Staff

Rick Loewen was a police officer for 20 years prior to serving in public ministry. As a police officer he served as a patrol officer, narcotics detective, vice detective, and homicide detective. He taught police officers in the areas of interviews and interrogation, undercover operations, and crime scene investigation. While serving as a police officer and enrolled in the staff ministry program at DMLC, he received a divine call to start the first youth and family ministry program on the White Mountain Apache Reservation AZ. He was then called by WLCFS to develop and implement family ministry programs Synod wide. He served as the director of ministries at WLCFS and oversaw their ministry support services program, family life education program, and counseling division. Rick is currently called by Crosswalk Lutheran Church. At Crosswalk, he serves for a subsidiary ministry called CrossTrain Ministries. CrossTrain Ministries is a self-supporting ministry in partnership with Grace in Action Ministries.

Daron Lindemann serves the kingdom with a passion for developing people. He has built up the saints into a healthy ownership of ministry, equipping and empowering leaders in both a mission setting at Hope Lutheran Church in Irmo, SC for 6 years and a large, downtown setting at Grace Lutheran church in Milwaukee, WI for 13 years. This and a desire to help pastors has led to his involvement as a WELS preaching consultant and editor of Preach the Word newsletter, speaking engagements, and directing Pastor Partners, a pastor development initiative of Grow in Grace at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. Daron’s own development has included being coached by Rick Loewen, then advancing to a life coaching certificate and coaching other pastors. He currently serves as mission pastor at Holy Word Lutheran Church in Pflugerville, TX. When he’s not touring Texas on the Harley with his wife, Cara, you’ll find Daron relaxing near the grill or keeping track of his two college-aged sons.​

Tim Glende has served as a WELS pastor since 1998 when he was assigned to serve a mission start-up in Urbana/Savoy, IL. In 2006, he was called to  as the associate pastor at St. Peter Lutheran in Appleton, WI. He is passionate about preaching and sharing Jesus and God’s Word in our ever changing world in both innovative and traditional ways that meet people where they are at.

Tim’s journey to joining the CrossTrain staff began with him being coached by Rick Loewen as a participant. In 2014, he advanced to a life coaching certificate and is currently coaching pastors. He currently serves as the lead pastor of a multi-site church in Appleton, WI, St. Peter Lutheran Church & The CORE. In his free time he enjoys attending his son’s high school sporting events, keeping in touch with his daughter who is now at college, working out, and spending time with his wife, Holly.

Steven Gabb has served as a pastor since 2000 at which time he was assigned with a classmate to plant a church in New York City. In 2007, he accepted a call to serve an established congregation in Los Angeles, CA and has been there ever since. Steve thrives in urban ministry settings and the diverse opportunities they provide to share and apply the Gospel of Jesus. He also serves on the Arizona-California District (WELS) Presidium as the district secretary.

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Jim Buske has served as a WELS pastor since 2002 and has served as a tutor at Luther Preparatory School in Watertown W, associate pastor at Christ the King in Bremerton WA. and currently serves as founding Executive Director at Lighthouse Youth Center in Milwaukee WI since 2006. He is passionate about sharing Jesus and helping young people make wise life decisions.

Jim has been coached by Rick Loewen in the Crosstrain Coaching Network since 2011. He has been part of the Crosstrain coaching team since 2016, assisting pastors in their personal finances. When he’s not at the Lighthouse, you can find him enjoying his kids activities, in the garden, on the lake or in the woods.  Jim and his wife Terry have four children.

Tim Dolan has served has served in the public ministry for the past 17 years. He began his ministry as an instructor at East Fork Lutheran High School on the White Mountain Apache Reservation in Arizona, where he taught religion, coached, and worked with the youth and family ministry center. He continued his ministry as a tutor at Michigan Lutheran Seminary in Saginaw, Michigan. He served as a parish pastor at Cross of Life in Miami, Florida and Divine Savior Lutheran Church Doral, Florida. Tim moved from the parish ministry to education and served at Luther Preparatory School as recruitment director and for the past 7 years as dean of students. In addition to his duties at Luther Prep, he serves as chairman of the Administrative Committee for Native American Missions which partners with WELS ministries on the White Mountain and San Carlos reservations in Arizona.

Jay Zahn has served has served in the public ministry for the past 17 years. For the first 16 years of ministry, Jay served at Hope in Irmo, SC. He helped the congregation transition from worshiping in a dance studio to their own permanent facility. He also had opportunity in Irmo to serve as a supervising pastor in the vicar program for three years. Since July of 2016, Jay has been serving at Christ the King congregation in Palm Coast, FL. Jay is passionate about reaching the lost and wandering with the saving Gospel and encouraging and nurturing believers to keep on growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ.

Jay began in CrossTrain ministries in 2011. He is excited to be able to share the blessings he is receiving through CrossTrain as a coach to fellow pastors. Jay and his wife, Jessie, have been blessed with two children, a son and a daughter. In his free time, Jay enjoys family time, fishing, golfing, and working out.

Peggy Myers grew up in California, attended Michigan Lutheran Seminary and Dr. Martin Luther College, and upon graduation married seminary student Daniel Myers. While he finished his last two years of Seminary, she taught third through fifth grades. Daniel was assigned to an exploratory mission in Vermont where they had four children before taking a call to begin an exploratory mission in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. While in Canada, Peggy homeschooled the children for ten years. After twenty years in home missions, Daniel accepted the call to be administrator and dean of students at Great Plains Lutheran High School in Watertown, SD and Peggy taught at the high school, helped begin a Jesus Cares Ministry, developed a Hispanic Outreach program, and taught adult evening classes. Adding to the adventure, Daniel then accepted the call to Cameroon, West Africa. They spent four years acclimating to a new culture and helping the church to become stronger in their understanding of Scripture and how to apply God’s Word better to their own culture. Peggy was able to write Sunday school materials, Bible studies and develop a women’s ministry.

Peggy then returned to America and lived in Wisconsin where her husband underwent cancer treatment. “While my husband struggled with the cancer, we learned more lessons of what it meant to live from day to day relying on the Lord and his future plans for us. My husband entered heaven in August of 2013.” Peggy has since relocated to St. Paul, MN, closer to some of her children and their families. Peggy is excited to serve in a new role supporting and encouraging called workers’ wives in the CrossTrain network.