The Minneapolis Area Synod announced today that Pastor Kelly Chatman, senior pastor at Zion’s mission partner Redeemer Lutheran Church, will be joining the Minneapolis Area Synod staff as a bishop’s associate.
His position is a contract position in the synod office while he continues to serve at Redeemer Lutheran Church in north Minneapolis.
Kelly will be focusing on parishes in the city of Minneapolis along with general synod work. We are extremely pleased and fortunate to have a pastor with his expertise and experience.
Pastor Chatman is a 1967 graduate of Gettysburg Seminary, Gettysburg, Pa., and senior pastor at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. Pastor Chatman has served as a leader at various levels throughout the church. As an African American pastor he served for five years as director for Youth Ministries for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and a distinguished church leader in Washington, D.C., Portland, Oregon, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Since 2001, Pastor Chatman has been the senior pastor at Redeemer Lutheran Church and director for Redeemer’s non-profit entity, Redeemer Center for Life. These ministries include affordable housing, after-school, youth outreach, economic and community development. Since October 2004, Redeemer was the location for a new and innovative Hip Hop program led by David Scherer, a.k.a. AGAPE.
Pastor Chatman recently served on boards for Camp Amnicon, Aeon Housing Development, Gustavus College, Cookie Cart, Plymouth Christian Youth Center, Lutheran Volunteer Corp, Harrison Neighborhood Association and Wheat Ridge Foundation.
Pastor Chatman is a Fund for Theological Education Benjamin E. Mays Fellow, Portland Public School’s Volunteer of the Year 1992, Mayor’s Citizen of the Year for Portland, Oregon, Tom Hunstad Award for Youth and Family Ministry 2003 and in 2006 recipient of the Luther Seminary “Race, Church and Culture Award.”
Pastor Chatman is married to Dr. Cheryl Chatman who serves as Executive Vice President at Concordia University in St Paul, Minnesota.
