The Rev. Joe Lees
Assistant to the Bishop for Vital Congregations, Vital Partnerships
The Rev. Joe Lees joined synod staff in April 2016. Prior to this call, Lees served as the pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church in Fremont, Ohio and was co-founder of the LIFT parish, a cooperative of the five Lutheran churches in the Fremont area. A lifelong Lutheran, Joe grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma and earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in chemical and environmental engineering from Rice University, Houston. He also has a law degree from University of Houston. Joe served in a variety of lay leadership positions in the church while working in the field of change management. He earned his MDiv degree from Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia and served his internship at Redeemer Lutheran in north Minneapolis. He and his wife, Katy Ross, live in Eagan.
In his role as assistant to the bishop, Joe:
- Supports leaders and congregations to build and sustain healthy systems, faith formation and worship life
- Develops sustainable, mutual partnerships between congregations and community groups to increase the synod’s public witness to God’s love for all neighbors
- Serves as the synod’s liaison to the Guatemala (ILAG) Committee
- Recruits, supports and recommends interim pastors & leads monthly training sessions for interim pastors
- Confers with congregations in times of conflict
- Maintains ties with consultants from the wider community in order to refer congregations to appropriate resources for working through conflict