Rev. Dr. Brian Saunders will be the keynote speaker for the 2025 Fall Pastors’ Conference.
Born in Sioux City, Iowa, he is married to Karen and they are blessed with four children and twelve grandchildren. His education includes a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Languages from St John’s College in Winfield Kansas, a Masters of Divinity in Exegetical Studies from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne Indiana, and a Ph.D. in Pastoral/Historical Theology from Trinity Theological Seminar in Newburg Indiana in association with Christ Church College in Canterbury England.
He served as pastor of Holy Cross, Fort Wayne from 1990-1992, followed by serving at Our Savior in Muscatine Iowa until being elected as President of the Iowa East District in 2009. He has also served as an associate pastor at Our Redeemer in Cedar Falls Iowa since 2016.
Rev. Saunders has taught for and worked with the Siberian Lutheran Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kenya, the Lutheran Church of South Africa, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Spain, and the Lutheran Church of Lithuania. He has also served on the Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) for the LCMS for a number of years, serving as Vice Chairman from 2019-2024 and Chairman from 2024 to the present.
He enjoys recreation with his family, and can often be found either on a golf course or watching golf on television.
Rev. Saunders’ topics will include:
- An Exegetical Look at “Visitation” in the Scriptures
- Visitation in the Lutheran Confessions
- Visitation by the District President
- Pastoral Visits to the Members:
- To Absent Saints
- To Active Saints
- To Shut-Ins and Hospitalized