Staff

In 1999, I had the joy of serving St. Luke’s as a Vicar. Twenty years later in 2019, I accepted the call to return and serve this amazing family once again! In between, I have served in Idaho, Texas, and Michigan. In 2006, my wife Sara and I adopted our beautiful daughter Faith. In 2023, I transitioned into the Senior Pastor role and lead an incredible and passionate staff. I have a passion to lead people to experience the transformative power of Jesus to redeem, heal, and change lives. As I serve, I strive to be transparent, relational, and relevant. Additionally, I love cooking (and eating), watching movies with my family, and soaking in the Florida sun!

REV. DR. TIGE CULBERTSON, Senior Pastor

After graduating from the University of Iowa, I attended Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, IN. My wife, Lois, serves in the public schools as a high school mathematics teacher. We have four children and nine grandchildren. I came to St. Luke’s in 1998, having served a congregation in Iowa for 10 years. After serving St. Luke’s for the past 25 years as Senior Pastor I am now serving in a supporting role to further our mission of Awakening Hearts in Every Generation.  REV. DR. WALLY ARP, Pastor

I was born, raised, and baptized in Sheffield Lake, OH, a suburb of Cleveland. When I began the process of confirmation I decided to become a Pastor. I graduated from Lutheran High School West and attended Concordia University Ann Arbor. While attending school I met Alexandria and we got married in 2018. After receiving our Bachelor’s Degrees, we moved to St. Louis to attend Concordia Seminary where I finished my Master of Divinity and Alex received her M.A.  In 2022, we welcomed our son, Simon into the world.  Alex serves as Deaconess to Redeeming Life Outreach Ministry in Sanford.  Rev. Sam Shick, Pastor, Director of Spiritual Formation

Growing up, my father worked for IBM, the “I’ve Been Moved” company, so we moved every time he was promoted. I was born in Ohio, but I grew up in Minnesota, New York, Colorado, Florida, and three different cities in Ohio. I graduated from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. My wife, Gayle, is a homemaker and a maker of art quilts. We have two grown sons, Kyle and Patrick. My main area of responsibility is caring for the residents and staff at the Lutheran Haven. Believe it or not, I served in the US Navy and met my wife at a Lutheran church just down the road from the Little Creek Naval Base in Virginia Beach, VA.  REV. JOHN ELLIOTT, Pastor

My husband, Daniel, and I were both born and raised in Titusville, FL, and are high school sweethearts. We have three children together. I became a nurse in 2007, and worked in the NICU (newborn intensive care) at AdventHealth Orlando for 12 years. Loving mercy work and human care, I decided to become a deaconess where I could use my skills as a nurse to care for the spiritual health of people and spread the Gospel. I graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary – Fort Wayne in 2021 with an M.A. in deaconess studies. Deaconesses are trained to teach the faith, engage in acts of mercy, and give spiritual care/counseling. I love to do all of these! I work with the Lutheran Haven, Women’s, and Marriage Ministries.

I work with our school middle school students and the Middle School Youth Group (6, 7, 8 Grades)  I love middle schoolers!  I came to St. Luke’s in high school and then went to Concordia University Nebraska to become a Director of Christian Education.  I met my husband Daniel here and we have two great kids.

I grew up in West Michigan. My first exposure to participating in church music was as a high school trumpet player. This led to my interest in taking up the organ and piano.  I first came to Florida as the Music Director at The Orlando Lutheran Academy in 2008.  While at the Academy I would occasionally play organ at St. Luke’s.  After leaving the Academy I spent 5 years as the Director of Worship at St. Andrew in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.  I returned to St. Luke’s in 2017 as the Assistant Director of Worship, later moving into the position of Director of Worship Gatherings.  I am extremely thankful to oversee an awesome staff of talented musicians and worship leaders.  It is a pleasure to serve in a church that embraces multiple worship styles while at the same time placing a continual emphasis on musical and spiritual excellence.  While not making music, I enjoy reading, films, and visiting with friends and family, especially my niece and nephews.

I have been a part of our Worship Gatherings department since 2019. Before joining the worship team, I taught 7th grade English and literature in our middle school. In addition to working with our Fuel and Generations services, I am the director of our St. Luke’s Concert Series and ACTS of Hope ministry. I live in Winter Springs with my husband Jon and two kids, Jeff and Abbie.

I am in my ninth year of service at St. Luke’s and love being a part of our vibrant school ministry. I previously served in Jacksonville for 13 years as Principal at Grace Lutheran School. I’m a graduate of the University of Florida where I received both my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. Early in my career I taught middle and high school social studies in Gainesville and St. Augustine; I also have experience as a
computer software applications and networking trainer in the business world.

I have been married for 32 years to my wife Karen. She teaches sixth grade math and science at our school and previously served for 20 years as a professor at Jacksonville University teaching biology, immunology, and other sciences. We have two children – Rachel, and Aaron, who is a freshman at Oviedo High School.

I believe ours is a great school with an even greater future. The foundation of my leadership is strong, vibrant, and Christ-centered relationships with all members of the St. Luke’s family.

I am in my tenth year as Principal of Grades 1-8 at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church and School. With a strong educational foundation, I hold an AA from Seminole Community College, a BS from the University of Central Florida, and an MS from Nova Southeastern College. I have over 30 years of experience in Seminole County Public Schools (SCPS) and was honored as the 1995 Teacher of the Year. Previously, I spent 20 years in the math classroom teaching Algebra I and 11 years as Head Football Coach at Oviedo High School. I also have 10 years of administration with SCPS. My wife, Betsy (AP Psychology teacher at Winter Springs High School) and I have three children: Cayleb, Jesse, and Zeke.

I grew up as a pastor’s kid in a small congregation in Northwest Ohio.  After two years of engineering, I transferred out to Concordia College in Seward NE to become a Lutheran school teacher.  I met Becky there and we served in Fort Wayne IN and Davenport IA before coming to St. Luke’s. We have three grown children and three grandchildren.  I began as the Director of Technology and now enjoy all my duties as I help keep St. Luke’s running on all cylinders.  Whether it’s teaching Bible Study or cutting down trees with our LERT Disaster Relief ministry, the Lord has blessed us through our members, school families and staff.

I was born and raised in Michigan, attending private Lutheran schools from K-12th grade.  After graduating with a master’s degree, my family relocated to Central Florida.  Being new to the area we began looking for a church home and found St. Luke’s in 1999.  I began working as a Membership Coordinator with the church in 2001.  Shortly thereafter I moved into my current role as Chief Human Resources Officer.  The Lord blessed my husband and I with the opportunity to raise our two children in this Christ-centered community.  Both children graduated from St. Luke’s equipped with a faith foundation to carry them into the future.

Born and raised in Oregon, I got tired of the rain and politics so I moved to sunny Florida in 2017. I have been with St. Luke’s since 2018. Prior to that I worked for several ministries, nonprofits and companies in my 38 yr career. I have worked in Sales, Marketing, Communications, Public Relations, and Development roles during that time for organizations such as: Fuller Theological Seminary, Multnomah University, Medical Teams International, United Cerebral Palsy and more recently Marriage Team Ministries. I have a BFA in Graphic Design Communication and a Master of Arts in Business Communications.  MABC, CAP, AGPC

I serve in a dual role at St. Luke’s. For the school, I focus on Development and Fundraising. I direct our annual Golf Tournament and our Adopt-a-Student Scholarship campaigns. For the Church, I encourage Stewardship concepts and opportunities surrounding a generous lifestyle, estate planning with our Transfer the Blessings ministry and planned/major gift initiatives.

I am blessed by my wife Stacey of more than 32 years. We are both only children, and we have one son who is a Licenced Mental Health Counselor. We think it’s God’s sense of humor giving two only children just one child. We love being a ‘tourist’ in our own state and playing board games with friends. When I’m not working, I have a side business that helps folks sell collectibles online.