Former accountant initiated as a Spencer pastor

(Photo by Kris Todd) Rev. Mike and Salina Huebner serve as the pastor and church secretary, respectively, at Christ The King Lutheran Church in Spencer. Salina Huebner also assists with first and second grade students' reading at Iowa Great Lakes Lutheran School. [Order this photo]

As Rev. Mike Huebner gathered with Iowa Great Lakes Lutheran School (IGLLS) students and staff during Wednesday's chapel service, the students' prayer requests turned into "thank yous" for things such as "dogs and bunnies," "my two best friends" and "friends and family."

The 30-year-old Huebner, who was born and raised near Little Rock, Ark., first attended college on a baseball scholarship.

"Without much in mind besides playing baseball," he admitted with a smile. "But, it was a Church of Christ college. ... I left there with a degree in accounting and went to work as an accountant."

Huebner's second brush with college occurred at night over the next three years, as he enrolled in philosophy courses at a nearby secular university.

"I knew I wasn't going to stay an accountant. I'd planned on going to law school. I just wanted to be an accountant long enough to make enough money to pay to go to law school. By the time I finished that program, I'd finished my second bachelor's degree in philosophy and I was completely unconcerned with the law," he said. "By then, I was completely obsessed with theology, philosophy and big-picture questions. And, I knew I was going to go to the seminary. So, I asked Salina to marry me and then told her, 'Oh, by the way, we're going to St. Louis.'"

The couple married two weeks before leaving for Missouri. Following a weeklong honeymoon, the newlyweds returned to Arkansas and moved immediately to St. Louis. There, he began Concordia Seminary's program and entered into a Greek immersion course.

At the height of this three-month class, a person had called and left a message with Mike for Salina.

"He wrote the message half in Greek and half in English, and didn't even realize that he had done it because he was just so immersed in this that it was natural for him," she recalled with a smile.

Huebner, meanwhile, graduated from the four-year program with a master's of divinity degree in May. He was installed as the pastor at Christ The King Lutheran Church in Spencer in July.

The couple moved into their first "dream" home, at 1106 W. 14th St., one week before any of their belongings arrived. Church members were waiting with supplies.

"People brought us food every day and we didn't have furniture, so they brought it," Huebner said. "It was just magnificent. People worked really hard to help us feel at home."

Since arriving in Spencer, Huebner has worked diligently to "learn the place" by attending every meeting associated with the church and its school, as well as visiting with families in the church.

Salina, who also grew up in Jacksonville, Ark., serves as the church's secretary in an office beside her husband's. The 26-year-old teacher and reading intervention specialist, who completed work on her master's in elementary administration degree in May, is also assisting IGLLS teacher Cindy Steinkamp with first and second grade reading.

The Huebners have a 2 1/2-year-old miniature dachshund named Gracie.