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Dear Friend,
Thank you
for taking the time to visit our site and learn about Faith Evangelical
Lutheran Church. I was
installed as pastor of Faith on July 20, 2008, and I am blessed to serve the
people of God in this congregation.
I am
originally from the Detroit, Michigan area. Growing up, I attended Trinity
Lutheran Church and School in Clinton Township, and I went to Lutheran High
School North in Macomb. For my undergraduate education I attended Concordia
University in River Forest, Illinois. I studied “theological languages"
(Latin, Greek and Hebrew), graduating with a Bachelor's degree in 2000. I
also played trumpet in the Wind Symphony and was part of a Youth Ministry
team.
For my
pastoral training, I attended Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. I
did my fieldwork at Emmaus Lutheran Church in Dorsey, Illinois, and spent a
year on vicarage at Grace Lutheran Church in Le Mars, Iowa. I also worked at
the Concordia Historical Institute as a research assistant, and assisted Dr. Norman Nagel during my final year. In 2004 I graduated with a
Master of Divinity degree.
After
graduation, I decided to pursue a Master of Theology degree at Australian
Lutheran College, working with Dr. John Kleinig. My thesis was entitled, “A
Matter of Life or Death: Priestly Service and Priestly Gifts in Numbers 18."
I
completed a PhD in the Theological Studies program at Trinity
Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. I wrote my dissertation,
"Certainty in Luke-Acts: Fulfillment, Transmission, and Order," under the
supervision of Dr. D.A. Carson.
I was
joined in marriage to my wife, Amberleigh, in the
summer of 2008. Currently a homemaker, she
previously served as Director of Public Safety at Concordia University
Chicago. Amberleigh and I have two children, Zachary and Elizabeth.

Thanks
again for visiting our site. Please feel free to email me if you have
any questions about Faith, and stop in on Sunday morning if you are in the area.
Pastor Mark Birkholz |

Rev. Mark Birkholz
Pastor
SERMONS
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