Hello to you all! I am Pastor Jon Niebuhr and, together, we are Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. I thought you might like to know a few things about me and my family. I was born in Minneapolis but spent most of my life in Norwood. My parents, Bill & Marian Niebuhr, raised 8 boys, of which I am #3. I attended St. John’s Lutheran School in Young America and Mayer Lutheran High School, from which I graduated in 1977. I attended Concordia College in St. Paul for 2 years and transferred to St. Cloud State University, from which I graduated in 1982 with a degree in Psychology. It was during this time in St. Cloud that I met, and married, the love of my life, Jennifer. I attended Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri for 1 year, but returned to Minnesota. The Lord had much to teach me. I worked in the Minnesota State Correctional System for 17 years, working at the facilities at Oak Park Heights and Faribault. During that time, I was a part-time Firefighter for the City of Faribault for 5 years. In 2002, I was offered a full-time Firefighter position with the City of Faribault and had that career for 7 years until I was injured on the job and had to retire from active duty.
During this time, the Lord was working in our lives to show us that the time to return to Concordia Seminary was now. I retired from the Faribault Fire Department in 2009 and enrolled at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. We moved in July 2009 and I finished my course work in August 2011. I received my Vicarage assignment to Trinity Lutheran Church in Carver, Minnesota and was ordained there on September 23, 2012. I worked in that church until accepting the Divine Call to Good Shepherd.
Jennifer and I have been married for 39 years. She grew up in St. Cloud, Minnesota. She is a 1st grade Teacher at Cologne Academy. We have three children: daughter Erin Hernandez and her husband Jaime, their daughters Jorden (16) and Delaney (11) of Sleepy Eye, Minnesota; son Shea Niebuhr of Port Angeles, Washington; and daughter Casey Krafnick and her husband Aksel of St. Cloud, Minnesota. Additionally, my mother, Marian Niebuhr, lives with us here in Glencoe.
We are very excited to be doing ministry together with you all at Good Shepherd. The Lord is granting us many opportunities, in our short time here, for all of us to make a difference in His kingdom. We pray that He will give us many years of ministry together with all of you. You have made us feel so welcome here and we thank you for showing us God’s love. Please feel free to stop by and visit me in my office any time the door is open. May the Lord bless you, and your families, with His love and joy in doing ministry here at Good Shepherd.
Pastor Jon
