Lutheran Church of Hope
Staff & Leaders

Michael Housholder

Mike Housholder, Senior Pastor In the summer of 1993, Pastor Mike became the mission developer for Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines, Iowa. By the fall of 1994, Hope officially organized as a new congregation and called Mike to serve as senior pastor. Since then, Hope has launched three satellite congregations, connected thousands of people to hundreds of small groups and discipleship classes, actively launched numerous Christian based local and global outreach ministries, completed five major building projects, and developed a multitude of effective ministries for children, families, women, men, singles, couples, seniors, the hurting and the lost. Along the way, Hope has become one of the largest and fastest growing churches in the nation, and more importantly a church through which the Holy Spirit has transformed countless hearts, and sent thousands into the world to reflect the light of God’s radical love. Pastor Mike was listed in the Outreach Magazine’s ”25 Church Leaders to Watch,” and is a recipient of the “40 under 40” award from the Des Moines Business Record. His story has been documented in feature articles in DSM, and the Des Moines Register. He served on the original Core Leadership Team for Alpha USA, and is a current board member for Meals from the Heartland, which started as an outreach ministry at Hope. Born in Idaho, Mike grew up in the Rockies before his family moved to the Midwest, and eventually Chicago, prior to his high school years. A graduate of Concordia College-Moorhead (1986, B.A. magna cum laude) and Luther Seminary (1990, Master of Divinity), Pastor Mike served as a solo pastor at Palestine Lutheran in rural Huxley from 1990-1993. He has been happily married to Sally since 1987, and they have three children.