MEET OUR PASTOR
AND HIS FAMILY
Pastor Doug and Amy in Germany
(Clockwise from left) Rhea Krengel Folk, Pastor Krengel, Amy Krengel and Little Maeve Folk
Jake, Patricia, Isaiah and Eliana Krengel
Harrison, Maeve & Rhea Folk
Jake, Patricia, Isaiah and Eliana Krengel
Rev. Dr. Douglas Krengel
Isaiah Krengel
Harrison, Maeve & Rhea Folk
Greetings,
Before introducing myself and my family to you, I want to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for His grace and mercy. The risen and reigning Christ has again shown me His generosity and love as He has called me to serve as pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Bridgman, Michigan. Thanks be to God!
Over the last 32 years, the Lord has sent me to serve in the Office of the Holy Ministry. This calling began in the font of Holy Baptism as the Holy Spirit created faith in my heart on May 30, 1965, at Saint John's Lutheran church in Forest Park, Illinois (where my father and his two sisters were also baptized and attended Lutheran school). Pastor Donald Gaurlay officiated the service. Soon after my baptism, may parents chose to move to Houston, Texas. At Pilgrim Lutheran Church and School in Houston, I received regular instruction in God's Word. At the end of my eighth-grade year at Pilgrim, I was confirmed on May 6, 1979, by Pastor Donald Peyman (who also happened to live immediately next door to our house). Pilgrim served as the church home for our family into the 1980's. Over those years I served as the president for our youth group in what was know as Lutheran Youth Fellowship. Attending the LCMS National Youth Gathering in San Antonio, Texas, in 1983, had a powerful effect on me. In that same season of my life, Pastor Peyman encouraged me to study to become a pastor. His counsel went unheeded - at least at first.
In the fall of 1983 I began my college studies at the University of Texas, Austin. Aerospace Engineering was my initial major. However, the Holy Spirit continued to call me into the pastoral office. After spending my first semester of college studying the Word, keeping a prayer journal, and sharing my faith with other students, I realized that God was indeed calling me to serve in His church. In January 1984, I transferred to Concordia University Chicago and entered the pre-seminary program. In 1987 I graduated from CUC with a double-major in Philosophy and English. Within a month after graduating, Amy Schelling and I were married at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Jackson, Michigan (Amy's home parish). The newly married Mr. and Mrs. Krengel moved to Saint Louis, where I entered the M.Div. program and Amy began teaching at River Roads Lutheran School. Redeemer Lutheran church in St. Cloud Minnesota, is where I served my vicarage. It is also the birthplace of our first child, Jacob (Jake) Krengel.
Upon graduating form Concordia Seminary in 1991, the Holy Spirit called me to serve as Assistant Pastor at Saint Paul Lutheran Church in Caro, Michigan (1991-1993). Soon the church grew in membership, as Amy and I were blessed with the birth of our second child, Rhea Krengel (now Folk). Over the last thirty-two years the Lord of the church has sent me to serve at Saint Paul Lutheran Church and School in Lapeer, Michigan (1993-2000), Trinity Lutheran Church and School in Jackson, Michigan (2000-2010), and The Family of Faith Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas (2010-2023).
During my pastorate in Houston, I earned my Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from Concordia University Chicago (2019). The Lord also blessed our congregation with a second ministry location which provides early childhood education and care to over one-hundred children. Over these years, our children were also blessed to attend Lutheran preschools and schools (as was Amy before them). Both of our children had Amy as their first grade teacher. As of 2023, God has called me to serve in a parish with a preschool for thirty years. In addition to sharing the Gospel with preschool students, I am a guest instructor at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. "Teaching the Faith" is the name of the class I lead online for Specific Ministry Pastor students. Through these life experiences and educational processes, the risen Savior has taught me about his grace and mercy. However, Christ is not done with me yet. I look forward to learning more about the God of the Bible with you at Immanuel Lutheran Church.
Amy and I are now grandparents three times over. Jake and Patricia Krengel are the loving parents of Isaiah (5 years old) and Eliana (3 years old). Jake owns and operates the Bavaria and Beyond Travel Company from his home in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, located in the German Alps. Rhea and Harrison Folk are the proud parents of our newest grandchild, Maeve Folk (1 year old). Just one year ago, Amy and I rushed up to Saint Joseph, Michigan, to be with Harrison and Rhea as we all welcomed Maeve into the world. Harrison Folk is a realtor. Rhea teaches art in the Three Oaks school system. They live in Saint Joseph, Michigan, which happens to be conveniently located to Bridgman. Actually, there is no “happens to” involved. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is to be praised for he is the one who is leading my life, our family, and his church.
In Christ’s service,
Rev. Dr. Douglas Krengel
Jake, Patricia & Isaiah
Pastor Krengel receiving his hood from his Aunt Dr. Lois Klatt
Eliana Krengel
Jake, Patricia, Isaiah and Eliana Krengel
MEET OUR VACANCY PASTOR
Reverend Carl Bassett with his wife Lisa
Pastor Carl Bassett was born on April 7, 1947, in Reading, Massachusetts. He spent his growing up years in the Orlando, Florida area. He was married to his High School sweetheart, Lisa Kendrick, on October 9, 1970. The Lord has blessed them with three daughters and two grandchildren. He has degrees from the University of South Florida, conferred in 1974 (B.S. Medical Technology, B.A. Chemistry, B.A. Religious Studies) and a graduate degree from Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, Indiana, conferred in 1987 (Masters of Divinity and Certificate of Ordination)
Pastor Bassett has been an ordained Pastor in the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod since 1987 and served parishes in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan for over thirty-five years, most recently serving as Senior Pastor at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Niles, Michigan, from 2002 through 2015. He retired on January 1, 2016, but has remained very active in pastoral ministry, serving many congregations as Vacancy and Supply Pastor, as well as being trained Synodical trained as an Intentional Interim Pastor in the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod. As an Interim Vacancy Pastor, he served Salem Lutheran Church, Grand Rapids (Kentwood), Michigan, as Visiting Senior Pastor while their pastor was on disability leave from March 1 through May 30, 2020. He has served as Intentional Interim Pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Bridgman, Michigan, from August 1st 2017 to July 31st, 2018, and St. Paul Lutheran Church, South Bend, Indiana from August 15, 2018 until September 30, 2019, and Redeemer Lutheran, Jackson, MI from June 1, 2020 to September 15, 2021. He returned August 1, 2022, to Immanuel Lutheran Church, in Bridgman, Michigan, to serve as Interim Vacancy Pastor.
Prior to Ordination, he served as a Staff Medical Bacteriologist and Clinical Medical Technologist at Tampa General Hospital and the VA Hospital, Tampa, Florida (1974-1978) and Director of Clinical and Anatomical Pathology Laboratories at Medical Center Hospital, Largo Florida (1978-1983) He proudly served in the United States Navy from 1967-1971 (including two twelve month combat tours in Vietnam, trained in Air Strike Planning/Special Operations/Naval Intelligence). In addition, he served as Contract Chaplain for the Veterans Administration in Chicago, Illinois from 1998 to 2013.
Pastor Bassett has been in Law Enforcement/Fire Service Chaplaincy for over 30 years, having served in the Wood Dale, Illinois, Police and Fire Departments (1990-2002), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation since 1993. He was accepted into the Chaplain's Corp of the Michigan State Police and commissioned as Captain, in May, 2016. He is an active member of the International Conference of Police Chaplains, has basic and advanced certification in Crisis Management from the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, and the FBI, and has actively served as Senior Special Agent Chaplain on the Bureau's Crisis Response teams since 1996. He was privileged to serve and assist the first responders at Ground Zero at the World Trade Center in New York City, and the Pentagon shortly after September 11, 2001, (September 14 through the 28th) and has been regularly called to respond and serve at many other traumatic events on local, state, national, and international levels.
Pastor and has wife have made their "retirement home" in Niles, MI.
Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior!
Our Mission is to bring others to Christ!
We know with our Triune God all things are possible!
We stand on the Biblical Truth of the Holy Bible!
We are a church family of action and doers!
We are the church and not just a building!
We stand with God's one true church of Believers!
We stand up for the Sanctity of Human Life!
We love our Country and stand with those that protect it!