love and message of reconciliation with this world still amazes and humbles me daily.   

God is still amazing me.  At the beginning of my ministry I was planning on being a missionary to Africa. This past year I was serving with people from our Redeemer Vision Team three times in Kenya. That’s my picture with Biscuit one of the street kids in the slum in Nairobi.

God is good. I enjoy time with my family, keeping an eye on cows down the road in Giddings, getting on a plane and going somewhere I’ve never been before and relishing in the privilege and adventure of being called a child of God by the amazing grace of Jesus Christ.