Our Staff

Pastor Doug Nemitz has been a pastor for 13 years, before being called to First Lutheran Community Church in March of 2011. Before that he served as an interim pastor in Fairfield, Montana. Prior to that h served two years as the lead pastor at Shepherd of the Valley in Townsend, Montana. Before that he served for seven years at Lutheran Church of the Master in Lancaster, CA and for four years at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Kalispell, Montana. In addition to his Master of Divinity degree from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, CA, he also has an Associates Degree in Electronics Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Music/Music Performance. He also has professional teaching experience and has worked as a professional musician. Pastor Doug is married and has two grown daughters who are both married and have young children. He uses Skype to stay in touch with his grandchildren.

Pastor Doug has shown himself to be organized and on top of things, able to connect with people, and able to adapt to different situations. He preached for us, he sang with us, and he put us at ease with his sense of humor. He has very high qualifications and yet comes across as being very humble.

In his own words, Pastor Doug says, "I approach ministry with a strong commitment to shared leadership. I believe that lifting up, celebrating, and trusting in the abilities, talents, passions, and gifts of those empowered to share in the ministries of the congregation help to shape in powerful ways our participation in what God is up to in the world. I trust that the Holy Spirit is with the gathering of believers and seek to actively live out the priesthood of all believers. My personal style and manner is informal, even laid-back. I think we often take ourselves too seriously and need to lighten up some. Yet, when it comes to seeing what God is up to in the world and finding ways we can participate, that is to be taken seriously, but lived out in joy.