Our Staff

Pastor Eric Kleinschmidt

Rev. Eric Allan Kleinschmidt was installed as the Sole Pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church on December 11, 2011. Previously Pastor Kleinschmidt had been called on April 24,  2007 to serve as Associate Pastor of the congregation and was installed on July 8, 2007 by the Rev. Arthur R. Burkman. He had also served as Redeemer’s 20th Vicar in 2005-2006. He was ordained on June 24th, 2007 by the Rev. Alden J. Beversdorf at St. John Lutheran Church in Merrill, Wisconsin.

Pastor Kleinschmidt was born and raised in Merrill, Wisconsin. He was baptized and confirmed at St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church and School where he attended until the eighth grade. He graduated Merrill Senior High School in 1999 where he was active in Mock Trial, Debate, and the Boy Scouts of America receiving his Eagle Scout Award in 1998. He also won the local VFW Voice of Democracy speech contest during his senior year. He then attended Concordia University Wisconsin graduating cum laude in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Pastoral Ministry. He enrolled at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne Indiana, graduating in 2007 with a Master of Divinity degree with a focus on Systematic Theology. During his time at the seminary, Pastor Kleinschmidt served as President of Concordia Toastmasters Club of Toastmasters International, and won the Systematic Theology Department award for his senior paper entitled “A Kantian Perspective on Postmodernity in Relation to the Lord’s Supper and Biblical Truth.” He currently serves on the school board of the Lutheran School Corporation of Indiana as Pastoral Advisor.

Pastor Kleinschmidt lives in Dyer with his family. In his spare time he likes to destroy parts of his house and rebuild them, do the same with his cars, play Fallout 4, fix wristwatches, and refinish old furniture. He hopes to enjoy a long, fruitful ministry serving the people of God at Redeemer and in the surrounding communities.

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Redeemer sends our prayers and wishes Godspeed to our 2024-2025 vicar Erik Osmundson as he returns to Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne to complete his Master of Divinity program.