The Rev. Mark R. Muenchow
Pastoral Advisor
International Lutheran Laymen's League

The Rev. Mark R. Muenchow of Oklahoma City is the pastoral advisor for the International Lutheran Laymen's League (Int'l LLL), a position to which he was appointed in October 2006. In this post, Muenchow will give spiritual direction and guidance to the Int'l LLL's executive committee, lead Bible studies and worships during official LLL meetings and conventions, and promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ wherever, whenever, and however he can.

Muenchow holds a bachelor's degree in secondary education from Concordia University in River Forest, Illinois, and a master's of divinity degree from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. He has served for the past four years as the senior pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church in Oklahoma City following stints at Zion Lutheran Church in Buffalo, Oklahoma, First Lutheran Church in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Covington, Louisiana. As senior pastor at Messiah, Muenchow oversees a large church and school staff and a congregation of about 1,085 baptized members while fulfilling Messiah's vision of "celebrating and sharing Christ's love, hope, and peace with all people."

In addition to his work as a parish pastor, Muenchow also served for two years on the district evangelism board, for three years as the human care secretary, and for three years as the stewardship chair for the Oklahoma District of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, helping the congregations of Oklahoma to be more active in their outreach to the needs of people in their congregations and their communities. He has also been trained by Synod as an older adult ministry consultant, a congregation planner in the "Faithful Christians: Faithful Congregations" program, and in the "Dialog Evangelism II Trainer" program.

In January 2003 he completed the Pastoral Leadership Institute, a four-year program to help pastors be better equipped to handle the unique challenges of pasturing large or growing congregations. The program includes the pastors' spouses in a journey of growth that uses conferences, collegial groups, interdenominational events, visits to large mentoring congregations, and a mission trip. As a result of Muenchow's mission trip to Haiti, he, his wife, Margy, and his stepson, Ryan, have a 27-year-old man from Haiti staying at their home while he attends school at the University of Central Oklahoma.

The Int’l LLL, an auxiliary of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and Lutheran Church—Canada, is a volunteer movement more than 100,000 people strong. Its Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM), with headquarters in St. Louis, is a Christian outreach ministry supporting churches worldwide in its mission of Bringing Christ to the Nations—and the Nations to the Church. LHM produces Christian radio and TV programming for broadcast, as well as Internet and print communications, dramas, music, and outreach materials, to reach the unchurched in more than 40 countries. LHM’s flagship program, The Lutheran Hour®, is the world’s longest-running Christian outreach radio program. It airs weekly on 800 stations, as well as XM Satellite Radio and the American Forces Network.

For more information, please contact:
Chad Fix
(800) 944-3450, ext. 4193