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April 4, 2022
In a Congregational vote on April 3, Rev. Steve Wiens was nominated as a Co-Lead Minister, with Rev. Danielle Jones, at Wayzata Community Church. Please join us in welcoming Steve and his family. We greatly appreciate your patience, your trust, and your prayers as we move forward in the next weeks, months, and years with Steve and Danielle. Steve will officially begin at WCC on May 1, 2022.
Professional Summary
“I am a spiritual teacher, writer, and pastor who loves helping people reconstruct their faith after their theological foundations have crumbled. My ecumenical and imaginative approach to spiritual development encourages people to let their deep questions lead the way into new and expansive understandings of God, themselves, and the world in which they live. My wife Mary and I live in Maple Grove with our three teenage sons.”
About Steve
Steve has 26 years of experience in church ministry, 20+ years of that in Minnesota. Steve served as Director of Student Ministries at Christ Presbyterian Church (1500 weekly attendees*) in Edina for 4 years, starting in 2003. From there he moved on to Church Of The Open Door (2500 weekly attendees*) in Maple Grove as Associate Senior Pastor for 6-1/2 years. Then in 2014, Steve, as Senior Pastor, founded Genesis Covenant Church (200 weekly attendance*) in Robbinsdale, until present. At the launch of GCC, he recruited a team of 60 adults to assist in successfully raising and meeting a first year budget of $300,000. These church experiences over the last many years have provided Steve with:
• The large church multi-faceted approach, staff management, and strong spiritual and leadership qualities for his congregation.
• The entrepreneurial approach of founding a church with an inspirational and inclusive emphasis and vision. At the outset, success depended on individual, small, and large group meetings to share the vision, ask for time commitments, committee and board commitments, and the funds to support this new, exciting, sacred venture.
These experiences, coupled with Steve’s personal characteristics, skills, and passion are the reasons why our Search team and Church Council are so excited to have Steve Wiens and Danielle Jones serve as our Co-Lead Ministers going forward.
Education
Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota
B.A., Sociology and Psychology
September 1989 – May 1993
Wheaton College Graduate School, Wheaton, Illinois
M.A., Educational Ministries
September 1993 – December 1994
North Park Seminary, Chicago, Illinois
M. Div. Equivalency for Ordination into the Evangelical Covenant Church
September 2017 – May 2018
Transforming Center, Wheaton, Illinois
Certificate in Spiritual Transformation
July 2011 – September 2013
Completed nine quarterly retreats centered on the material found here:
https://transformingcenter.org/transforming-community/
In the words of our Search Team members and references:
“Steve checks all the boxes. I find him to be incredibly inspiring, wise, motivating, relatable, and culturally aligned with our church.”
“Steve has a strong leadership profile in terms of creating vision and organizational strategy. He is confident in his ideas and very capable of generating plans to continue to insure that WCC is an ever-vibrant place of worship.”
“Steve’s greatest strengths are preaching, leadership, vision/strategy, and his passion.”
* pre COVID