Saint Michael Lutheran Church grew up with western Omaha. Planted in 1980 by the Lutheran Church in America in a storefront near what is now the Blondo 120 Mall, the congregation chartered with 161 members on Palm Sunday 1981 and soon moved into a larger storefront nearby. The first pastor, David Zellmer, served until the end of 1987, when Saint Michael joined the newly formed Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and called David Bronstad as the next senior pastor. The current worship space at 132nd and Blondo was dedicated on Palm Sunday 1985. The Fellowship Hall followed in 1992, a new Worship Center in 2002, the Bronstad Youth and Learning Center in 2008, and an Education, Music, and Youth addition in January 2012. The upper parking lot was renovated in 2015 and a new kitchen completed in 2020. More than one thousand members now call Saint Michael home.
That growth is paired with a stable identity. Saint Michael is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, in the Nebraska Synod. The congregation lists full communion partnerships with the Presbyterian Church (USA), Reformed Church in America, United Church of Christ, The Episcopal Church, The Moravian Church, and the United Methodist Church. Members also cherish a companion relationship with the Northern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, and the church helps fund homes for that diocese through the Houses for Health program.
Pastors have shaped the story. After Pastor Bronstad died of complications from prostate cancer in October 2007, Mark Grorud was called in 2009 and served until 2015. Pastor Tim Koester was installed in March 2016 and continues as senior pastor. In January 2025, Cara Jensen was called as Co-Pastor, the second ordained pastor in the congregation's history. Between Bronstad and Jensen, the church experimented with a Youth and Family minister, Hannah deFreese, from 2012 through 2018, and a diaconal intern, Nicole "Coco" Lyons, from 2019 through 2022 (later ordained as Deacon of Youth and Young Adults before being called to campus ministry at the UNL Lutheran Center). Beginning in fall 2017, Saint Michael also became a teaching congregation and has hosted seven pastoral interns in succession.
Worship That Doesn't Separate Old from New
Saint Michael's worship is rooted in Lutheran liturgical practice. The congregation uses the same order and forms at all three weekend services; the staff is intentional about not splitting contemporary and traditional services. Each week, scripture forms the faith of the assembly and Holy Communion nourishes it. Communion is open to all who come with an open hand of faith, and baptism is offered at any age. Communion is celebrated at almost every service.
Music is described by the congregation as the breath that oxygenates the worshiping body. Jodie Hankins, Director of Music and Preschool Director, oversees a program that draws on voices of every age and an unusually wide range of instruments: organ and piano alongside recorders, handbells, violins, banjos, guitars, flutes, and drums. Choirs rehearse on Wednesdays and handbells fill the midweek schedule. Soloists and instrumentalists are routinely woven into services, particularly at festival celebrations. Five organists (Barb Gierke, Robin High, Dirk Lindner, Deacon Sue Simmons, and Peggy Wolverton) and accompanist Peggy Schmitz round out the music staff.
Saturday Evenings and Sunday Mornings
Three weekend services fill the calendar. During the school year, the schedule is Saturdays at 5:30 p.m. and Sundays at 8:15 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. From Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, the late Sunday service moves to 10 a.m. The late Sunday service at either time of year is livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube. Bulletins are posted online each week and a virtual attendance card is available for those watching from home.
Between services, Fellowship Hour brings the congregation together over coffee (Equal Exchange Fair Trade, served every Sunday). Children are welcomed into worship rather than sent away; wiggles, giggles, and a children's bulletin picked up from an usher are all part of the experience. Large print bulletins and hearing devices are available from the ushers. An unstaffed nursery is also offered when the need arises, down the south hallway.
For visitors who want to come prepared, here is the rhythm of a Sunday morning in the school year: arrive for the 8:15 service; stay for Fellowship Hour; children head to Sunday School and adults to Adult Forum at 9:30 in the Bronstad Center; high schoolers gather in the Lion's Den in the basement of the Education Wing; middle schoolers meet upstairs in the Education Wing; then everyone returns for the 10:45 service and the live stream.
A Whole Congregation Sings
The Adult Choir sings every Sunday from September through May or June, occasionally at both Sunday services for festival weekends. Rehearsal is Wednesday from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. and the music ranges from simple to challenging. New members, including those who have never sung with a choir, are always welcome.
Three handbell choirs rehearse on Wednesdays for youth from sixth grade through adults: Michael Ringers at 5:30 p.m., Campanile Ringers at 6:15 p.m., and Raphael Ringers at 7:30 p.m. Nancy Engdahl Robson, a charter member and the church's first organist and choir director, leads the bell program. She teaches lower school music at Brownell Talbot, is a former Artistic Director of the Nebraska Choral Arts Society and the Nebraska Children's Chorus, and in 2000 was named Arts Educator of the Year by the Omaha Chamber of Commerce.
Children's Choir, for kindergarten through fifth grade, meets Wednesdays from 6:40 to 7:20 p.m. or Thursdays from 6:30 to 7:10 p.m. The Recorder Ensemble rehearses most second and fourth Tuesdays and plays once a month in worship. Vocal and instrumental soloists fill the cantor role and provide anthems.
Blessed Beginnings Through Confirmation
Children's ministry at Saint Michael begins in pregnancy. Blessed Beginnings is a music and movement class for adults and children from pregnancy through 18 months, meeting Sundays from 9:45 to 10:15 a.m. or Thursday evenings from 6 to 6:30 p.m. God's Children Sing follows, with a toddler class for ages 18 months to 2.5 years (Sundays 9:45 to 10:15 a.m.) and a preschool class for ages 3 to 5 (Thursdays at 6:30 p.m.). Both involve singing, storytelling, instruments, dance, games, and group play. Tami Curran, who has been on staff since 2002, directs God's Children Sing and teaches at Little Angels Preschool.
Sunday School meets during the 9:30 Education Hour for children age 3 through fifth grade. Children start in the Sanctuary with their parents, then move to their classrooms. The curriculum is Godly Play, a Montessori-inspired approach that uses hands-on materials and storytelling to invite children into the wonder of Scripture. Kristin Knott is the Children's Ministry Coordinator, with Katie Chrisman as assistant.
Faith Promises marks milestones. Growing in Worship (kindergarten and first grade) introduces families to the elements of worship. My Bible, My Story (second grade) is a four-week program that culminates in each child receiving a Bible. First Communion and Forgiveness (grades one through four) walks children through grace, forgiveness, and welcome at the table, concluding with a Seder Meal during Holy Week. First Communion classes are typically offered during Lent, with children receiving Communion for the first time at the 7 p.m. Maundy Thursday service. Parents and pastors decide readiness together by looking for what the program calls soil conditions: a baptized child who attends worship regularly, shows a basic trust in God, understands a gift freely given, and asks questions about the Lord's Supper.
Confirmation is a three-year commitment for grades six through eight. Classes meet Wednesday evenings from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and focus on Bible study, worship, service, and fellowship. Confirmation is described as the fulfillment of baptismal promises and is rooted in family, congregation, and a God who loves and forgives. Middle School Forum, also for grades six through eight, meets Sunday mornings from 9:15 to 9:45 a.m. and is open to anyone who wants to participate, whether preparing for Confirmation or simply present.
High school youth are described by the congregation as the church yesterday, today, and tomorrow. High School Youth Group meets at the Lion's Den in the south basement of the Education Wing during the 9:30 Adult Forum hour on Sundays, with periodic fellowship events such as Friendsgiving, a Christmas party, putt-putt golf, and a church lock-in. Youth also serve as Worship Assistants: greeters, ushers, lectors, communion assistants, and assisting ministers.
Adults in Forum, Bible Study, and Fellowship
Adult Forum meets Sundays at 9:30 a.m. in the Bronstad Center and frequently offers continuing education on Bible topics. Faith Seekers gathers Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. in the Heritage Room. Women's Bible Study meets on the third Thursday at 10 a.m. (with Zoom available) or the fourth Monday at 7 p.m. Lutheran Ladies Lit Lovers gathers the second Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for book discussion. Monday Morning Faith Sisters meets at Ovation West. The Men's Breakfast and Bible Study gathers Friday mornings at 9 a.m., and all men, members or not, are welcome. Breathe Faith Study meets Monday evenings at 6:30 p.m. WELCA Women's Bible Study is on the third Thursday.
Fellowship circles form around shared interests. OWLs (Older Wiser Lutherans, 55 and up) meet the second Monday from September through May for lunch and a program. Singles Sunday Brunch gathers the second Sunday after the second service. Fine Food and Fellowship organizes groups of about eight who meet monthly at a restaurant of their choice. A Men's Golf League plays Thursday evenings at Stone Creek Golf Course from late spring through August. Tai Chi and Qi Gong classes meet Tuesday and Thursday at 11 a.m. for one dollar a session. The Soul Stitchers, a prayer-shawl ministry of about 25 women, meet monthly to knit and crochet pocket prayer shawls distributed to those facing illness, grief, or the loss of a loved one.
Quilts, Houses for Health, and Fair Trade Coffee
Service at Saint Michael happens inside the building and beyond it. The congregation has identified three concentric circles of mission.
At Saint Michael: groups make quilts for Lutheran World Relief on the third Saturday of each month from 9 to 11:30 a.m., September through May. The church has donated at least one quilt to the Carol Joy Holling Camp Quilt Auction almost every year since 1997; proceeds support summer camping scholarships so no child is turned away. Each summer, several Saint Michael children and youth attend camp at Carol Joy Holling Camp in Ashland, Nebraska, with partial scholarships funded by Ash Wednesday offerings. Equal Exchange Fair Trade coffee is served each Sunday at Fellowship Hour, and Fair Trade coffee and chocolate are available for purchase one Sunday a month. Helping Hands sponsors Sunday treats between services.
In the community: members volunteer at Kountze Food Pantry on Mondays and Fridays. The church serves the evening meal at Siena Francis House on the second Friday of each month from 4:45 to 7 p.m.; eight volunteers are needed, and individuals, families age 10 and up, and groups are welcome. Project Hope receives regularly collected food, household items, and clothing. Habitat for Humanity is supported through the Faithful Builders Coalition, one of ten area churches that builds together each summer. A men's AA group meets at the church on Thursday evenings.
Around the world: through the Houses for Health partnership of Alegent Health and the Nebraska Synod ELCA, Saint Michael has funded ten houses in Tanzania. The first was House #24; the third was built in memory of Bill Beschorner with funding from the Friday morning Men's Group. Lutheran World Relief quilts go to people in need across the globe. Equal Exchange connects the congregation to small farmer cooperatives and to the wider cooperative movement.
Little Angels Preschool and Weddings in the Sanctuary
Little Angels Preschool opened at Saint Michael in 2004 and celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2025. Tami Curran and Jodie Hankins have been with the program since its conception in 2003, and the preschool is described as a ministry of the congregation. The classroom serves many non-English-speaking families, and the preschool offers scholarships each year, including the Joey Glow Memorial Fund for a young learner whose love of school is still remembered at the program.
Weddings are treated as sacred work. The Wedding Planning Booklet, available from the church office, outlines the policies and the team's expectations. The sanctuary is offered as more than a venue: the wedding ministry sees its work as walking with couples long after the ceremony, inviting them into a faith community that nourishes their own faith and supports them in sharing God's work in the world.
The Building at 132nd and Blondo
The campus has accreted over the decades. The original worship facility was dedicated on Palm Sunday 1985. The Fellowship Hall came in 1992, the Worship Center in 2002, the Bronstad Youth and Learning Center in 2008, and the Education, Music, and Youth addition in 2012. The upper parking lot was renovated in 2015 and the kitchen was rebuilt in 2020.
Several spaces are used regularly. The Bronstad Center, named for Pastor David Bronstad, houses Adult Forum, Faith Seekers, and other adult meetings. The Lion's Den, in the south basement of the Education Wing, is the home of High School Youth Group. The Heritage Room in the Bronstad Center hosts small groups. Middle School Forum meets in the upstairs Education Wing. Kevin Hyde serves as Building Engineer, with a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and a long career at OPPD's Fort Calhoun Station before joining the church staff.
Joining Saint Michael
No one has to be an official member to worship, share in the sacraments, or participate in ministry. For those who want to take a next step, New Member Orientation meets several times a year, usually as three weekly sessions that cover the life and ministry of Saint Michael and the basics of Lutheran teaching. Childcare is available, though children are always welcome. Sessions are listed in the church newsletter and on the calendar.
For anyone who simply wants to come and see, the door is open. Worship weaves its way through every chapter of the story, scripture forms the faith, and Holy Communion nourishes the soul. Together, the congregation says, members are children loved by God, seeking to share that love with others.
What the Church Believes
Saint Michael holds the confession of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The church confesses the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and proclaims Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are received as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm for faith and life. The Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds are accepted as true declarations of the faith, and the Unaltered Augsburg Confession is accepted as a true witness to the Gospel. The other confessional writings in the Book of Concord (the Apology, the Smalcald Articles, the Treatise, the Small and Large Catechisms, and the Formula of Concord) are received as further valid interpretations of the Christian faith.
In Saint Michael's own words, theology has deep roots in the Reformation and the confessions born from that struggle, and from those roots the congregation is always being made new. The welcome is broad: everyone who walks through the doors is welcome, regardless of age, race, ability, gender, sexual orientation, political party, or nationality. The congregation also confesses its fears and failures as it trusts in God's promise of hope and healing.