Renewing Faith
Story: Amy Crawford
Photos: Courtesy Shepherd's Canyon
Shepherd’s Canyon Retreat Ministry offers church workers a chance to destress and rediscover their joy in serving.
Since 1987, Rev. Kevin John Bueltmann CO ’88 GR ‘01 has served The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) churches and camps in Montana, Nebraska and Illinois. Today, he and his wife, Tawn (Gudgel) Bueltmann ’87, serve as executive director and executive coordinator respectively for Shepherd’s Canyon Retreat Ministry.
Shepherd’s Canyon Retreat Ministry focuses on worker wellness. Their seven-day, intensive retreats offer help, hope and healing to pastors and other Christian ministry workers going through stress, burnout, depression, compassion fatigue and conflicts through counseling retreats. The retreats are designed for Christian ministry workers and their spouses-- including pastors, missionaries, teachers and administrators in Christian schools, Directors of Christian Education, deaconesses, camp directors, military chaplains, worship leaders and others.
“Pastors, ministry workers and spouses are in the front lines of bringing hope, help and healing to the people, ministries and communities that they are called to serve,” says Kevin. “Just like cars need to go to the shop in order to keep running well for years, a tune-up at Shepherd’s Canyon Retreat can help our church workers continue sharing the Gospel and the love of Jesus with a world in need.”
The Bueltmanns discovered Shepherd’s Canyon in 2021 after realizing they needed a respite from ministry and serving others through COVID-19 and enduring the sometimes relentless schedule that ministry requires of its workers. This eventually led to the Bueltmanns accepting calls to the organization.
Kevin and Tawn both credit Concordia Nebraska as part of the trajectory that led them to their current service.
“Every piece of my story then and since brought me to where I am today,” says Kevin.
Kevin has a bachelor of science in elementary education and music with a Lutheran Teacher Diploma and Director of Christian Education certification from Concordia University, Nebraska as well as a Master of Science degree in family life ministry. He also graduated from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis in 2011. Tawn has a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education with a Lutheran Teacher Diploma from Concordia Nebraska.
Both Kevin and Tawn’s fathers are Concordia Nebraska graduates (David Bueltmann ’64 and Richard Gudgel ’64). Kevin wanted to be a DCE and to attend an LCMS college in a small town. Tawn chose Concordia Nebraska because she was familiar with the college as a Nebraskan through Gathering of the Talents and from knowing many graduates.
Both agree that their professors had a profound impact on their faith and discovering God’s path for their lives. Kevin credits Dr. Bill Karpenko – who was director of the university DCE program while Kevin was a student – as especially helpful. He gave Kevin the opportunity to serve as a DCE staff assistant helping to plan events.
Tawn fondly recalls Rev. Dr. Allan Paul Vasconcellos.
“Dr. Vasconcellos really made an impact on me through his doctrine class,” she says. “He was an amazing teacher who really brought things to life! I had come from an incredible learning experience having my dad as my teacher for four years of elementary school, but ‘Vasco’ continued the education. He made the tough stuff of the Bible easy to understand and kept our interest in class like no one I’ve seen before.”
Tawn says her time at Concordia Nebraska was formative and inspiring.
“College is a time of growing. A time to practice the skills you’ve been taught. A time to exert your independence. Concordia was a safe and encouraging place for a young person to become an independent young person,” she says. “I had had servant leadership modeled for me by my parents and other church workers all my life, but I continued to see that in the leadership at Concordia. “
Kevin and Tawn both say their time at the university impacted their faith in Jesus Christ.
“Faith was incorporated into every class. It wasn’t just delegated to religion classes, but the religion classes were very helpful and insightful,” says Kevin. “I had never studied the Bible so much in my life before coming to Concordia. Going to chapel was also very important to my faith development as well.”
Prior to his work at Shepherd’s Canyon, Kevin served as a DCE at Trinity Lutheran Church in Kalispell, Montana; as a DCE at Christ Lutheran Church in Normal, Illinois; as director at Camp Luther of Nebraska Schuyler, Nebraska; as program director at Camp CILCA Cantrall, Illinois; as pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church Green Valley, Illinois; as pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Kalispell, Montana; and as camp director at Trinity Lutheran Camp in Bigfork, Montana.
“In 2017, I started serving at a church in Montana that owned its own camp,” he explains. “I was the camp director and associate pastor, but then when our lead pastor left at the end of January 2020, I took over the vacancy and many of the responsibilities that go along with being a lead pastor on top of my already full schedule right before the beginning of the COVID pandemic. I focused so much on helping others that I neglected my own emotional, physical and spiritual health. I was headed for burnout and one year later, my wife suggested that we attend a week-long counseling retreat for ministry workers and spouses. We went to Shepherd’s Canyon Retreat and that was exactly what I needed to begin the healing process.”
Two months later, Kevin took a 12-week online men’s course with Delight Your Marriage.
“My good marriage turned into an awesome marriage, which also really helped me better cope with all the challenges of my life at that time,” he says. “Delight Your Marriage later offered me a job to work remotely. They strongly encouraged Sabbath rest and didn’t allow working on weekends or evenings because they wanted their workers to have good balance in work and life. I had never had a ministry tell me that before! It seemed like the perfect place to work while God continued to heal me and so I resigned from my church and camp job and accepted the position at Delight Your Marriage.”
One of the therapists Kevin and Tawn worked with at Shepherd’s Canyon Retreat remembered the couple and suggested to Shepherd’s Canyon founder Dave Anderson that he contact them about serving with the organization.
“After prayerful consideration, Tawn and I moved to Arizona in September 2022. I served as director of operations and marketing and Tawn served as director of hospitality,” he says. “A year later, Dave and Barb Anderson turned over the leadership of the entire ministry of Shepherd’s Canyon Retreat to us, and I was installed as the executive director and Tawn as executive coordinator on October 1, 2023. I didn't know it at the time, but through all the events and experiences of past years, God was preparing us to serve at Shepherd's Canyon Retreat.”
Tawn received her first call the summer after graduation and taught at Trinity Lutheran School in Kalispell, Montana, for four years. When Kevin took a call to Illinois, Tawn became a stay-at-home mom to their toddler.
“Like many stay-at-home moms, I was able to spend a lot of time and energy serving the church,” she says. “I played the organ, substitute taught, started MOPS groups and much more. Over the years, I’ve served as director of music at churches in Illinois. I’ve played the organ for church for decades. Teaching music and language arts at Lutheran schools, and serving in camp ministry as assistant and food services director have also been part of my life experiences. I’ve also enjoyed writing for Concordia Publishing House and the Synod over the years. While living in northwestern Montana near Glacier National Park, I started a hospitality business, renting cars and a guesthouse to tourists.”
Kevin is also passionate about song-leading with his guitar for kids, youth and adults in worship at various churches, schools and camps. Years ago, he travelled with his brother Kurtis and sister Kim in a music group called Sibling Harmony. Their biggest concert was for 4,000 women at an LWML convention.
He also enjoys writing songs.
“I wrote upbeat VBS songs for Concordia Publishing House for 11 years during the time when I was in camp ministry, but then I changed to writing songs for congregational worship when I became a parish pastor,” he says. “The most popular kids’ song I wrote for CPH is called ‘The Baa Baa Song,’ which is still sung around the world and has about a half million views on YouTube. These days, my passion is co-writing with others. I am so blessed to be a part of The Songwriter Initiative.”
Kevin and Tawn have four adult children. Aaron attended Valparaiso University and Concordia Seminary and is a pastor in Ohio. Brianna attended Harvard and is a social worker for a nonprofit ministry in Chicago. Carly ’18 attended Concordia Nebraska, has an accounting degree, and works as an administrative assistant in Duluth, Minnesota, with her husband Austin. Davis graduated from Concordia University Chicago with a degree in game art and works remotely for EA, a video game company based out of Sweden.
Shepherd’s Canyon Retreat is an LCMS Recognized Service Organization (RSO) that was founded by Dave and Barb Anderson fourteen years ago. Dave still serves as endowment coordinator.
“During my first year at Shepherd’s Canyon Retreat, it was like being a camp director of a small camp or a site manager of a large camp because I oversaw everything that happened on the property and managed the maintenance staff, cooks and volunteers,” says Kevin. “Now that I am the executive director, I work remotely quite a bit because my wife and I travel a lot to raise awareness and raise funds. When we are on site in Arizona, about ten days a month, we stay in a tiny travel trailer that doesn’t go anywhere. We’re praying for a real “casita” with consistent temperatures and more than 240 square feet! We’ve driven thousands of miles to conferences for pastors, teachers, DCEs, worship leaders, etc. in about a dozen states to help others learn about how this unique ministry can be helpful to them and to thank friends of the ministry. It's been a joy to meet some of our many donors who help make these retreats possible for ministry workers.”
Shepherd’s Canyon Retreat receives generous support from the LCMS, but Kevin says donations are always needed to ensure that no one is turned away from Shepherd’s Canyon due to lack of funds.
“I love that I can work behind-the-scenes to make these retreats possible,” says Tawn. “We’ve heard so much positive feedback from people who were stressed, weary, frustrated, overwhelmed, whatever! Through Shepherd’s Canyon Retreat, I can be part of God’s work to support ministry workers in the challenges they face.”