Rev. Alan M. Thoe

Pastor Thoe, his wife Amy, and 4 children moved from Wisconsin to Tennessee in the fall of 1997. After working as a heavy truck and locomotive mechanic, Pastor Al enjoyed the new challenge of working in the residential construction industry. The family joined Grace Lutheran Church in the spring of 1998. Pastor Al entered the Deacon Program in 2002, finishing in 2008. In 2010, he enrolled in the Specific Ministry Program through Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne, was ordained as a SMP Pastor in June of 2013, and completed the course in August of 2014. He continued to work full time in the construction field and part time as Assistant Pastor until May of 2016 when Pastor Al and Amy moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana. Pastor Al attended Concordia Theological Seminary full time to earn a General Ministry Certificate in the Alternate Route Program while Amy worked at the Seminary in the Food Co-op. Completing the program in May of 2017, Pastor Al and Amy moved back to Murfreesboro where he continued to work part-time at Grace Lutheran Church as a bi-vocational pastor. He became the full-time Vacancy Pastor in February 2022 when Senior Pastor Wenck retired. Pastor Al received the call from Grace to be their Sole Pastor on March 6th, 2022. Since moving to Tennessee in 1997, their family has grown to 6 children (four biological children and two they helped raise). They have six biological grandchildren, and eight "adopted" for a total of 14 grandchildren. He is active in the Shooting for Grace gun club and likes to watch British mysteries during his days off.