Pastor Stoltenow  (bstoltenowsothfamilyorg)       ext.365      SENIOR PASTOR
Pastor Brad and Jodie Stoltenow came to Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church & School in June of 2006, where Brad serves as Senior Pastor.  Growing up in Minnesota and having served for 18 years in Minnesota and North Dakota, Brad and Jodie greatly enjoy living in Highlands Ranch and appreciate the beautiful Colorado weather along with the gorgeous mountains of the Denver front-range.   With diverse experience in parish ministry, Pastor Stoltenow enjoys the challenges of ministry in a multi-staff setting like Shepherd of the Hills.  Brad’s strengths in ministry include preaching, teaching, leadership and strategic planning.  In addition, Brad enjoys hospital visitation, providing pastoral care, and working with the outstanding lay-leaders and servants at Shepherd.  Encouraging Christians to reach out to their neighbors through acts of love and mercy is Brad’s passion and he often shares, “When we serve our neighbors with the love of Jesus through acts of love and mercy; the Gospel of love and forgiveness is shared with them no matter who they are.  I think such service is vital to the outreach of Shepherd of the Hills.”When Brad has free time he enjoys hunting and fishing with his black Lab, Charlie, and especially looks forward to annual hunting and fishing trips back to North Dakota and Minnesota.  While the Broncos and Rockies are Brad’s local favorites, the Vikings and the Twins are his lifelong loves. All three of the Stoltenow children are currently college students either beginning or nearing the end of their studies.  Brad and Jodie are grandparents and always look forward to spending time with family.       

Pastor Zillinqer  (gzillingersothfamilyorg)       ext.366     ASSOCIATE PASTOR
Pastor Greg was installed as Associate Pastor of Shepherd of the Hills on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009.  He came with his wife, Sara, and his 5 small children – Joshua, Noah, Jaina, Elijah and Keira.  Formerly he served as sole pastor in a rural parish, St. Peter, in Hannover, ND, that eventually turned into a dual parish with Zion Lutheran in New Salem, ND.  Moving in one of the worst blizzards in North Dakota his family was not unaccustomed to snow and bad weather.  However, they were blessed by God’s providence in all things with this move.  Now they enjoy the continuous view of the mountains and the relatively mild winters. Pastor Greg has had a driving passion for youth ministry ever since high school.  After switching majors from physics to theology he transferred from Kansas State University to Concordia University in Seward, NE.  Upon wise advice from mentors in the ministry and the continual guidance of God through His Word he graduated with a major in theology, a specialization in pre-seminary studies and vocal solo music and minors in mathematics and chemistry.  At Seward he was extremely blessed to meet his wife Sara.  They then moved to Seminary in St. Louis, MO where Sara was allowed to grow her passion of Lutheran Christian education especially for the special needs student.  She started a pilot inclusionary program for special needs students at Lutheran High in St. Charles, MO.  Greg rounded out his seminary education with a close vicarage in Trinity, Troy MO.  After seminary they moved with their newborn Joshua to Hanover ND and grew in the Lord’s grace there for nearly 9 years where Greg became more involved with parish and district youth ministry as well as camp ministry.  Throughout these years Sara and Greg were over abundantly blessed with the births of their other children and the growth of their family.Pastor Greg’s major strengths in ministry include creative/experiential preaching, relational/discipling youth ministry, and family/congregational Catechesis (life long study and maturity in God’s Word).  As he has been at Shepherd he has developed other gifts of administration, visioning and reconciliation.  His passion is to connect all ages to Jesus Christ through God’s Word so that they may become more spiritually mature disciples and raise up another generation of disciples for God our heavenly Father. Pastor Greg takes seriously and joyfully the gift of his family and time with them.  He loves to hike, swim, play games and explore with his family.  Greg also is an avid reader and game player – anything from board games, collectable card games, unique games and online games.  As he is now closer he has also grown in his joy of seeing the Rockies play. Pastor Greg and Sara’s children have been blessed in going to Shepherd of the Hills Christian school in which Sara herself was a student.  They are very active, intelligent and have a thirst for knowing God’s Word more and applying it to their young lives.  They love family time together and are blessed with being able to see their grandparents almost every week.       

Pastor Goldhammer  (mgoldhammersothfamilyorg)       ext.370     ASSOCIATE PASTOR
Pastor Maurice Goldhammer graduated from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, in 1965 with a Master of Divinity degree. He served for six years as an Evangelistic Missionary to the China Evangelical Lutheran Church in Taiwan. After returning from Taiwan, he served Immanuel Lutheran Church Columbus, Nebraska, from 1972-1985. He then served Calvary Lutheran Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, from 1985-1989. In June of 1989, he began serving Redeemer Lutheran Church in Denver, Colorado, and served until his retirement in 2005. In August of 2005, he began serving Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church together with Pastor Roger Kraus in the capacity of Vacancy Pastor. He now serves Shepherd as an assistant to the Senior Pastor.

Jack Lipski  (jlipskisothfamilyorg)       ext.372     COUNSELOR
Jack came to Shepherd of the Hills in 1963 when the church was founded.  Jack discovered his passion for young people when he first taught Sunday School at age 16 while attending Arapahoe High School.  During college and immediately following, he volunteered working with various youth groups at Shepherd of the Hills.  Jack is a former public school teacher with experience in Junior and Senior High as well as Special Education.  He was a Regent Scholar at the University of Colorado, Boulder, from which he completed his undergraduate studies in 1976 with majors in Developmental Biology, English Literature and Secondary Education.  In 1982, Jack left public education and accepted a position as Youth Director at Shepherd of the Hills.  During this time he completed his graduate work in counseling and in 1991 earned an M.A. in Biblical Counseling from Colorado Christian University.  He “retired” from his position as Youth Director in 1999 to pursue full-time counseling.  Currently, Jack continues to serves Shepherd of the Hills as a Professional Counselor in the State of Colorado in the area of Marriage and Family Therapy.  He also serves as School Counselor for Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran School.  In his own words, “I have the best job ever!”  Jack is the husband to Susan, whom he has known since third grade, and father to Lauren and Nicholas.

Gail Black   (gblacksothfamilyorg)      ext.364     WORSHIP PLANNING
Gail was born in Milwaukee WI, baptized 10 days later in Wauwatosa WI, lived in WI, MI, and NE, and graduated from Concordia University, Mequon, WI, in 1988, with a BA in Elementary Education and a second major in Parish Music. She was Called to Calvary Lutheran Church and School, Indianapolis IN, as the 3rd grade teacher and school music department coordinator. In 2000, she and her family moved to the Denver area to partner with Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church and School. In serving the Master Musician and cultivating her passion for His Divine Service, Gail has been Worship and Music Coordinator since the fall of 2000, as well as liaison to the school music program. In 2006, Gail took on the additional role of Assistant to the Senior Pastor, and in 2007, Gail was Called by Shepherd as Director of Parish Music. Gail delights in laughing with her family and friends and is passionate about sharing God with His people through music, Divine Service, Bible Study, prayer, and conversation over good food! 

Mary Backhus  (mbackhussothfamilyorg)       ext.363     BUSINESS ADMINISTRATOR
Mary serves as the Business Administrator at Shepherd.  She has worked here full-time since 2000.  Prior to working at Shepherd she was a stay-at-home mom for 26 years.  Running a household and raising six children has proven to be good training for administration.  Mary earned her Associates Degree in Business Administration in 2007 and have since earned her Certification as a Church Administrator from the National Association of Church Business Administration (NACBA).  She has served as the President of the local NACBA chapter and as the Secretary for the national Lutheran Church Business Administration Association.  Mary sings in Shepherd’s choir and helps with Vacation Bible School. Mary has stated, “God has blessed me both professionally and personally in my relationships at Shepherd of the Hills – for which I am truly thankful!”

Doug Walters   (dwalterssothfamilyorg)      ext.373     FACILITIES MANAGER
Doug has been in Colorado since 1963 and has a diverse background. In the 1980’s Doug did financial planning and earned a CFP designation from the College for Financial Planning in Denver.  In 1986, Doug moved to Fairplay, Colorado, where he was involved in home building, served as County Commissioner and began his home inspection business.  After returning to Denver in the late 90’s, Doug and his wife, Kathy, were blessed with grandchildren, (7 in all) and live in Highlands Ranch near daughter Michelle, her husband Mark and their 5 children. Their son Dennis and his family, including Kirsten and twin boys, live in Littleton. Doug is currently on the board of directors for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI).  Doug feels truly blessed to be working in the Lord’s House. 

Susan Kucera  (skucerasothfamilyorg)       ext.862     ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Susan has been a member of Shepherd of the Hills since1979. She has been involved in the Sunday school staff, Alleluia Bell Choir, Shepherd’s Chorale, LWML, and “Voice” assembly. She started working as a receptionist at Shepherd in 2003 years ago, before moving into the position of administrative assistant. Before coming to Shepherd, she was working part-time, as office manager, in a doctor’s office. She has had other part-time positions at a Christian bookstore, a bank, a grocery store and a clothing store. She came to Shepherd after hearing about the receptionist position that would give her the opportunity to work full-time. She moved to Denver from Casper, Wyoming, after graduating from Casper College with an Associate Degree in Business.   

Lynne Rodefeld  (lrodefeldsothfamilyorg)       ext.510     ACCOUNTANT
Lynne graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.  She has been a licensed CPA for over 25 years practicing in public accounting until her children were born. Lynne began working in non-profit accounting when she took on the responsibility of treasurer for her home congregation in 2006. In 2007, she accepted the part time position of accountant for Shepherd of the Hills. Her first child started kindergarten at Shepherd of the Hills in 1999 and her youngest child will be graduating from Shepherd in 2013.

June Elmshauser  (JElmshausersothfamilyorg?subject=From%20the%20website)       ext.860     BOOKKEEPER
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Marla Olson  (molsonsothfamilyorg)       ext.711     RECEPTIONIST 
Marla is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, with a degree is in Housing with an Architectural Preservation and Restoration emphasis. She started with Shepherd in 2008 as the receptionist and has added the role of athletic director. Marla is married and has 3 children.