Meet The Team
Diane Bahn – Partner Program Leader (left)
Sharon Zehnder – Partner Retreats Leader (right)
From Diane Bahn…
There is no one ideal model of a pastor’s wife or of a disciple of Jesus, so we strive to help you grow and be effective as the person God has designed you to be in the setting in which he has placed you. In addition to leading the Partner Program, I focus on the annual conferences and on the recruitment and training of the Partners Influencing Partners (PIPs) who serve as mentor/facilitators for the Partners.
The annual conferences can be quite intense, with a lot of learning, stretching, growing, and a very full schedule. Time to build relationships, especially within the collegial group, is included and it is in those groups that the women process much of the conference material. The collegial group also provides encouragement and accountability.
The PIPs are women who have experienced PLI and have been selected to walk alongside those currently enrolled. Each PIP serves with a collegial group to help facilitate the group process and learning, so that each woman grows in understanding her unique identity in Christ, her supportive partnership with her husband, and her role as a woman of influence for the mission of God in her own context.
Part of my ministry is to and with my husband Dave, who serves as Senior Pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas (NW Houston area). We are parents of four sons, three of whom are married, and we will soon be blessed with our fifth grandchild. In the past I have worked on staff with Dave in worship and music. We both have grown personally and professionally through our participation in PLI. I love working with the PLI Partners and PIPs as together we experience God at work in, through, and among us to enrich and equip us for His purposes. His grace is amazing!
From Sharon Zehnder…
Besides being a wife and mom, I am blessed to serve you in the role of PLI Partner Retreat Leader. Who better can understand the unique roles you juggle daily than other pastors’ wives? We strive to effectively address and meet some of the specific needs that we share in common. In particular at the retreats, we come together as women to grow, to care for, and support each other to be the best women of influence God has designed for us to be. You know what? That looks different for each woman. Do we have fun? You bet! And in the process, God does amazing things. We leave different women!!
I am married to Mark. He is Senior Pastor at King of Kings Lutheran Church in Omaha, Nebraska. We have three children, Eric, Zachary (married to Allison), and Charista (married to Peter Baye). Zach and Allison have blessed us with our two grandsons, Nathan and Brady. I work part-time as After Care Director at a large family-owned mortuary in Omaha, overseeing and facilitating their grief support groups and after care programs. More than anything else, I delight that God calls me His own.