Pastor Merv Thompson - Teaching Pastor Pastor Merv Thompson joined Lutheran Church of Hope in July 2003 as a teaching pastor. He chose to go into full-time ministry while in high school and college at Concordia College. He served Victory Lutheran Church in Minneapolis as a youth pastor and then pastor in 1967. In 1970, he was called to Prince of Peace in Burnsville, where he stayed for 21 years. In the 10 years, Thompson was at four different congregations in transition. "Mike Housholder began this move by contacting me and asking if I would be interested in coming to Hope. I thought initially that this was too far away from out grandchildren and our lake home, but Mike and the Holy Spirit working together can be quite persuasive," he says. Thompson is married to wife Jackie and has several children and grandchildren. He grew up with a father pastor.
