Senior Pastor Bruce Wilder

Dr. Bruce Wilder became a pastor in 1984 and served three congregations before coming to Faith as senior pastor: Christ the King in Richmond, Virginia; Zion in Warroad, Minnesota; and Grace in Austin, Minnesota. He also served in the U.S. Army Reserve with his last assignment as a battalion chaplain at Ft. Snelling. Bruce began his ministry at Faith in the summer of 1998. He says, “Kirsten and I enjoy living in New Mexico and serving the Lord with the people of Faith. It is a blessing to be part of this dynamic Christian community." For recreation, Bruce enjoys hiking in the Sandia Mountains, working out at the local gym, camping, archery and black powder hunting, live music and reading.


Bruce earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in biology and religion at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and received the Skattum Memorial Scholarship for graduate theological studies from the Religion Department. He earned his Master of Divinity degree at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the Doctor of Ministry degree at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California. He and his wife, Kirsten, met while they both were attending Luther College. They were married in Kirsten’s home state of Arizona in 1980. The Wilders have four grown children and two grandsons: Jessica (and her husband, Chad), Emily (and her husband, Brian, and their sons, Carson and Landon), Meredith and Melinda (and her husband, Greg).



Bruce was blessed to grow up in a Christian home. His father was a career Army officer, so he moved more than most people...twenty-one moves in eighteen years to be exact. While in junior high, his Boy Scout troop made consecutive summer trips to Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron. Bruce says, “This is when I first came to love the awesome beauty and high desert of New Mexico.” While in high school in northern Virginia, Bruce was invited to join a Christian youth group at a new Lutheran congregation that was just getting started in Fairfax. It was during those teenage years of Bible studies, church retreats, youth group meetings and weekly worship that he felt God calling him to pastoral ministry."It was the honest Biblical preaching that shaped my faith most profoundly," Bruce says of those years. "Jesus became a real person in my life, not just an idea or someone from the pages of history. My understanding of Christianity moved from my head to my heart. As a preacher, I strive to deliver messages that are faithful to God's Word in the Bible. Good sermons help people take their faith into the real world with them everyday and apply it...at school, at work and in their daily relationships."


Bruce is aware that many people were not raised in Christian homes. In fact, more and more people these days do not have a home congregation. He says, "That's one of the really great things about Faith. There are people from many different backgrounds. Some are mature Christians...others are just beginning their walk with the Lord. This is not a church just for lifelong Lutherans. We are an evangelical Christian congregation reaching out and welcoming people from a multitude of different life experiences and religious affiliations. Many of our members never belonged to a Christian community before they joined this congregation."


Bruce’s commitment to the community and wider church is reflected in the various volunteer service and leadership positions he has held through the years. These include: Seminary Internship Supervisor, ELCA and LCMC; Paul Harris Fellow, Rotary International; President, Samaritan Counseling Center Board of Directors; Advisory Board, Greater Albuquerque Habitat for Humanity; Counselor, Boy Scouts of America Pro Deo et Patria and P.R.A.Y. programs; Member, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation; Board of Directors, East European Missions Network; Governor’s 1st Amendment Task Force, Homeland Security, New Mexico; and Ministry Board, LCMC. He presently serves on the Board of Trustees, LCMC.

You can contact Pastor Wilder from our contacts page.