REV. JOEL R. KURZ (2007 - Present)

Pastor Joel R. Kurz accepted the call to serve Bethlehem in 2007 and is glad to be a servant of Christ in this place.Born in Tennessee, Joel was raised in the Philippines, Missouri, and Texas. He earned a B.A. in English from The College of the Ozarks in 1992 then spent a year studying Greek and Hebrew while working at Bethesda Lutheran Home in Watertown, Wisconsin. Prior to receiving his M.Div. in 1997 from Concordia Theological Seminary (Ft. Wayne, Indiana), he was a congregational intern in Baltimore, Maryland, and Pensacola, Florida. He served as pastor of Concordia Lutheran in Youngstown, Ohio, until 2001. During a six-year hiatus from full-time parish ministry Joel was a caregiver for his father (a retired pastor) and did part-time parish supply. In addition to his ministry at Bethlehem Pastor Joel is actively involved in the Warrensburg Ministerial Association, the Johnson County Emergency Care Coalition, the Johnson County CROP Hunger Walk, the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, and the Regional Health Care Free Clinic. He often can be found in Bethlehem’s community herb and vegetable gardens as well as in the newly developing nature trail at the back of the property. Joel is a board member of With God’s Little Ones (a St. Louis-based agency ministering to the needs of vulnerable widows and orphans around the world) and is also a support-team member of the Kyosiga Community Christian Association for Development in Uganda. Joel is the author and editor, along with Dr. C. George Fry, of four published books of religious biography. His poetry and essays have appeared in journals including: The Cresset, Concordia Journal, Sojourners, Weavings, and Worship. Special joys for him are: traveling and connecting with people, reading and writing, gardening and cooking, hiking and biking, and listening to a wide array of music—especially live.

REV. DAVID M. RITOCH (2006 - 2007)

Pastor Ritoch served Bethlehem as Interim Pastor during the period after Pastor Beese's retirement and the subsequent call for a permanent minister.

REV. ROGER BEESE (1974 - 2006)

The Reverend Roger Beese served Bethlehem Lutheran Church from October 1974 until April 2006. Pastor Beese was born March 25, 1941, in Libertyville, Illinois, the son of Raymond and Helen (nee Trost) Beese. He was baptized by the Rev. Paul G. Gerth at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Hawthorne Woods, Ill., on April 13, 1941. He grew up on a farm in Prairie View, Illinois, in rural Lake County. He was confirmed April 3, 1955, by the Rev. Harold O. Krueger. From 1947 to 1955, he attended St. Matthew Parochial School. From 1955 to 1961, he attended high school and college at Concordia College in Milwaukee, where he received an associate’s degree. He attended Concordia Senior College at Fort Wayne, Ind., from 1961 to 1963, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree June 1, 1963. He attended Concordia Seminary in St. Louis from 1963 to 1967, and received a Master of Divinity degree in 1967. Beese attended Concordia Seminary School for Graduate Studies in 1967 and ’68. He received his Master of Sacred Theology degree in 1973. He attended the University of Zurich in Switzerland as an exchange student of theology for two semesters in 1968-69. On Feb. 24, 1968, at Webster Gardens Lutheran Church in Webster Groves, he was married to Jane Ellen Murray Koenig. He was ordained Aug. 10, 1969, in St. Louis as a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. He was installed two weeks later as pastor of the dual parish of Zion Lutheran Church in Corder and Immanuel Lutheran Church in Waverly. In 1974, he received the call to Bethlehem Lutheran, where he was installed Nov. 17, 1974. He served several times as guest professor of religious studies at St. Paul’s College and St. Paul’s High School in Concordia. He taught Religion 101, a two-week course on the parables, and a semester-long course on the Old Testament. He was one of a group of pastors who organized a Lutheran congregation at Knob Noster and became pastor there for two years. He served part-time at the Lutheran Campus Ministry at the University of Central Missouri and served as circuit counselor in the Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church for almost all his years at Bethlehem until 2003. He participated in a hospital chaplaincy program in Warrensburg and served 19 years as treasurer of the Warrensburg Ministerial Association and a few years as its secretary. He was a lover of opera and classical music and was an especially avid fan of Bach. He sang all his life, first while riding the tractor on his family farm, then performing solos in operettas in grade school. He sang in the high school choir, the Concordia College Choir, the Lutheran A Capella Choir of Milwaukee, the Lutheran Radio Choir of Milwaukee, a barbershop quartet and the Choristers. He also sang in the Concordia Senior College Choir and the Cantata Singers in Fort Wayne, Ind., as well as the Concordia Seminary Chorus and St. Louis Bach Chorus in St. Louis. He sang in the Bethlehem Church choir and served as the church cantor. He sang with the University Chorus in the Messiah and the Bach St. Matthew Passion, as well as other musical works. He had a passion for languages. He studied Greek and was fluent in German. Beese created crossword puzzles for church members to solve, and enjoyed trivia games. He enjoyed reading fiction books and the Bible. He served more than 37 years in the ministry, 33 of those as pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Warrensburg. Parkinson’s disease forced him to take a disability leave on May 1, 2006, and he became pastor emeritus at Bethlehem on May 1, 2008. Pastor Beese went to meet his Lord and Savior May 19, 2008. (Source:Obituary, Sedalia Democrat, May 21, 2008.)

REV. DAVID L. BLOEDEL, Interim Pastor (1974)

Source: Dr. Richard Leuhrman,  Chronological History of Bethlehem Lutheran Church. Photo from the Collection of Dr. Richard Leuhrman.

REV. ADOLPH MEYER (1959 - 1974)

Born June 28, 1910. Asleep in Christ April 3, 1990

Source: Dr. Richard Leuhrman,  Chronological History of Bethlehem Lutheran Church. Photo from the collection of Dr. Richard Leuhrman.

REV. H. J. KLEINDIENST, Interim Pastor (1958 - 1959)

Born November 7, 1903. Asleep in Christ January 17, 1991

Source: Dr. Richard Leuhrman,  Chronological History of Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

REV. PAUL CZAMANSKE (1952 - 1958)

Born October 13, 1902. Asleep in Christ July, 1984.

Source: Dr. Richard Leuhrman,  Chronological History of Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

REV. JULIUS V. KIMPEL (1950 - 1952)

Born January 1, 1912. Asleep in Christ December 10, 1994.

Source: Dr. Richard Leuhrman,  Chronological History of Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

REV. PAUL STRICKERT (1949 - 1950)

Born May 28, 1918. Asleep in Christ October 9, 2005.

Source: Dr. Richard Leuhrman,  Chronological History of Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

REV. ROSS HAUPT(1945 - 1949)

Born June 30, 1917. Asleep in Christ January 19, 1989.

Source: Dr. Richard Leuhrman,  Chronological History of Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

REV. HERBERT WUNDERLICH (1944 - 1945)

Source: Dr. Richard Leuhrman,  Chronological History of Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

REV. ELMER C. J. BOXDORFER (1934 - 1944)

Son of Mr. and Mrs. A. J. G. Boxdorfer, of Perryville, MO was born Feb. 11, 1909 in the city of Perryville, Perry County, MO. He received his early education in the Immanuel School and Church of Perryville. He was confirmed on April 9, 1922 by the Rev. A. M. Lohmann. In the fall of 1922 he entered Concordia College, Ft. Wayne, Indiana, graduating in June 1929. In the fall of 1929 he entered Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, completing his theological course in June 1932. From August, 1932 to August 1933 he served as pastor of Zion congregation, Gravelton, Wayne County, Missouri. On September 1, 1933 he began his work as missionary in Clinton, Mo. From Clinton he came to Warrensburg and continued preaching to the small Clinton mission flock. Asleep in Christ, November 30, 2002Source: Dr. Richard Leuhrman,  Chronological History of Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

REV. THEODORE C. PREDOEHL (1928 - 1933)

Born March 5, 1904. Rev. Predoehl started mission work in Warrensburg in February of 1928 and served the congregation with bi-weekly or monthly services until September 1933. He was pastor of the Lutheran congregation six miles north of Knob Noster at Brinkville. Asleep in Christ, November 1986. Source: Dr. Richard Leuhrman,  Chronological History of Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

Source: Dr. Richard Leuhrman,  Chronological History of Bethlehem Lutheran Church.