Phil Holtan, one of eight children, grew up on a farm near Forest City, Iowa. The Holtan family was full of faith, music, extended family and hard work. Phil graduated from Waldorf College, Luther College and Luther Seminary, all with academic honors. He interned at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Guadalajara, Mexico, and then served a two-point rural parish in Makoti, ND and a large multiple staff parish in Minot, North Dakota. For the past 23 years, he has been campus pastor at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota, the last 11 as senior pastor. He completed a Master of Theology degree in New Testament Studies at Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey and a Doctor of Ministry degree in Worship at Luther Seminary in St. Paul.
Phil is married to Merrie Sue, an assistant professor of speech and communication at Moorhead State University. She is a feature writer of Area Woman Magazine in Fargo-Moorhead and writer of numerous other publications. She was producer and director of the award-winning documentary film about hockey and faith, “Power and Stride, The Nancy Burggraf Story.”
They are the parents of 3 children. Elise, who left military service as a US Army Captain. She lives in Tuscany, Italy where she works for the U.S. Army as a civilian. Mark is a graduate of Concordia College and received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 2006 at the University of Minnesota. He is a Walgreen’s Pharmacy Manager in St. Paul, Minnesota. Johanna, 24, is a graduate of Juniata College, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. She just completed her Masters Program in International Service in London, England, and has been accepted into a Developing NGOs program with the Peace Corps in Eastern Europe beginning June 2007.
Phil has enjoyed the variety his ministry work allows, with special interests in music and worship, mentoring young people into their vocations, the preaching and teaching of Biblical stories, cross-cultural faith and travel experiences and social justice. He used his doctoral studies to craft a training program for his traditional and contemporary worship musicians that has helped them ground their music in strong Lutheran theology. During his years at Concordia, he prepared and sent 2,900 students on Habitat, Justice Journey and Disaster Relief trips. He is a fluent Spanish speaker, has served as a pastor in Mexico and has taken 31 trips to Latin America, nearly always with a group of students or adults.
Phil has also been very involved in the community. He was the founding president of Lake Agassiz Habitat for Humanity in the Fargo area and of the CROP Walk in Minot, North Dakota. He has been active with the Red Cross, Lutheran Social Services, Moorhead’s Hispanic Task Force, and many other community projects.
Once he was established in parish ministry, Phil began to develop his avocation of woodworking. Phil has been an active woodturner for the past 30 years and since 1988, has been leading woodturning workshops in his studio. He was the founding president of the MinnDak Woodturning Club which now has 80 members. He has shown his work, demonstrated and won prizes at shows all over the Upper Midwest. He often uses his turnings for presentations at churches, schools and service clubs.