The Executive Committee is the administrative group charged with carrying out the hymnal project. The Executive Committee includes seven sub-committee chairmen who operate their own committees. Members of the Executive Committee are listed below.
Executive Committee
Rev. Mark Tiefel
Rev. Mark Tiefel is the developmental editor for the four manuals of the Hymnal Project. He currently serves as pastor at Emanuel in New London, Wisconsin and as worship coordinator of the WELS Northern Wisconsin District. He and his wife, Kate have three children: Hannah, Nora, and Greta.
Rev. Michael Schultz
Project Director
Rev. Michael Schultz serves as the Project Director for the WELS Hymnal Project. Schultz has served congregations in Flagstaff, AZ and Lawrenceville, GA. Schultz is a church musician who served as the Hymns Committee chairman for Christian Worship Supplement and also compiled the Guitar Edition for Christian Worship Supplement. He and his wife Karen have three children: Caleb, Bethany, and Ethan.
Rev. Jon Zabell
Project Chairman
Rev. Jon Zabell is the Chairman of the WELS Hymnal Project. Zabell serves at St. Paul in Green Bay, WI. Since 2010 he has also served as chairman of the Commission on Worship. Zabell was a member of the Hymnal Supplement Committee, chaired the Supplement Introduction Committee, and is a presenter for the Schools of Worship Enrichment. Zabell and his wife, Julie, and their family live in Green Bay.
Rev. Daniel Sims
Project Secretary
Rev. Daniel Sims is the Secretary of the Executive Committee of the WELS Hymnal Project. Sims currently serves at Zion Lutheran in Columbus, Wisconsin. Sims is also also the secretary of the Western Wisconsin District.
Teacher Mike Marquardt
Communications Committee Chairman
Mr. Mike Marquardt is a member of the Executive Committee and chairman of the Communications Committee of the WELS Hymnal Project. Marquardt currently serves a religion instructor and choral director at St. Croix Lutheran Academy. Mike lives in St. Paul, MN, with his wife and musical partner, April, and their two boys.
Prof. Keith Wessel
Executive Committee At-Large
Keith C. Wessel currently serves in the Foreign Language and Theology divisions at Martin Luther College, New Ulm, MN. Prior to his current call, Keith served as pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Marietta, GA, and at Michigan Lutheran Seminary, Saginaw, MI. He also served as the chairman for the Rites Committee of Christian Worship: Supplement, published in 2008. He and his wife, Liz, have been blessed with five children.
Prof. James Tiefel
Executive Committee At-Large
Professor James Tiefel is an at-large member of the Executive Committee of the WELS Hymnal Project. Since 1985 Professor James P. Tiefel has served at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary where he teaches courses in worship and preaching. As the school’s Dean of Chapel he is responsible for campus worship and directs the Seminary Chorus. He was a member of the committee that produced Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal and has been a member of the WELS Commission on Worship since 1987. Besides his work for the seminary and synod, he is pulpit assistant and director of music at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee.
Rev. Bryan Gerlach
Commission on Worship Director
Rev. Bryan Gerlach is the Director of the WELS Commission on Worship and serves ex officio on the Executive Committee of the WELS Hymnal Project. After serving congregations in El Paso, TX, and Citrus Heights, CA, Gerlach was called in 1995 to be the Commission on Worship’s first director. He serves as an advisory member on the Commission’s subcommittees and oversees all of its activities, including managing editor responsibility for Preach the Word and Worship the Lord. Gerlach is a regular organist/pianist at two churches: Grace, Milwaukee, and Christ the Lord, Brookfield, WI, where his wife, Jackie, serves as Director of Parish Music and LES teacher. He has a Master of Church Music degree from Concordia University, River Forest, IL.
Rev. Aaron Christie
Hymnody Committee Chairman
Rev. Aaron Christie is the Hymnody Committee Chairman for the WELS Hymnal Project. Christie currently serves at Trinity Lutheran Church in Waukesha, WI. Before beginning his ministry at Trinity, Christie served at Faith in Antioch, IL. Christie serves as the secretary of the WELS Commission on Worship. Christie has earned a Master of Church Music degree from Concordia University-Wisconsin. He and his wife, Kristin, and three children live in Waukesha.
Rev. Jonathan Micheel
Rites Committee Chairman
Rev. Jonathan Micheel is the Rites Committee Chairman of the WELS Hymnal Project. Micheel currently serves at Prince of Peace in Salt Lake City, UT. Micheel enjoys making worship accessible to those who don’t yet know our Lord. Micheel, his wife Cheryl, and their four children enjoy living and serving in the Western United States.
Rev. Jonathan Schroeder
Scripture Committee Chairman
Rev. Jonathan Schroeder is the Scripture Committee Chairman of the WELS Hymnal Project. Schroeder currently serves at Faith in Sharpsburg, GA. Schroeder is an at-large member of the WELS Synodical Council, moderator of the Institute for Worship and Outreach, consultant for both the WELS School of Worship and the WELS School of Outreach. Jon and his wife, Jenny, have three children, Keith, Justin, and Emily.
Rev. Paul Prange
Psalmody Committee Chairman
Rev. Paul Prange is the Psalmody Committee Chairman for the WELS Hymnal Project. He currently serves as the WELS Administrator for Ministerial Education. Prange has served congregations in Austin, TX, Roscommon, MI, and on the Apache reservations in Arizona. Prange and his wife, Leanne, raised three children in Saginaw, MI, where Prange served for fifteen years as president of Michigan Lutheran Seminary.
Rev. Jonathan Bauer
Executive Committee
Rev. Jonathan Bauer is a member of the Executive Committee and has served on the Communications Committee for the WELS Hymnal Project. He serves as pastor of Good News Lutheran Church in Mount Horeb, WI. He is a member of the Institute for Worship and Outreach and has been a presenter for Schools of Worship Enrichment and at the WELS National Worship Conference.
Rev. Caleb Bassett
Technology Committee Chairman
Rev. Caleb Bassett is the Technology Committee Chairman for the WELS Hymnal Project. Bassett serves at Redeemer in Fallbrook, CA. Bassett has presented at the WELS National Worship Conference and served as an essayist for the Institute for Worship and Outreach. Bassett and his wife, Audra, live with their four children in the avocado country of Southern California.