Leadership

Pastor Bruce Laabs grew up in West Bend, Wisconsin and attended Concordia University, St. Paul, and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.  He has served congregations in Iowa and Minnesota and has done mission work in Jamaica and Liberia.  His wife, Barbara, is a Lutheran school teacher, currently teaching at Trinity, Waconia.  Pastor and Barb have three grown children and one granddaughter, all living in Minnesota.  Pastor Laabs enjoys the parish ministry, strives to communicate God's loving Gospel effectively, and looks forward to partnering with God's people at GVLC.

Cindy visits members of the GVLC community who are hospitalized or homebound. She also provides grief counseling, coordinates our adult Bible Studies and assimilation of our new members. Cindy coordinates our Encouragement and 3rd Pair of Hands ministries, and partners with Baja Missions for short-term missionaries and our Service Deacon to plan service volunteer opportunities.

Brenda Lovhaug, an Elementary and Early Childhood Education graduate of Concordia University – St. Paul, accepted a call from Golden Valley Lutheran Church to be Director of the Early Learning Center in 2001 after serving as an Associate Director. Her tenure includes the successful opening and management of a child care center at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. She also has previous experience with GVLC as a Lead Toddler Teacher and a Lead Preschool Teacher.  She and her husband, David have three children: Daniel, Paul, and Bethany.  The Lovhaugs make their home in Brooklyn Park.

Our office staff oversee the day-to-day operations of our office by greeting guests, directing phone calls, answering questions and providing information about our church, preparing weekly worship screens and bulletins, compiling information for communication, and a variety of other projects.