Meet the Pastor

Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. Acts 20:28b NIV

Pastor Timothy Hartwig

Timothy Hartwig was born in Brisbane, Australia, in 1972, and grew up on a family farm. He developed a strong work ethic by working alongside his family as they planted, harvested, and sold crops. He attended grade school and high school in Gympie, Australia, and proceedePastor Hartwig has served Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Lake Havasu City, AZ since 2000.d to Brisbane University to pursue a Bachelor’s of Mining Engineering.

After his graduation from Brisbane University in 1991, he worked as an underground mining engineer in various parts of Australia. After four years of working hard and saving money, he followed the Lord’s call to study for the ministry. Because the Australian Lutheran church is small and has no seminary, that required that he travel to the United States.

In August of 1996 he arrived in the United States and began study at Bethany Lutheran College and Theological Seminary in Mankato, MN. Along with many lifelong friendships found among the college and seminary students, he met his future bride, Katie, a graduate of Bethany Lutheran College. They were married in 2000 and moved to Arizona where Tim vicared for Family of God Lutheran Church in Fort Mojave, AZ, and Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Lake Havasu City. He received his pastor call in May 2001 to Our Saviour, and became our fulltime pastor in a service of Ordination the following month.

As a family, the Hartwigs serve the Lord together. The counseling, Bible Instruction Classes, Catechism classes, and other aspects of his teaching ministry have helped Pastor Hartwig connect with all types of residents in Lake Havasu City. As a Lutheran pastor, he places highest importance on the Word of God, as he strives to deliver faithfully through his Sunday sermons. Katie serves the church and her family through her work as a stay-at-home mother, church musician, and occasionally ironing Tim’s shirts.

Pastor and Katie have been blessed with four children – Rebekah, Lydia, and Abigail, and Caleb. Rebekah and Lydia are blessed to attend Our Saviour Lutheran School. They love to sing praises to their Saviour in the school choir and junior choir. The whole family enjoys traveling, working together, reading, the outdoors, and learning about the fantastic things God has done for his people.

Vicar Trent Saari

Trent was born on September 9, 1976 in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. He was baptized on September 19, 1976. After he graduated from Rhinelander High School in 1995, he took some time off from school before attending Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon where he graduated in 2006 majoring in theological languages.

While in Mequon, Trent and his wife met Pastor Kenneth Schmidt and joined Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELS) in West Bend, Wisconsin. Trent and his wife Adrienne met in 2002 and were married in 2003. In February of 2006 they were blessed with a daughter, Hannah.

Trent is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, snowshoeing, camping, and golfing. He and his family have adapted to the Southwest since their arrival in Lake Havasu in July 2009, and the congregation looks forward to getting to know all of them during this important vicaring experience.