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 Prairieview Leadership

 Church Staff

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Michael Bechtold, Senior Pastor

Mike grew up in central Minnesota and has been a follower of Jesus since a very young age. God then called him to ministry as a high school student, which led him to pursuing his Bachelor's in Biblical Studies with a minor in Youth Ministry from Oak Hills Christian College, and later his Masters of Divinity from Bethel Seminary. Mike was then ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church in 2021. Prior to his time at Prairieview, Mike served in a variety of ministry contexts. He spent over a decade working with youth and young adults at a few Covenant churches in Minnesota, as well as had the privilege to be a guest speaker at various camps and colleges. Mike has also been heavily invested in equipping other pastors for ministry; having developed and co-led a Youth Ministry Coaching Cohort and participated in various leadership teams for the Northwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church. Mike joins us at Prairieview as the Senior Pastor. He is excited to use the gifts God has equipped him with these last several years to serve Christ’s Church, and is most passionate about going deeper in Christ and investing in ministry opportunities all in the New Richmond community. Mike is married to Anna and together they have three children: Annika, Molly, and Andrew. Mike also enjoys golfing, relaxing outdoors, playing games, watching a good movie (especially anything Star Wars), and spending time with his family.

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Andrea Puterbaugh, Administrative Assistant

Andrea grew up in Albert Lea, MN. She moved to the Twin Cities area where she attended college and worked as an executive assistant. After meeting her husband Alan, twenty-five years ago, Andrea moved to Star Prairie, WI. Alan and Andrea have two children Cory (24) and Jordan (22). Previously, Andrea served on church council as chair of ministry and vice president. She served as coordinator for the WELCA (Women of the ELCA). She also attended the Lay School of Ministry in Eau Claire, WI. Andrea is very excited to begin working with everyone at Prairieview Covenant Church as she has always felt a deep connection with God and strives to live her life for Him.

Church Council

Prairieview is led by a group of committed and caring volunteer leaders who make up our church council. Council members are elected by our Annual Meeting and meet regularly throughout the year to oversee the physical and spiritual needs of the church and its members. An asterisk (*) indicates this person is on our Council’s Executive Committee.

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Charlie Gartner
Chairperson*

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Lisa Cravens
Secretary*

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Shelley Burlingame
Financial Secretary*

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Debbie Wildeisen
Treasurer*

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Nancy Norberg
Service & Events Coordinator

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Ben Stage
Worship & Music

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Roby Bybee
Adult Ministries

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Katie Wittig
Children & Youth Ministries

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Elwood Nelson
Missions

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Gary Osterbauer
Care Team

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Gary Weller
Buildings & Grounds