Staff
Mark Friz
Senior Pastor
Mark Friz is our Senior Pastor. He and his wife, Gayle, have been with St. Paul's since 1994. They have four children, two grandchildren, and are eagerly awaiting the arrival of two more grandchildren.
Before coming to St. Paul's, Pastor Mark served St. Stephan's United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois (1980-1985) and St. Luke's Evangelical Church in Wellington, Missouri (1985-1993). In 1987, he cofounded (with Rev. Ross McClellan) the King's Kids camping program in Missouri, and continues to direct camps as his schedule allows.
He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and a Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California. The title of his dissertation was A Strategy for the Sustained Revitalization of St. Paul's Evangelical Free Church in St. Louis.
In his spare time, he enjoys running, gardening, and spending time with his family.
Dan Walter
Pastor of Adult Ministries
Before moving to St. Louis in May of 2001, Pastor Dan and his wife, Pat, lived in Rock Island, Illinois. Pastor Dan was an Associate Pastor at First Evangelical Free Church in Moline, Illinois. He is ordained in the Evangelical Free Church of America and has served other E-Free churches in the Chicago and Minneapolis areas. Pastor Dan received his Masters of Divinity degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. Dan and Pat have three children and six grandchildren. He enjoys gardening in his spare time, and can often be seen helping with painting and other projects around the church.
He has an extensive training background in small group ministries, having served as a consultant on small group ministries for other E-Free churches in the Quad Cities area. He coordinates the small groups here at St. Paul’s, and through his guidance we have watched our small group ministry grow and flourish.
Herb Stemler
Minister of Pastoral Care
Pastor Herbert Stemler is St. Paul’s minister of Pastoral Care. He has dedicated much of his time to visiting those in our church who are shut-ins, hospitalized or otherwise in need of visit.
Pastor Stemler has been at St. Paul's since 1993. In 2001, he went into "semi-retirement," but no one around church could tell that by the way he keeps up his busy schedule of pastoral care.
Every year, church members enjoy the abundance from his personal gardens. He also owns a Christmas tree farm in Illinois.
Pastor Stemler earned his Master of Divinity from Eden Theological Seminary here in St. Louis. Previously he had attended the David Ranken Jr. School of Mechanical Trades (Ranken Technical College).
Carrie Fisher
Director of Children and Family Ministries
Carrie has been with St. Paul's since the Spring of 2008. She has a BS degree in Children and Family Ministries and a BS in Graphic Design from John Brown University. She has been working with children's ministries most of her life.
Carrie enjoys camping and spending time with family and friends. Her favorite food is steak.
Lois Percival
Director of Music
Lois has been making beautiful music here for 25 years. She and her husband, Ralph, have two daughters and two grandchildren. Lois is also recently retired from the Ladue School District. Among her accomplishments there, she led the strolling strings group.
When not coordinating the many musical groups of St. Paul's, Lois and Ralph enjoy travelling.
Jannet Dieckgraefe
Office Administrator
Jannet and her husband, Scott, have been members here since 1996 and Jannet has been employed by the church since 2006. Jannet and Scott have three daughters: Kate, Sarah, and Anna.
Prior to working at St. Paul's, Jannet worked as a teacher assistant for a local elementary school, and has worked a the Market Day company, a school fundraising organization. She has a degree in Hotel & Restaurant Management from the University of Central Missouri, and worked in the hotel industry after college.
Photography is one of her interests, having grown up with that family business of her parents. She would also like to travel more in the future.
Barbara van Dyk
Financial Administrator
Barbara and her husband, Kurt, are long time members of St. Paul's, where they raised their two children. Barbara loves spending time with her two grandchildren.
Barbara is active as a Sunday School teacher and confirmation mentor coach. She participates in an evening Community Bible Study group, and was involved with the Bible Study Fellowship for many years.
Terri Booher
Secretary
Terri has been our Secretary for 12 years. She and her husband, Dave, have four children and six grandchildren. She is an avid fan of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. She also enjoys spending time and traveling with her many friends and family members.
Clay Brigham
Facilities Caretaker
If you hear joyous singing in the church during the weekdays, it must be Clay. Since 2007, he has been faithfully caring for our facilities, and takes great pride is this task.
When not keeping our building beautiful, Clay has been active helping in the Children's area with vacation Bible school, as a prayer partner, a King's Kids Camp counselor, confirmation mentor, high school Sunday school teacher, and most recently, "Fusion" our pre-teen group. He helped launch the new Men's Fraternity.
He also enjoys biking, hiking, music, movies, and fellowshipping with his brothers and sisters in Christ.
Jesse Pollmann
Pastor Emeritus
Reverend Pollmann served the congregation as Senior Pastor from 1982-1993. He and his wife, Donna, have 2 children, 5 grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter. Jesse and Donna enjoy travelling in their spare time.