Board of Directors

The Rev. Daniel S. Johnson of Marshalltown, Iowa, currently serves as Chairman of the SLMS Board of Directors.  In addition to his duties as Board Chairman, he assists in compiling articles for the SLMS newsletter and conducts correspondence with donors.  He also serves as Mission Advisor to the Bishop of the Siberian Evangelical Lutheran Church.  This work involves frequent trips to Siberia.

The Rev. David Mommens is Vice President of SMLS.  He has served as First Vice President of the Indiana District, LCMS and in numerous other offices for the IN District.  He is a 1984 graduate of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, IN.  He taught the first Epistle of John for the summer seminar program in Siberia and a seminary course for pastors in Matongo, Kenya on: “The pastoral application of Walther’s Law and Gospel”.  In addition to serving as Pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Columbia City, Indiana, Rev. Mommens maintains a jail ministry, serving inmates through regular Worship, Bible study, and Pastoral counseling.

Mr. Robert Kiefer is the Secretary/Treasurer of the SLMS. He is a member of Ascension Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, IN, and serves as the Financial Secretary and Bookkeeper for the congregation. He has also served the Indiana District of LCMS in several positions including most recently Treasurer. Bob is retired from a 30-year career in banking and upon joining the SLMS Board of Directors has assumed the responsibility of volunteer bookkeeper for SLMS. Bob combines his lifelong LCMS background with his financial talent in assisting the Board in the day-to-day activities of tracking donations and missionary support for SLMS.

Mrs. Judith Bascom is a member of St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Spring Lake, Michigan. Previously, she was assistant to Rev. Dr. Timothy C. J. Quill, Director of the Russian Project, and Dean of International Studies at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Judy‘s Russian travels include four trips to Novosibirsk beginning in 1999, in 2001 for the dedication of the new Seminary building, 2009, when she accompanied a group from St. Matthew Lutheran Church to Siberia. In 2010, Judy attended the ordination of Rev. Dimitri Dotsenko in Novokuznetsk. 

The Rev. Larry Beane serves as pastor of Salem Lutheran Church in Gretna, Louisiana.

The Rev. Michael Blodgett serves as pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church of Gar Creek, near New Haven, Indiana.

Mr. William L. Boice is a member of St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Spring Lake, Michigan.  He is currently a member of the Board of Elders and other Boards with leadership positions. He also serves as End of Season staff and volunteers at Camp Arcadia (Lutheran Family Camp on Lake Michigan) helping with general maintenance, housekeeping and projects.  In 2009 he visited a number of Lutheran Churches in Siberia as a team from St. Matthew, Spring Lake.  He has served as a member of the SLMS Board of Directors from 2013 to the present.

The Rev. Michael C. Brockman serves as Associate Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Wichita, KS.  He has served as Senior Pastor at Christ Lutheran Church in Hutchinson, KS; and Immanuel, Klinger, Iowa;  St. James, Scottsbluff, NE; and as Missionary in Venezuela.  He is a 1984 graduate of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  He has served as a member of the board since 2004.

Mr. Jeremy Clifton resides in Bastrop, Texas with his wife Margie and son James. The Cliftons are members of Grace Lutheran Church in Smithville, Texas. Since late 2022, he has served as the president of Epiphany Lutheran Church, a new mission congregation in Bastrop, Texas being formed by Grace Smithville and other nearby Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod congregations. He also serves as the newsletter editor for and on the Board of Directors of the Texas Wendish Heritage Society.

The Rev. Frank G. Frye serves as Senior Pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Kansas City, Missouri.  He has also served congregations in Fort Morgan, Colorado; Wautoma, Wisconsin; Westgate and Van Horne, Iowa.  He is a 1983 graduate of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  He has served as a member of the board since the Mission Society began in 2002.  In 2005 he traveled to Siberia to teach the “Epistle to the Colossians” as part of the summer seminars.

Mr. Kenneth F. Ross is a member of Ascension Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He recently retired from a 40-year career in corporate communications and marketing, most of them with two large, national insurance organizations. Ken is a graduate of Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas, and a descendent of Volga Germans who immigrated to the United States from Russia in the 1870s. Elected to the board in 2020, Ken currently serves as the marketing manager for the Siberian Mission Society’s Fundraising Committee.

The Rev. Michael Scudder serves as Pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Mount Pleasant, IA. After serving for eight years in the U.S. Air Force, Rev Scudder attended Concordia College in Ann Arbor, MI, graduating in 1990 with a BA in Biblical Languages. In 1994, he graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, IN. After serving two years as the associate pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Marshalltown, IA, he took the call to serve on staff at Concordia Theological Seminary in the Admissions Office where he served until accepting the call to serve in Mount Pleasant. Rev Scudder and his wife, Sara, have two sons: Matthew and Benjamin.

The Rev. Jay W. Watson is pastor at Augsburg Evangelical Lutheran Church, KS.

Mr. Gerry Wiley currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Siberian Lutheran Mission Society and on the SLMS endowment committee. With a degree (BS/EE) in engineering, he spent ten years in the USAF in the Security Service and in Ground Electronics Engineering and an additional ten years for Johnson Controls in engineering and in marketing. He holds an MBA from Loyola with 20 years of experience as a VP Sales/Marketing, VP Business Unit Manager, VP General Manager, and President for Invensys/Siebe/Ranco/Teccor/Robertshaw. He managed businesses and factories in several countries.  After retirement in 1999, he attended the University of California Riverside and received certification as a Personal Financial Planner, followed by testing and elevation to Certified Financial Planner (CFP®).  From 1999 through 2012, he became a part-time Promotions Director for LCEF, recruiting, training, and coaching LCEF Coordinators throughout Southern California and making promotional presentations to congregations.

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