Knolhoff accepts call to head Stewardship Ministry

Rev. Wayne J. Knolhoff of Fenton, Mo., was installed and began serving Feb. 1 as director of Stewardship Ministry, with the staff of the LCMS Board for District and Congregational Services (DCS).

In that position, Knolhoff “has specific responsibility for partnering with district leaders to ignite and continue a ‘Stewardship Renaissance’ within the Synod,” according to the Call for Nominations for the post that appeared in Reporter last July.

The Synod’s Blue Ribbon Task Force for Funding the Mission called for such a renaissance in its report to the 2007 Synod convention, which adopted resolutions endorsing task force recommendations.

Knolhoff succeeds Rev. Larry Reinhardt, who retired as director of Stewardship Ministry two years ago and continued part time until Knolhoff joined the staff.

Since 2001, Knolhoff, 57, had been mission facilitator for the LCMS Missouri District, with specialties in urban, ethic, campus and subsidized ministries, as well as new mission starts. From 1991 to 2001, he was district executive with the LCMS Iowa District East, after serving as pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, Humboldt, Iowa (1983-91).

A 1983 graduate of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, he taught at Lutheran schools in New York and Wisconsin after his 1972 graduation from Concordia Teachers College, River Forest, Ill. (now Concordia University Chicago).

“I can think of no other person better equipped and suited to lead our beloved LCMS in a vibrant and dynamic stewardship renaissance,” DCS Executive Director Rev. Jeffery S. Schubert told Reporter as he announced Knolhoff’s acceptance of the call. Schubert added that the Board for District and Congregational Service’s decision to issue that call to Knolhoff was unanimous. 

“Wayne brings a wealth of experience, insight, and passion for stewardship,” Schubert continued. “He is well-known across our denomination and is a respected authority in the area of stewardship. Our board and staff have every confidence as he leads us to new levels of stewardship within the Synod.”

Knolhoff and his wife, Joyce — an administrative assistant at Washington University in St. Louis — are the parents of three grown children.

Posted Feb. 6, 2008

Return to Top