Leadership

Pastor Matt Shields

As the son of a Lutheran pastor, Pastor Matt Shields has a deep history in the Lutheran faith and a passion for global missions. He completed his undergraduate degree at Trinity International University and then received his Master of Divinity from Luther Seminary in Minnesota. Matt and his wife Jacinda served as missionaries in South Africa with the ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission program and later returned to plant a church in a rural community there. Before joining Cana, Matt served at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Hubertus, Wisconsin as Associate and then Senior Pastor, and as the pastor of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Flanagan, Illinois. Pastor Matt is passionate about introducing youth and young adults to missionary work, and serves as Director of the Young Adult Missionary Internship Program and as a member of the Board of Trustees for the organization Awakening Lives to World Missions (alwm.org/young-adult-missionary-internship).

Matt and Jacinda have three young daughters. Jacinda loves to backpack, and in his spare time Matt enjoys woodworking, camping, and traveling with his family.

Meet Pastor Matt:

Music Worship Leader

Emmalynn Paul Gregg

Elders

  • Dean Heffta

  • Sarah Schryer

  • Jeff Simmons

  • Steven Wetherell

Deacons

  • Paul Anglin

    Property

  • Linda Fitzgerald

    Missions

  • Paul Mauschbaugh

    Stewardship

  • Nancy Vogel

    Connections

  • Kristen Wetherell

    Youth and Families