Jeff Craig-Meyer

Global Chief Constituency Officer

Jeff Craig-Meyer joined the Lutheran Hour Ministries staff in 2014 and currently serves as Global Chief Constituency Officer. He provides dedicated leadership to the team as they connect donors to God’s mission through LHM using a variety of means including annual gifts, major leadership gifts, and planned gifts. He also oversees marketing and communications, web development, and ministry engagement (external relations, Lutheran Laymen’s League districts, and congregational relations). Craig-Meyer also holds the title of President of The Lutheran Hour Ministries Foundation.

Craig-Meyer has served with a number of faith-based non-profit organizations, providing leadership and management for fund development activities including annual fund support, grants, major gifts, planned gifts, charitable funds, special events, and constituent relationship management.

He most recently served Open Sky Education (formerly called Educational Enterprises, Inc.), a charter management organization that is rapidly expanding nationally. His primary role was establishing the development function through the creation of specific philanthropic funds to support school planting efforts in multiple regions.

Prior to joining Open Sky, he served in a number of fund development roles at the national level for The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. He managed fundraising efforts on behalf of multiple target areas, including the global mission arm, where he led a team of fund development professionals in annually generating $15 million in direct gifts, as well as the regular establishment of planned gifts for the entity. He assisted in a $400 million endowment campaign for the church body’s 10 universities and colleges, oversaw a mission campaign that raised $67 million, and provided direction to a $45 million campaign whose funds helped in the fight to eradicate malaria in Africa.

Craig-Meyer earned a degree in political science from the University of Missouri, Columbia, studied at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan, and received his Master of Business Administration from Saint Louis University. His extensive community involvement includes serving on a number of local boards in the St. Louis region.

He and his wife, Justine Craig-Meyer, have three sons (Mitchell, Dean, and Shaun) and one daughter (Shay), and they attend Historic Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Louis.

Becky Pagel

Vice President – Marketing and Communications

Becky Pagel has more than 20 years of experience in marketing, communications, fundraising and account management with both private and nonprofit organizations. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism and an MBA from Lindenwood University, and has worked in advertising and marketing at Stealth Creative, Meridian Enterprises and Accentra Communications, the company she founded. Additional experience from Concordia Seminary and St. John Church has contributed much to her current position as director of constituent advancement at Lutheran Hour Ministries where she gets to help people build relationships and share their faith in the digital age. A native St. Louisan, Becky enjoys spending time with her husband, Chris, and their three daughters.

Terry Biesboer

Chief Development Officer, Major and Planned Gifts

Terry Biesboer serves as Chief Development Officer, Major and Planned Gifts for Constituent Services at Lutheran Hour Ministries. He has been with LHM since March 2014.

Directly prior to joining LHM, Terry served as Senior Mission Advocate in the Mission Advancement department of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). In this position, he identified, cultivated and stewarded major donors while working with individuals, congregations and mission societies for LCMS ministries and campaigns, including Ablaze! and the Lutheran Malaria Initiative.

Prior to that, Terry was employed in the corporate world holding lead positions in operations and sales management. He served as a Vice President at Ambius from 1985 to 1998. Following a successful 30-year career in marketing and sales, Terry felt a passion for sharing the Gospel with others who did not yet know the hope and love which result from a personal relationship with Jesus.

Terry has earned and maintains the professional credential, Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), the world’s only accredited certification for philanthropic fundraising professionals. He works closely with his team of fifteen highly skilled development professionals to execute the priorities of LHM’s work while connecting with others who support the mission of LHM.

He played a key leadership role in the successful completion of two multi-year initiatives for LHM: SENT (2015-2020) and CONNECT (2020-2025). SENT surpassed its financial goal by raising $264 million to increase LHM’s weekly Gospel reach from 51 million to more than 125 million. During SENT, Terry recruited more than 130 volunteer leaders, across six regions nationwide, to support staff while also maintaining his own constituent portfolio to assist constituents in experiencing the joy of making a sacrificial gift.

CONNECT raised more than $330 million in support of Christ’s call for reaching the world with the hope of the Gospel by impacting people globally, through digital engagement, and right where they are. Through CONNECT, LHM more than doubled the number of times people experience the Gospel each week through its programs and resources – increasing from 125 million to nearly 275 million.

Terry and his wife, Brenda, currently live in Knoxville, Tennessee, and are members of Faith Lutheran Church in Knoxville. They have six grown children and 15 grandchildren.

Susan Halm

Senior Manager, Principal & Major Gifts

Susan Halm serves as Senior Manager, Principal & Major Gifts for Lutheran Hour Ministries. She has been with LHM since January 2018. In this position, Susan provides administrative support to the Chief Development Officer, Major and Planned Gifts, works closely with the gift design and administration team, and supports LHM’s mid-level donor efforts through a moves management model to identify, cultivate, and steward donor relationships.

Susan most recently served for 11 years as Manager of Gift Planning Support for Seminary Advancement at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, on a team that raised more than $195 million over five years toward a $180 million comprehensive campaign goal. Before that, she worked for various human services and religious organizations in Missouri, New York, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan, and taught courses as an adjunct faculty member at several colleges.

Susan has a bachelor’s degree (major in sociology and minor in business management) from the University of Wisconsin, Parkside in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and an associate’s degree in applied science (dental assistant) from Delta College in University Center, Michigan.

Susan and her husband, Michael, attend Holy Cross Lutheran Church in O’Fallon, Missouri. They have two grown daughters.

Danny Beasley

Ministry Advancement Counselor

Danny Beasley serves as a Ministry Advancement Counselor for Lutheran Hour Ministries, a position he has held since January 2023. In this position, he provides opportunities for Christians to support LHM through current and pledged gifts and helps to develop new and unique ways for donors to make an impact through LHM.

Prior to joining LHM, Danny spent eight years at One Mission Society USA in Greenwood, Indiana. During his time there, he held several roles, including executive director from 2018 to 2021, director of mobilization from 2017 to 2018, and field missionary in Ecuador from 2013 to 2017. His role as executive director gave him the insight to see all that is needed for a ministry to fulfill its role in the Great Commission, while working as a field missionary showed him the need for the Gospel to be shared with all people. Prior to serving in ministry, Danny worked at UPS for 16 years as a preloader, driver, and operations supervisor.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in administration of justice from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois.

Danny and his wife, Julieanne, live in Festus, Missouri, and have three children and four grandchildren.

Dean Ehrenheim

Ministry Advancement Counselor

Dean Ehrenheim serves as a Ministry Advancement Counselor for Lutheran Hour Ministries, a position he has held since September 2018. In this position, he provides opportunities for Christians to support LHM through current and pledged gifts and helps to develop new and unique ways for donors to make an impact through LHM.

Prior to joining LHM, Dean spent nearly three decades in leadership positions with YMCA throughout the central United States. From 2014-2018, he served as executive director of the Carondelet Park Rec Complex of the YMCA in St. Louis, serving more than 10,000 members, managing a staff of 300, and raising funds to help the under-resourced have access to the Y’s facilities and services. He previously was president and CEO of the Hot Springs Family YMCA in Hot Springs, Arkansas, for two years after serving in the same position in Owensboro, Kentucky, for 11 years. Prior to 2000, Dean coached swimming full-time for 12 years in Dallas; Lexington, Kentucky; and Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. Dean spent four years in volunteer leadership positions with his local Rotary Club, including two years as president. A two-time high school swimming state champion and All-American, he was inducted in 2006 into the Washington State High School Swimming Hall of Fame.

Dean and his wife, Jeanette, live in St. Louis and have four children and eight grandchilden.

Rev. Phil Esala

Gift Planning Counselor

Rev. Philip J. Esala serves as a Gift Planning Counselor for Lutheran Hour Ministries, a position he has held since April 2019. In this position he provides opportunities for Christians to support LHM through current and pledged gifts and helps to develop new and unique ways for donors to make an impact through LHM.

Phil most recently served as Planning, Organizational, and Donor Consultant for Lutheran Church Charities where he coordinated the organization’s staffing and helped expand its financial growth to support its rapidly expanding ministries. Before that he served as Associate Leader of Pastoral Leadership Institute (PLI) in Dallas. There he coordinated and supervised the identification and recruitment of pastors and partners in multiplying missional leadership to connect people to Jesus as well as identified, cultivated, and stewarded donors to support PLI. He previously served congregations in Illinois and Ohio for 25 years, including 18 years as Senior Pastor at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Kettering, Ohio, following a stint as Vice President for Trust Services for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Foundation where he managed assets growing to $200 million.

Phil holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Valparaiso University, a Juris Doctor degree from Florida State University’s College of Law, and a Master of Divinity from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. He has spent many years serving on boards for various organizations, including LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters; LCMS Board of Managers, Worker Benefit Plans; Concordia Publishing House, and PLI.

Phil’s wife, Deb, has lived in an Alzheimer’s facility since 2019. Phil lives nearby in a condominium and attends Atonement Lutheran Church in Columbus, Ohio. They have four married children and ten grandchildren.

Kim Glassman

Senior Ministry Advancement Counselor

Kim Glassman serves as a Senior Ministry Advancement Counselor for Lutheran Hour Ministries, a position she has held since May 2024. In this position, she nurtures opportunities for Christians to support LHM through current and pledged gifts and helps to develop new and unique ways for donors to make an impact through LHM.

A California native, Kim’s life has been woven with the Lutheran denomination from the very beginning when she was adopted by a Lutheran family through Lutheran Social Services. Growing up, first at Grace Lutheran Church in Corona, California, where her great uncle was the pastor, she then attended Immanuel Lutheran Church in Riverside, California, where she was also a student at the associated elementary school. Her mother, a Lutheran school teacher for more than 40 years, taught at that same school. Kim even practiced “working” for Lutheran Hour Ministries in the 1980s when she volunteered with the Petal Pushers to decorate the LHM float for the annual Rose Parade.

Professionally, Kim has enjoyed a 30-plus-year career spanning government, small business, and corporate life as a management leader in brand strategy and communications. Her extensive background in communications, public relations, and government relations includes owning a successful consulting business for small business, government, corporate, and non-profit organizations; being employed as director of communications for Cloud Consulting Partners, Inc.; serving as chief of staff for California Senator Jim Battin; and managing five winning multi-million-dollar campaigns for California state legislative districts as the campaign manager and chief strategist for Senator Battin. Her most recent position as manager of marketing and business development for Smart Earth Technologies, a start-up specializing in cloud-based technology, gave her the opportunity to successfully participate in the business journey of start up to corporate acquisition. Kim is excited to have the opportunity to serve the Lord in this new role, and work directly on spreading the Gospel and supporting the growth of the laity.

Kim resides in Vista, California, and has two adult children. She attends Redeemer by the Sea Lutheran Church in Carlsbad, where she serves as the congregational president. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of California, Riverside, and earned a certificate in the Psychology of Leadership from Cornell University.

Eric Gutberlet

Ministry Advancement Counselor

Eric Gutberlet serves as a Ministry Advancement Counselor at Lutheran Hour Ministries, a position he has held since October 2016. In this position, Eric provides opportunities for Christians to support LHM through current and pledged gifts and helps to develop new and unique ways for donors to make an impact through LHM.

Following a successful 35-year career in marketing and sales, including a stint at Concordia Publishing House, Eric sought greater fulfillment in life by sharing his passion and engaging fellow believers in the mission of LHM. He previously had been a partner for a sales training and development firm (Research Based Solutions) as well as a consultancy for small- to mid-sized businesses (True North Group) after serving for several years as director of marketing and client development for RubinBrown, LLC. Eric is a professional member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and is active both at the national level and with the St. Louis chapter.

Born a Roman Catholic, he married his wife Libby, a Presbyterian Church in America minister’s daughter, and they now are members of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Ellisville, Missouri. As a father of three adult children, Eric’s passion is pursuing programs that will re-engage Millennials to seek and share a love for Christ in their own lives.

Christine Myers

Associate Director, Major and Planned Gifts

Christine Myers serves as Associate Director, Major and Planned Gifts for Lutheran Hour Ministries, a position she has held since June 2023. In this role, she provides opportunities for Christians to support LHM through current and pledged gifts and helps to develop new and unique ways for donors to make an impact through LHM. Chris previously served for two and a half years as Senior Ministry Advancement & Special Projects Counselor, overseeing LHM’s Global Speaker Series and managing project coordination for various LHM fundraising projects.

Since joining LHM in 2011, she has served numerous roles in support of the ministry’s global efforts in five regions, including international ministries partnership program specialist, manager of volunteer teams, and manager of international constituencies. Prior to joining LHM, Chris was an independent small business owner for nearly 30 years.

Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Concordia University Wisconsin and previously served a two-year term as first vice president for the Association of Lutheran Mission Agencies (ALMA). She earned the professional credential, Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), the world’s only accredited certification for philanthropic fundraising professionals that highlights their commitment to ethical practices, donor stewardship, and nonprofit leadership. Chris and her husband, Ed, have two grown children and attend Lutheran Church of Webster Gardens in Webster Groves, Missouri.

John Sanders

Ministry Advancement Counselor

John Sanders serves as a Ministry Advancement Counselor for Lutheran Hour Ministries, a position he has held since July 2020. In this position, he provides opportunities for Christians to support LHM through current and pledged gifts and helps to develop new and unique ways for donors to make an impact through LHM.

Prior to joining LHM, John served as president, CEO and founder of SWM Inc., a leading marketing consulting company. He worked with companies to grow their enterprises with effective and high impact marketing solutions. In addition to his primary responsibilities as principal owner, his focus was on new business development. He developed a special expertise with the non-profit industry segment and consulted with several regional and national organizations in helping them achieve success with their donor development programs. SWM Inc. was recognized as an INC 500 Company as one of the fastest growing companies in America and SWM grew over 25 years to be a leading regional and national firm prior to being sold in 2006.

John holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Western Illinois University. He has spent many years serving on boards for various organizations, including the Gateway Chapter and National Board for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society; St. Louis Guns & Hoses benefitting the Backstoppers; Autism Speaks; and Adoption Exchange.

John and his wife, Kathie, live in Maryland Heights, Missouri. They have two sons and one grandson.

Sara Trickey

Senior Ministry Advancement Counselor

Sara Trickey serves as a Senior Ministry Advancement Counselor for Lutheran Hour Ministries, a position she has held since February 2022. In this position, she provides opportunities for Christians to support LHM through current and pledged gifts and helps to develop new and unique ways for donors to make an impact through LHM.

Prior to joining LHM, Sara served in various ministry capacities throughout her life. She has been a speaker for various conferences and retreats, founded and ran a nonprofit educational organization, worked in family ministry and student leadership, and homeschooled her two children (both of whom are now young adults). Sara also was a licensed broker for a nationally recognized real estate agency after her family moved to Decatur, Illinois, from San Diego. Before that she was a buyer for both Walmart and The May Company.

Sara recently relocated to St. Louis from Decatur, where her late husband, Eric, served as senior pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. She is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado and holds a business degree in marketing.

Mark Fields

Ministry Advancement Counselor

Mark Fields serves as a Ministry Advancement Counselor for Lutheran Hour Ministries, a position he has held since January 2025. In this position, he provides opportunities for Christians to support LHM through current and pledged gifts and helps to develop new and unique ways for donors to make an impact through LHM.

Mark joined the LHM team in January 2024 and originally served as a Ministry Advancement Counselor who engaged, cultivated, and stewarded donors. During college, he spent three summers and one fall on the staff of Camp Arcadia, a Lutheran family camp in Northern Michigan. Mark led Bible Studies for children and youth of all ages and ensured that the physical needs for guests were not only met but exceeded. This provided valuable experience for his current work at LHM—developing meaningful relationships with thoughtful Christians who seek to live Christlike lives.

Mark earned bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and political science from Hope College in Holland, Michigan. He is a member at Reliant Church (LCMS) in St. Louis, where he serves as a worship leader.

Marjan Kempen

Senior Ministry Advancement Counselor

Marjan Kempen serves as a Senior Ministry Advancement Counselor for Lutheran Hour Ministries, a position she has held since August 2025. In this position, she provides opportunities for Christians to support LHM through current and pledged gifts and helps to develop new and unique ways for donors to make an impact through LHM. 

For the past 15 years, Marjan taught at Westminster Christian Academy in Town & Country, Missouri, where she also coached the boys and girls swim/dive teams. Prior to that, she was a teacher at St. John’s Lutheran School in Ellisville, Missouri. She spent three years as assistant director of campus recreation at Saint Louis University after graduating from college before deciding to stay home to raise her children.

She attended Saint Louis University on a swimming scholarship and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from there in education, with certifications in elementary and early childhood education. Marjan and her husband, Kevin, live in Wildwood, Missouri, and have two adult sons.