Senior Pastor Brandon J. Froiland
Pastor Brandon James Froiland was born in Bloomer, Wisconsin, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Pre-Seminary Studies and Theological Languages from Concordia University-Wisconsin in 2004. He began his seminary formation in the fall of 2004 and received his Master of Divinity degree in May 2008.
Pastor Froiland served as Assistant Pastor at Christ Lutheran beginning in the summer of 2008. He accepted the Divine Call to be the Senior Pastor of Christ Lutheran on December 18th, 2022.
Pastor and his wife Sara have eight children. They enjoy traveling and spending time with friends and family.
Associate Pastor Thomas J. Cowell
Pastor Thomas J Cowell was born and raised in Reinbeck Iowa. His parents still live near Waterloo. His oldest brother is married with two boys and lives in Glenwood. His second older brother lives in Des Moines.
Thomas’s wife, Hannah, grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana where her father attended seminary and then moved to Spencer, Nebraska where he was called, and eventually to Kingsley, Iowa where her parents currently live. Her older sister as well as her older brother and his wife live in Des Moines.
Thomas and Hannah both attended the University of Northern Iowa. They first met while attending services and activities at College-Hill Lutheran Church. Thomas graduated in May of 2013 with a BA in History. He began his seminary studies at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne the summer of 2013.
Thomas and Hannah were married in May of 2015. A few weeks later Thomas began his vicarage year at St. John Lutheran Church in Wheaton, Illinois. Thomas graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, IN on May 19, 2017.
The Cowell's have 3 daughters.
Thomas was ordained and installed on June 25, 2017, to begin serving Christ's people at both St. John's and Trinity Lutheran Churches.
Pastor Cowell was called by Christ Lutheran on June 25, 2023 to be the Associate Pastor and accepted the Divine Call on July 8th, 2023. Pastor Cowell was installed as the Associate Pastor on August 20, 2023.
Deacon Buchholz
Deacon David Buchholz was born and raised in Kansas City, Mo. He graduated from Concordia Teachers College of Seward, Neb. in 1978 with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in education and earned a master’s degree in education in 1988.
Following their June 1978 wedding, Deacon and Mary (Zobel) Buchholz received their first placement to Immanuel Lutheran School in Hillside, Ill., where they both served as Lutheran school teachers. Subsequently, Deacon Buchholz accepted the call to teach at Grace Lutheran School in Kansas City, Kan., followed by Trinity Lutheran in Alma, Mo. While at Trinity Lutheran, he served in a variety of positions including teacher, Athletic Director, and Principal. He also served as Principal of Holy Cross Lutheran School in Kansas City from 2001 to 2004.
Deacon Buchholz possesses over a decade of experience in Youth Ministry, having served as Community Life Leader for the LCMS Department of Youth Ministry in the area of Servant Events. He is trained as both Consultant and Team Captain for Lutheran schools seeking National Lutheran School Accreditation and is a member of the Lutheran Education Association.
Deacon Buchholz has served as Deacon for Christ Lutheran since 2004, leading youth education and service opportunities for the parish family including Little Lambs, Kids for Christ, JR-LYF, and SR-LYF.
David and Mary have five children: Anna, Rachel, Matthew, Joshua, and Mark.
Asst. Pastor to Oromo Abdi Megerssa Selbana
Pastor Abdi Mergerssa Selbana, was born in a rural city of Ethiopia called Nekemte on November 30th, 1966. His parents became followers of Christ before he was born. He was baptized in Dalo Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus on February 20, 1967 and was confirmed in 1986 and received a call from his congregation to be an evangelist in the same year. In 1993, Pastor Abdi received a call from the Central Ethiopia Synod/District to be an outreach work coordinator. During his ministry in Central Ethiopia Synod, with the grace of God, he was able to establish 400 churches and reached out to about a million people with the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ!
In 2000, Pastor Abdi was sent to Mekane Yesus Seminary in Ethiopia to study theology and graduated in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree.
Pastor Abdi was ordained on August 7, 2016 in Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus. In 2018, he began work with the Kansas City Oromo Evangelical Church in Kansas City, MO. In September 2020, Pastor Abdi passed his colloquy interview/examination into the LCMS ministry and received a divine call to Christ Lutheran Church, Platte Woods, MO and was installed on March 28, 2021 as an Assistant Pastor at Christ Lutheran Church to the Oromo Congregation.
The Oromo congregation he serves at Christ Lutheran was chartered as the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kansas City, an LCMS congregation, on January 29, 2023.
Pastor Abdi is married to Feven Aldiga and they have two children, Nafsif and Bisi.
