The Rev. Justin Grimm has been elected to a six-year term as bishop of the Saint Paul Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). He was elected on the third ballot during the 2026 Synod Assembly, held May 15-16 at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi.
Bishop-Elect Grimm currently serves as the synod’s director for evangelical mission and assistant to the bishop for congregational vitality, a position he’s held since 2015. He previously served as lead pastor at Advent Lutheran Church in Lake Ann, Mich., after first serving as the mission developer. He is a graduate of Northwestern College (Orange City, Iowa) and Luther Seminary (St. Paul, Minn.). He was ordained in 2005.
The bishop-elect grew up in Madison, S.D., where he attended Trinity Lutheran Church. He currently resides in Shoreview, Minn. He takes office Aug. 1, succeeding the Rev. Patricia Lull, who is completing her second term as bishop. An installation service will be held Sept. 13 at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Apple Valley.
In his remarks following the announcement of the election, Bishop-Elect Grimm referenced verses from Jeremiah, when God’s people were called to plant gardens, build houses, and care for the welfare of the community in which they were planted. “This call and this election reminds me that we are church together. And this is us…this is OUR work. The planting of gardens, the building of homes, the standing for the welfare of the neighbor is not one person’s job or one staff’s job….I am so excited and curious to see what God is going to do next.”
The Saint Paul Area Synod includes 106 congregations and mission developments, representing 97,000 baptized members. With offices in St. Paul, the synod stretches approximately 85 miles from Rush City in the north to Randolph in the south but is less than 20 miles wide. Its congregations are located in Chisago, Dakota, Ramsey and Washington counties, as well as portions of Anoka, Scott and Isanti. The synod is one of 65 synods in the ELCA.
