Board of Directors
Current Board of Directors
| Charlie Oertli | President, At Large Representative |
| Rev. Tim Bauerkemper | Vice President, San Antonio Conference Representative |
| Chris Gold | Treasurer, At Large Representative |
| Jonathan Zitelman | Secretary, At Large Representative |
| Rev. Paul Kersten | Austin Conference Representative |
| Nola Gustafson | Coastal Bend Conference Representative |
| Sandy Huston | Rio Grande Valley Conference Representative |
| Louis Wenzel | Bishop’s Representative |
| Rev. Jerry Wirtley | Victoria Conference Representative |
| Rev. Skip Brasher | Hill Country Conference Representative |
| Mike Childers | Synod Council Representative |
| Base Huston | Lutheran Men in Mission (Advisory) |
| Vacant | Women of the ELCA (Advisory) |
| Vacant | Synod Youth Committee (Advisory) |
The Cross Trails Ministry Board of Directors is a vision and policy governing body that works on behalf of the congregations of the Southwestern Texas Synod, who own the corporation. The Board of Directors meets four times per year.
Each conference has a voting representative on the Cross Trails Ministry Board. Conference Representatives are elected by their conference for three-year terms, renewable once. Contact Cross Trails Ministry to determine conference openings, or contact your conference dean if you are interested.
There are three voting, At-Large Board Member positions. One of these is up for election at the corporation meeting each year. Each At-Large Board Member is eligible for a three-year term, renewable once. At-large members are nominated by the Executive Committee of the board, or may be nominated from the floor at the time of the vote. The vote takes place at our yearly business meeting, which is held in conjunction with the Synod Assembly.
Cross Trails Ministry’s by-laws state that the electing body should try for inclusive representation on the board. As a result, the Executive Committee will take into account lay/clergy, male/female, minority groups and regional representation, along with personal experience when making a recommendation to the voting members at the annual meeting. Interested persons should fill out an at-large application by no later than May 1st.
Other voting board positions include a Bishop’s Representative and a Synod Council Representative. These serve at the discretion of the bishop and synod council.
Advisory, non-voting members include a Women of the ELCA representative, a Lutheran Men in Mission Representative and a Youth representative
