Spotlight
Shepherds for Spangdahlem
Spangdahlem Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany is growing — according to God’s perfect plan and timing.
Spangdahlem Evangelical Lutheran Church in Spangdahlem, Germany, started with just one family.
“When I arrived [in Germany] in 2021, there was one American military family from [Spangdahlem Air Base] who was coming about once a month to Kaiserslautern Evangelical Lutheran Church [KELC],” said the Rev. Nathaniel Jensen, a missionary with The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) in Germany. “I thought if we’ve got one family there, why don’t we do some work and see if we can’t get something started?”
Jensen proposed the plan to the LCMS Office of International Mission, and soon the Rev. Jonah Domenichelli was called to serve there. In September 2024, Domenichelli held the first LCMS worship service in the home of Remington Barnett, an American man living in the area.
“It’s a privilege, really, to have services held at your own house,” Barnett reflected on those early days of the church. “I think it changes the environment a bit. … And I think it brought my family … closer together with the people who were there.”
But God’s timing is not always our timing, and the Domenichelli family had to return to the United States sooner than expected due to family reasons. A few months later, several people who had been attending the church were quickly deployed at the start of the Iran war.
Yet, the church plant continued to grow under the guidance of Jensen, who made the nearly two-hour drive after church each week to provide Word and Sacrament ministry to those gathering in Spangdahlem.
In early 2026, Jensen received permission to hold services in the base chapel. This was a big milestone because it made the church more accessible to the 14,000 people who live and work on the base.
On a Sunday in early May, a small group of regular attendees — as well as a couple of new faces — gathered in the base chapel for the service. On this trip, Jensen was accompanied by retired Air Force Major Abel Wilson and Gerhard Neigenfind, a German. Both men attend KELC but also regularly come along with Jensen to assist him at Spangdahlem. Other weeks, the group from Kaiserslautern sometimes includes other LCMS missionaries and KELC members, and these drives provide a great opportunity for the group to discuss theology and church matters.
As Jensen led the service and then answered questions during the Bible study that followed, church member Noah Meiselwitz, who is a technical support specialist with the U.S. Air Force, recorded footage for a promotional video to help advertise the church to others on base.
Recently, the congregation received word of a new reason to celebrate: The Rev. Timothy Sandeno accepted a call to serve as an LCMS missionary in Spangdahlem, and he and his wife, Lisa, will arrive in early 2027.
Air Force Major Wilson has watched all the changes happening at Spangdahlem Evangelical Lutheran Church over the past two years. Some have seemed like setbacks, he admitted. “But then the door opened for us to come here, and now we’re advertising. … From an earthly perspective, it seems like you have doors closing, that there are roadblocks, but it’s really just another opportunity coming from a different direction.”
Learn More
- Learn more about LCMS Ministry to the Armed Forces, which supports Lutheran military chaplains, personnel and veterans.
- Read more about Kaiserslautern Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany.
Megan K. Mertz
Managing editor of Lutherans Engage the World and chief copy editor for LCMS Communications.
