leadership
 
 
Meet the Pastor
Pastor Steven Wilkens

Pastor Steven Wilkens comes to the Verde Valley from Bethany Lutheran Church in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin.

Pastor Wilkens, one of six children, grew up on a dairy farm near West Bend, Wisconsin. During his college years he showed his love of sports, playing baseball and football and wrestling. He graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, Wis., in 1983.

Steve met his wife, Karen, during his last year of college and was married in July 1981. They have three grown children, Rachel, Tim and Amy, and nine grandchildren, eight girls and a boy.

Coming to the Verde Valley is a homecoming of sorts for the Wilkens. Before spending 19 years in Wisconsin, they lived in New Mexico for 13 years where Pastor Wilkens established Peace Lutheran Church of Rio Rancho, near Albuquerque.