Grace in Deephaven

Pastor Dan Sollie

Hi, I’m Pastor Dan Sollie! I grew up in Fertile, Minnesota – a small town of about 800 residents and plenty of humor surrounding the name ‘Fertile’. After graduating from high school, I attended the Lutheran Bible Institute (LBI) in Seattle, then moved back to Minnesota and completed my general credits at Moorhead State University. I returned once again to the Lutheran Bible Institute where I received my Ministry Degree with concentration in Christian Education. I met my wife Kim in 1973 while attending Moorhead State and married her in '75. One of our shared loves was mission work. After attending a mission conference at LBI, we decided to take steps to actively pursue cross-cultural missions. We joined the World Mission Prayer League and began preparations to move to Ecuador, South America. One year later, following extensive language study in Southern Texas and Mexico, we moved to Ecuador. We truly enjoyed living in Ecuador! The people and the culture coupled with the language and work was the fulfillment of a desire come true for Kim and myself. Every four years we would return to the U.S. to spend one year visiting family, churches and supporters, and continuing our studies. While in Ecuador, we raised our four children and twenty years later in 2000, we returned to the U.S. Our motto for our mission work has always been, “We go to help, we come back blessed.” In 1993, while on furlough, I attended the American Lutheran Theological Seminary in St. Paul and began working toward ordination. Upon completion in 2003, I received a call to pastor here at Grace. I have a great appreciation for this congregation as well as those I work with. Our goal is to connect people to Jesus Christ (the King).