Timeline
God has blessed this place of worship and service! We give thanks for being able to serve the Seminole community for nearly 60 years, and we look forward to the next 60!
We invite you to ‘look back’ on our timeline and take a look at our some of our milestones.
While it is great to see the progress of our facilities, read about our previous leaders, and learn about some of our formative happenings, it’s even more important to note that God is still at work with Good Shepherd, its people, and the community we serve. Today, Good Shepherd is as dedicated as it was in 1958 to serving our neighbors and beyond with the message of Christ’s love.
August 1958: Pastor James Carlson and family arrived in the Lake Seminole area to develop a new mission for the Augustana Synod. He served until October 1961.
October 1958: A Steering Committee was formed.
October 5th, 1958: The first worship service was held in a leased store at Martin’s Trailer Park (12300 Seminole Blvd.), the new home of the ‘Lake Seminole Lutheran Mission.’
December 7th 1958: The congregation was organized under the Good Shepherd name, with 87 charter members. The Charter Roll was kept open until March 29th, 1959. 46 more members were added for a total of 133.
March 18th, 1959: The congregation voted to purchase the present site (4.42 acres) for $25,000; the firm of Mallore and Vasconi was engaged to design and supervise construction of a sanctuary, they also voted to purchase a parsonage site 10891 99th Avenue North, for $3,250.
March 6th, 1960: A ground-breaking ceremony was held for the first sanctuary, which is now the Nancy Hamilton Fellowship Hall.
October 5th, 1960: The sanctuary was dedicated by Dr. Thirsten Gustafson, President of the New York Conference of the Augustana Synod.
1962: The Augustana Synod joined three other synods to form the Lutheran Church in America.
August 1962: Pastor Roy Morrod began his ministry, serving until September 1972.
December 19th, 1965: The dedication of the educational building was held.
April 1973: Pastor Robert Wiley began his ministry, serving until May 1978.
October 1977: The members of the Advent Mission (on the east side of Lake Seminole) joined Good Shepherd, and their pastor, M. Luther Sievert, became a part-time Visitation Pastor here, serving in this capacity until April 1985.
February 1979: Dr. Axel Beckman arrived to begin his ministry, serving until June 1984.
August 8th, 1982: A ground-breaking for the present sanctuary and office area was held.
May 15th, 1983: The service of dedication for the present sanctuary was held.
November 27th, 1983: Our 25th Anniversary was celebrated.
March 1985: Pastor Richard ‘Dick’ F. Landeen began his ministry, serving until the end of July 2000.
June 1986: Pastor Mark Bernthal (pictured second from left) began serving as Assistant Pastor, until February 1989.
1987: The Lutheran Church in America (LCA) merged with American Lutheran Church (ALC) and Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
July 1989: Pastor Curt Snare (pictured on the left) began his ministry as Associate Pastor, serving until April 1997.
January 1990: Pastor D.P. Dovemuehle, or Dovie, became our Visitation Pastor, serving through 2000.
June 9th, 1991: A ground-breaking ceremony for the Education and Community Service building is held.
December 8th, 1991: Dedication of the Education and Community Service facility was held.
June 6th, 1993: 6 active Pastors, Axel Beckman, Luther Sievert, Pastor Dovie, John Timmerman, Albert Keyser and Ernest Habig, who actively served Good Shepherd, in a variety of roles, were honored. Each Pastor had 50+ years in the ministry.
Christmas 1993 and 1994: Pastor Adrian Lwenteme from Tanzania, East Africa was with us.
January 1994: The bridge across Lake Seminole was opened, providing easier access to the church.
April 23, 1995: A dedication for the new organ was held. (Then-Director of Music David Owens can be seen playing.)
July 1997: Pastor Patrick Wesley Poole, or Pastor Wes, began his ministry as Associate Pastor. He served until the end of 2000.
August 1st, 2000: Pastor Priit Rebane begins his position as Interim Senior Pastor. He filled this role until February 2003. Since completing his interim call, Pastor Rebane continues to assist Good Shepherd with supply work.
2002: Pastor John Hayner begins his service as Visitation Pastor, until the middle of 2008.
October 2002: Good Shepherd joins the World Wide Web at Lutheran-Good-Shepherd.com. In 2008, a friendlier design and web address (mygoodshepherd.net) were implemented. The current site went live in November of 2011.
March 1st, 2003: Pastor Robert ‘Chip’ Salzgeber (pictured centered, begins his ministry at Good Shepherd, coming from St. Matthews in Wilmington, NC. Pastor Chip served as Senior Pastor until his retirement from full-time ministry on February 3rd, 2013.
August 2004: Little Lambs Christian Preschool opens its doors. Today, Little Lambs has grown from a two classroom program, to now serving between 70-80 children (and their families) of the community.
November 23rd, 2008: Good Shepherd celebrated 50 years of ministry with one, combined worship service. The then-current Bishop of the Florida-Bahamas Synod, Ed Benoway, preached. In attendance are Pastors James Carlson, Roy Morrod, Robert Wiley, Richard Landeen, Mark Bernthal, Curt Snare, Priit Rebane, John Hayner and then-current Chip Salzgeber. In honor of the 50th anniversary, a large, contemporary stained glass work was installed and dedicated in the Narthex. Following worship, the celebration continued with lunch at BanquetMasters of Seminole.
July 1st, 2011: David Owens, Director of Music Ministry, retires after 21 years of service, beginning in 1990.
July 31st, 2011: An ordination service is held for former Youth & Families Director (2002 – 2007) Pastor Tom Holdcraft, who received a first call to Messiah Lutheran in Panama City, Florida.
February 4th, 2013: Pastor Pam Wellons begins her ministry as Interim Pastor following the retirement of Pastor Chip Salzgeber and his wife Susan, serving until November 29th, 2014. Prior to beginning with Good Shepherd, Pastor Pam served as a chaplain for Morton Plant Mease, and had filled in for Pastor Chip on a handful of Sundays. While Good Shepherd has had many women serve in leadership, deaconess, internship, and staff positions – along with having hosted visiting women pastors – Pastor Pam was Good Shepherd’s first female pastor to be on staff.
November 30th, 2014: Pastor Keith Walbolt begins his ministry as Good Shepherd’s pastor, having most recently served as Associate Pastor with Lutheran Ministry in Christ (now Christ Church) in Coral Springs, Florida.
