A WELS Congregation at the Heart of Thornton
For the past 35 years, Lord of Life Lutheran Church has been part of the Thornton, Colorado community, gathering a multigenerational congregation around the preaching of God's Word and the sacraments. The congregation affiliates with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), a nationwide network of more than 300 Lutheran schools and a worldwide Christian denomination. The motto beneath the church's name - "Receive life. Live life. Share life." - sets the tone for everything that happens on the campus at 12021 Northaven Circle, where the church and its preschool-through-8th-grade school share a single property on the north side of town.
Lord of Life serves as both parish and school, and the two ministries are tightly woven. The same building that hosts Sunday worship during the week fills with students in uniforms-free classrooms, with the gym serving as the gathering spot for adult Bible study between services. A new pastor, Adam Zimpelmann, began serving the congregation in 2025 alongside a faculty that includes a principal and lead teachers for every grade from preschool through middle school.
What Sundays Look Like
Worship is offered twice on Sunday morning, at 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. A Monday evening worship service is also held at 7:00 p.m. Each service runs about an hour and follows a liturgical outline that stays consistent from week to week while the content shifts with the Scripture readings. Worshipers receive a printed service folder as they enter the sanctuary, and the bulletin walks them through every part of the service.
The flow of the service includes an invocation, a corporate confession of sin followed by an assurance of full forgiveness, Bible readings from the Old Testament prophets, the apostles' letters, and the Gospels, a 15- to 20-minute sermon, a response of offerings, hymns and prayers, and a parting blessing. Hymns draw from both traditional and modern sources. The message is described as Bible-rooted and aimed at everyday life, and the bulletin notes that "the message is always rooted in the truth of the Bible, but it will also apply to your life, today."
Visitors are not asked to stand up or be introduced. The church describes its goal as service rather than recruitment: "We would like to get to know you, and may ask if you're comfortable filling out our Friendship Register or a Connection Card. Our goal isn't to add you to our membership roll or our email list. Our ultimate goal is to serve you well with the truth and hope we have in Jesus." Communion is open to those who have spoken with the pastor first, a practice the church is glad to explain to anyone curious about the Lutheran understanding of the Sacrament.
There is no dress code. "You'll see running shoes and heels, jeans and suits, t-shirts and ties," the church notes. "Come as you are!"
Children and Family Bible Hour
At 9:30 a.m. between the two services, the building is filled with the sound of families settling in for Family Bible Hour. Teens and adults gather in the gym with coffee to dig into the Scripture readings. Children from age 2 through 6th grade meet separately for an interactive Bible study of their own. The hour is designed to renew and refresh everyone in the household with the same text the pastor will preach about an hour later.
Younger children are welcome to stay in the sanctuary with their parents. Activity bags geared toward kids under 5 are available, and a cry room with a couch and changing table sits just off the sanctuary so parents can step out while still seeing and hearing the service. The school calendar also pulls students into worship on designated Sundays, with the preschool and the K-8 choir each scheduled to sing at the late service during the school year.
Worship Online
Services are livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel, where past services and archived messages are also available. A digital Connect Card lets first-time guests - whether they joined in person or online - share their contact information, request prayer, and signal interest in membership, a small group, or the school. Visitors who want to talk with a pastor before attending in person are encouraged to reach out ahead of time.
A Preschool Through 8th-Grade School
Lord of Life Lutheran School is a defining part of the congregation's ministry. The school exists to help parents provide a quality, Christ-centered education, and the same statement of faith that shapes the church shapes every classroom. Teachers are trained through WELS-affiliated programs and are part of the broader system of more than 300 Wisconsin Synod Lutheran schools across the country.
Class sizes are intentionally small. Grades 1-8 cap at 21 students, kindergarten at 16, and preschool keeps a ratio of 1 teacher to 9 students or fewer. The school reports that students consistently score at or above the national average on standardized tests, which it administers each fall to grades 3-8.
Preschool
The preschool program is play-based and structured around Bible stories, math, art, scientific investigation, music appreciation, reading readiness, language and communication, and free play. Children must be three years old by the first day of school, fully potty trained, current on required immunizations, and have a school physical on file. Half-day (8:05-11:35 a.m.) and full-day (8:05 a.m.-3:15 p.m.) options run two, three, four, or five days a week. Tuition for the 2026-2027 year runs from $2,180 for two half-days a week to $10,870 for five full days.
Kindergarten Through 8th Grade
Kindergarten is offered three or five days a week, with both 5-day classes running from 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Grades 1-8 follow the same schedule. Core subjects include phonics and reading, math, science, language arts, history and geography, art, music, physical education, Spanish (taught every week to every grade), handwriting, and computer skills. Bible is taught as "Word of God" at every grade level, with formal catechism instruction in grades 5-6 and again in 7-8. The middle school years add music history and appreciation, physical and health science, U.S. history and geography, and art history and technique.
Families do not need to be church members to enroll, though every child learns what the church believes about the Bible. The admissions policy is open to students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin, and the school is committed to academic excellence alongside the application of Scripture to daily life. Tuition for grades 1-8 (5 days) is $5,500 for the year, supported in part by member contributions so the school can hold tuition below the actual cost of roughly $7,500 per student. Multi-student discounts reduce the second child's tuition to 75% and a third or subsequent child to 50%, with a 25% preschool discount for families also enrolled in K-8. Limited tuition assistance is available through FACTS Management Company, which also handles all monthly tuition collection.
Before-school care runs 7:00-8:05 a.m. and after-school care runs 3:30-5:30 p.m. for an additional hourly fee. The school does not offer busing, does not require uniforms (a dress code is in place), and partners with parents who want to visit classrooms during the school day.
Faculty and Principal
Principal Josh Thiesfeldt also teaches 7th and 8th grade. A Wisconsin native and former soccer standout, he and his wife Taylor moved to Colorado from Michigan with their son Silas, born in May 2024. The teaching roster includes Carol Schmidt as Preschool Director (more than 25 years in early childhood), Nicole Shade and Maria Kappel as lead preschool teachers, Meghan Draper as preschool aide, Shaun Glowicki in kindergarten, Violet Brucker in 1st-2nd, Natalie Thiel in 3rd-4th, and Lauren Veers in 5th-6th. Music and art are led by Sarah Dunn (choir, voice, and piano), Taylor Thiesfeldt (music), and Debbie Ewing (art). Natasha Maurer serves as school secretary.
Sports, Arts, and Extracurriculars
Students in grades 3-8 can join soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter, track in the spring, and cheerleading. A K-8 track meet is held on the first Saturday of May. Older students can compete in volleyball through Rocky Mountain Lutheran High School, the church's partner school for grades 9-12. Beyond athletics, the school enters the nationwide Meet Math contest, hosts a Fine Arts Fair twice a year alongside four other area WELS schools, and stages a student musical each year.
Adult Ministries Through the Week
The rhythm of the week is full at Lord of Life. A men's morning meditation and meal meets Tuesdays at 6:00 a.m. A Bible study for adults meets Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m. The Adult Choir rehearses Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. On Mondays, the building opens for an Al-Anon group in the Life Center, a recovery meeting the church hosts for the broader community. GriefShare, a 13-week support group for people grieving the death of a loved one, gathers on Saturdays at 10:00 a.m. and is open to church members, other Christians, and anyone who might benefit from the program.
God & Me, the church's Bible information and membership class, meets on Wednesday evenings. Led by Pastor Zimpelmann, the class explores what Scripture teaches and serves as the congregation's membership course. Anyone curious about Lutheran teaching or considering joining Lord of Life is welcome to attend, even for a single session.
Women's Ministry and Rooted
The Women's Ministry brings together women ages 18 and older for small group Bible studies, Grace Gatherings (hosted in members' homes), Advent by Candlelight, service projects, and prayer. Its tagline comes from Philippians 2:3-4 - "in humility value others above yourselves" - and the ministry maintains its own page online with a list of contacts and study opportunities.
Rooted is the church's 20s-30s ministry, drawing members from WELS congregations across Colorado for rock climbing, cookouts, and Bible-focused gatherings. Events are organized through a private Facebook group.
What Lord of Life Believes
Lord of Life is a confessional Lutheran church, and its statement of faith runs in the same tradition as the WELS churches that make up the fourth-largest private school system in the country. The church teaches that there is one true God, holy and eternal, who reveals himself in the Bible as Triune - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Bible is God's Word, true and without error. In six days God created the heavens and the earth thousands of years ago. Adam and Eve, created in God's image, lost that image when they fell into sin in the Garden of Eden, leaving all people unable to reconcile themselves to God on their own.
The gospel is the good news that God sent Jesus Christ, the virgin-born Son of God, to take away the sins of all people. Jesus suffered and died on the cross to pay for those sins, rose on Easter morning, and by his resurrection guarantees eternal life to all who trust in him. The Holy Spirit creates faith in the heart through the gospel. There is one holy Christian church made up of all who believe in Jesus. Baptism washes away sin and makes people of all ages God's children. The Lord's Supper delivers the true body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Because of Jesus, the church teaches, believers have a full, free, and forgiven life.
Meeting the Pastor
Pastor Adam Zimpelmann, known affectionately as "Pastor Z," grew up in the lake country of northern Wisconsin, where his father ran a construction company. He began his ministry in 2005 in a small town in southeastern Wisconsin, where he met his wife Lindsay. They married in 2008 and have three boys. After nearly two decades of ministry in Wisconsin, the Zimpelmanns moved to Thornton in 2025 to serve Lord of Life. Pastor Z describes the Christian message as C.S. Lewis framed it: of infinite importance, because if it is true, nothing else matters more. Lindsay Zimpelmann serves the congregation as church secretary.
Giving and Practical Details
An offering is collected at each Sunday service as part of worship. Online giving is available through Tithe.ly and accepts one-time or recurring gifts by e-check, debit, or credit card. The Resources page on the church's site offers sermon archives, printable family devotions with discussion questions, links to Time of Grace, Conquerors Through Christ (a resource for those struggling with pornography), Christian Family Solutions (Christian counseling), What About Jesus?, and a directory of WELS churches for travelers. A weekly email newsletter carries announcements and updates.
The church office is reachable at 303-457-2408 and is open to questions about the church, school, or preschool. The mailing address is 12021 Northaven Circle, Thornton, CO 80241. From the playground at recess to the sanctuary on Sunday morning, the same Northaven Circle campus is the gathering place for a congregation that has spent more than three decades teaching the same gospel in the same neighborhood.