Leadership

After growing up in Tampa, Florida, Pastor Gustafson (Pastor G) graduated from Concordia Chicago and went on to attend Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. Pastor G has served in congregations in Minnesota and Wisconsin and now is joyfully serving the Lord at Trinity Merrill and loves spreading the Gospel throughout the church and community. Pastor G met his wife, Georgia, in college and they have five children together - David, Caleb, Joshua, Sarah, and Rachel. When Pastor G isn't at church, you can find him spending time with his family and his dog (Royal), serving our country, and cheering on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Devan Arntson, born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota, serves as our Director of Christian Education. He moved to Merrill in 2021 and has been actively involved in the lives of our youth since then. Devan runs the middle and high school Youth Groups, oversees Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, and leads several adult Bible Studies. Devan also helps at Trinity School where he’s needed and coaches at the Merrill High School. Everything Devan does flows from the philosophy that he wants to be the guy he needed when he was a teen.

Jennifer Rajek is the Director of Operations at Trinity Merrill Lutheran Church, assisting with the non-ministry operations of Trinity. This includes helping the church, school, and child care in many different ways. She married Peter in 2012 and they have two adult children who both attended Trinity School and were confirmed at Trinity Church. Jennifer started working at Trinity School part-time when her children were younger to be more involved in their church and school lives. As the children became older, she volunteered in different ways including PTO. When Covid happened, she took a break and worked during the summer months at Trinity Child Care while also running a home child care. In December 2022, she closed her child care to come back to Trinity since she missed the “Trinity family”. Since she has returned, she has officially become a member of Trinity Merrill Lutheran Church. Jennifer and her husband love to travel the beautiful world God gave us. 

Robin Grenfell is the Administrative Assistant at Trinity Merrill Lutheran Church. Robin and her husband, Rich, will be celebrating 40 years of marriage in June. They have two adult children: Ross (Lisa) Grenfell and Raena (Zach) Grisa  and 4 beautiful grandchildren. Robin recently celebrated her 25th Anniversary working at Trinity. Robin is a life long member at Trinity and attended Trinity School.  Robin helped with the Trinity Youth Ministry and eventually started the Kids for Christ (4th and 5th grade program) of which she has many fond memories. She also started and ran the Afterschool Program which is now part of the Trinity Child Care. Robin and Rich love to travel but also enjoy family time at both their cottage in Harrison and at their cabin in the Town of Schley. Robin loves her Trinity family and thanks the good Lord for them. Robin’s hope is that Trinity will continue to reach the hearts of those who are seeking love and a lifelong relationship with their Savior, just as Trinity and its members have so graciously extended to her.

Native of Hershey, Nebraska, Britnee Hartwig lives to serve the Lord. Britnee first moved to Merrill in the summer of 2019 after graduating from Concordia University, Nebraska with a Bachelor’s of Science in Education Degree with English Language Arts and English as a Second Language endorsements. Britnee began her career at Trinity School as the K-8th grade technology and middle school ELA teacher and later moved into the position of 5th grade teacher. Now, she serves as the Middle School (6-8th) ELA teacher at our school and is the Director of Communications at our church. Britnee married Joshua Hartwig in June 2022 and they welcomed their first son in January 2024. Both Britnee and Joshua love serving at Trinity and beyond – helping to build His Kingdom. Britnee’s mission as the Director of Communications is to provide leadership via all communication platforms to share the Gospel and the mission of Trinity Merrill with all Trinity members, the Merrill community, and the world.

Mr. Johnson is excited to be the principal at Trinity Merrill! In this role, he supports a team of students, staff, and parents providing for all aspects of academic, faith, social/emotional, and physical growth. As a big believer in Lutheran schools, Mr. Johnson has been in ministry for over 28 years.
Mr. Johnson is a graduate of Concordia University - St. Paul and holds both a BA and MA in Education. On a personal level, Mr. Johnson is happily married to Lisa and together they have three children. Naomi is their adult daughter who lives in Minnesota and works at Mayo Hospital. Lukas is their son who was stillborn and is in Heaven. Jayden is our sophomore at MAPS who loves to play basketball. Lisa loves art and Mr. Johnson hopes to reacquaint himself with grouse hunting.

Cassandra Hoffman is our Administrative Director at our Early Learning Center. Cassandra is excited for the opportunity to expand her skills and support the staff, families, and children at the Early Learning Center. She accepted the position because of the positive atmosphere and the welcoming environment. She has been working in child care for almost three years, beginning at Trinity and then moving on to St. John’s Christian Care in Hamburg. Cassandra is currently going to school to earn her degree in Early Childhood Education and will graduate next summer. Her and her husband, Sam, have been for eight years and have two children together - Kylee and Grayson. Kylee attends Merrill High School and Grayson attends Trinity. 

Mrs. Hass is a janitor and an organist at Trinity. Mrs. Hass has been an organist at Trinity since 1992. At that time, she moved all the way from Wausau to Merrill and has been married to her husband John for 31 years. She plays piano also, and can play a tune or two on her accordion and violin. She enjoys going for daily walks, bird watching, crafts, attending to her flower garden, and traveling throughout the United States and Canada.

Back Row: Jerome Oelke, Darrel Dengel, Dan Schneider, Dan Riste, Ken Kreager

Front Row: Chris Grunenwald, Jeremy Thompson, Michelle Skic, Laurie Swope

Jeremy Thompson and his wife, Jan, have been married for 17 wonderful years. Jeremy and Jan both attended Trinity School and their son, Caleb, is the third generation to attend Trinity. Jeremy’s hope is for many future generations to be able to grow in their faith and call Trinity their home.

Dan Riste and his wife, Beth, have been married for 44 delightful years and have been blessed with two sons, Collin and Kyle, who have both married and given them two grandsons. Dan and Beth move to Merrill and joined Trinity in 2020. Dan’s dream for Trinity is to welcome back members we have missed since Covid.

Darrel Dengel and his wife, Missi, were married at Trinity 28 years ago. They have four children, Molli, Dustin, Dawson, Malaynie and three grandchildren. Darrel and Missy have owned and overseen the operations of Woodland Court Elder Services LLC for 24 years. Darrel enjoys spending time outdoors whether on the water or in the woods. Darrel starts Sunday mornings feeding his soul in the Lord’s House of Trinity. His goal is to keep that a possibility for generations to come.

Ken and his wife Diane have been attending Trinity since 2007 and have been members since 2008. He has served the church as an usher and elder for nine years. He joins in the Monday night bible study and has been a member of the Men’s Club where he has served as the Treasurer for several years. Ken likes to help with a few projects like roofing the parsonage, planting grass, decoration the church for Christmas and general miscellaneous maintenance. Ken was on the Financial Reform committee and was in charge of the Christian Welfare checkbook. God and Ken’s employer moved him and his family around a lot so he belonged to many churches. He hopes that this experience will help Trinity Church while he is a Council Member.

Laurie Swope and her husband, Mark, have been married for 28 marvelous years. Laurie is a life-long member of Trinity as her parents, Willie & Karen Schult, provided her with a Lutheran education at Trinity School. Attending Trinity School and youth group helped mold her faith in God.  She currently works for Church Mutual and has been with the company for 34 years. Laurie believes we are all called to do God’s work her on earth, making good use of our resources to grow His Kingdom.

Chris Grunenwald and his wife, Sarah, have been blessed with two children, Erik and Emily. Chris is a life long member of Trinity and has professionally been employed as an attorney at Church Mutual since 2011. Chris’s goal on the council is to ensure the continued viability of Trinity for the next 125 years. 

Jerome’s family have been members of Trinity since 2004. Jerome and his wife, Janice, have been married for 34+ years. They have 3 children, Jordan, Joel and Juila. He has served in the past on the Board of Trustee’s at Trinity, was Vice President at Immanual Lutheran in Mosinee, and Treasure of St. Matthew’s in Marathon. Jerome is looking to help further mission of spreading Christ’s word.

Dan Schneider and his wife, Gail, have been blessed with two children – Dana and Stephanie. Dan works for Thrivent Financial and in his down time, loves to hunt and fish. He feels it is vital to be an active member at Trinity and has served on many boards and committees, as an elder, and on the school board. Dan and Gail love Trinity and are excited that their children and grandchildren love Trinity as much as they do.

Michelle Skic and her husband, Luke, have two children, McKenna and Madilynn. Luke and both daughters attended Trinity School. Michelle’s goal for Trinity is to be the foundation of a Christ-centered family who all walk in faith and in His Word together. She believes it is important to be good stewards in our community to positively impact the lives of those in our community.