WELS South Atlantic District

caleb kurbis

Discipleship Coordinator

Pastor Caleb Kurbis serves as pastor of Living Savior Lutheran Church in Asheville, NC since 2011. He has served on district Evangelism and Worship Committees and also serves as the circuit pastor for the Blue Ridge Circuit.

Brian Pechman

Evangelism Coordinator

Pastor Pechman has served at Risen Savior Lutheran Church in Pooler, Georgia since 2011. Past service includes District Evangelism Coordinator in the Arizona-California and Dakota-Montana districts.

Duane Schmeichel

Special Ministries Coordinator

Pastor Schmeichel has served at Lamb of God in Madison, AL since 2017. He is the military contact pastor for the Huntsville area, and has served as special ministries coordinator since 2022.

Ben Kratz

Worship Coordinator

Pastor Kratz has served Our Savior Lutheran Church in Birmingham, AL, since 2003. He serves the synod as a pastoral advisor for the WELS Women’s Ministry Team and as a mentor for new pastors.

Eric Brown

District Schools Coordinator

Eric Brown has served as principal at Christ the King Lutheran Church and School in Palm Coast, FL since 2018. He earned a MSEd in School Leadership from Northern Arizona University in 2010 and previously served as the District Schools Coordinator in the Dakota-Montana District. Eric considers himself blessed to serve the educational ministries of the South Atlantic District as their District Schools Coordinator.

Shawna Mehlberg

Early Childhood Centers Coordinator

Shawna Mehlberg has served as an early childhood teacher and director at Divine Savior Academy in Doral, FL since 2008. She is also currently serving as the Head of Early Childhood for Divine Savior Ministries. She obtained her Master's degree in Early Childhood Education in 2017.

Ben zahn

District Mission Board Chairman

Pastor Ben Zahn has served as pastor of Amazing Grace Lutheran Church in Myrtle Beach, SC since 2006. He has been on the South Atlantic District Board since 2019 and served as chairman starting in 2020.

John P. Fowler

District Representative on the Synodical Council

John Fowler is the Vice President of North American Field Service with STERIS Corporation, and has 27 years of varied leadership experience with General Electric, CompuCom and STERIS Corporation.  John and his wife Sarah have three children and currently reside in Franklin, TN

The Synodical Council is responsible for managing the activities of the synod that are determined by the synod in convention. These responsibilities include overseeing and evaluating all programs of ministry carried out by the synod and coordinating the execution of decisions made by the synod in convention.