Moments with Missionaries – Fred and Steph Berger
Presenting live at Taste of Missions on June 14, 2025
Rev. Fred and Steph Berger – New Mission Start, Kronenwetter, Wis.
Rev. Fred and Steph Berger met at Fox Valley Lutheran High School. Steph graduated from Marquette University with a nursing degree. The couple was married before heading to Fred’s vicar year in Mississauga, Ont., where they spent a wonderful year getting a taste of mission work with Rev. Joel and Dawn Schulz at Cross of Life. They currently have two daughters, Grace (11) and Hope (6).
Rev. Fred Berger was first assigned to St. Paul’s, Livingston, Mont., where he served for four and a half years. He then accepted a call to St. Paul’s, Plymouth, Neb., serving there for nine and a half years. In each location, with the various brothers and sisters they have served alongside, they enjoy looking back and seeing how God was preparing them for the task he has now given them in Kronenwetter, Wis.
In addition to 14 years of mission work experience in various settings, Fred has seen the administrative side of Home Missions. He served on the Nebraska District Mission Board, the Board for Home Missions, and its Executive Committee. During this time, he worked side-by-side with WELS mission counselors Mark Birkholz and Matt Vogt. He witnessed the challenging yet rewarding work of starting home mission churches (e.g., in Blair, Neb.; Joplin, Mo.; and Wichita, Kan.) and supporting a cross-cultural mission plant at Grace Hmong in Kansas City, Kan.
The Bergers moved to Kronenwetter, Wis., and Fred was installed as a new home missionary in September 2024. With a core group of approximately 30 members, they plan to launch public worship in September 2025. At Taste of Missions, they look forward to sharing how God has been preparing them—and you—for mission work, along with some of the challenges and blessings of their work in Kronenwetter.