Pastor Paul Nelson prepares to step away – and step forward

Pastor Paul Nelson sat in his office at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Eden Prairie, surrounded by reminders of a long ministry.

There was the old Jesus picture that had hung above his parents’ bed, and a family photo of Nelson, his wife Karen, and their daughters standing beneath Cloud Peak, the highest mountain in Wyoming’s Bighorns. Nearby sat a worn metal sign he once pulled from a trail at 10,000 feet: “No fires at Mistymoon or above – stoves only.”

“It’s one of my favorite pieces,” he said. “We’d been doing backpacking trips out there for years, and one summer a ranger told us they were pulling all those old signs. I offered to take that one down – and kept it.”

He’s begun sorting through the space – deciding what to keep, what to leave, and what to toss after 25 years in the same room.

Altogether, Nelson has spent 40 years in ministry – beginning as a youth pastor in 1985, then attending seminary, followed by three years in Grand Rapids.

He returned to Immanuel Lutheran Church – part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) – in 1995 as an associate pastor and became senior pastor a year later, a role he’s held for the past 26 years.

He will give his final sermon Sunday, June 15.

After making his retirement plans public about a year ago to give the congregation time to prepare, Nelson is now days away from stepping down. A farewell potluck and short program will be held at 5 p.m. Saturday, June 14, at Immanuel, followed by a combined worship service and reception the next morning.

The Eden Prairie City Council has proclaimed Saturday, June 14, as “Reverend Doctor Paul Nelson Day” in the city (see full proclamation below).

“I’ve never regretted the decision,” he said. “I mean, I still love what I do, but I’m also really looking forward to what comes next.”

‘It just feels like a great time’

Nelson, who turned 62 on June 8, said his decision to retire wasn’t driven by burnout or dissatisfaction. The church was healthy. The timing, he said, just felt right.

“I love what I do, and I love where I do it,” he said. “I love Immanuel – it’s just a wonderful church filled with good people. We have an amazing staff, and the church is really healthy. In fact, this is the best year financially that we’ve ever had. The church is even growing a little, which is rare these days, especially post-pandemic. It just feels like a great time to step away.”

He and Karen – a retired seventh-grade social studies teacher from Central Middle School – raised two daughters in Eden Prairie and now have four grandchildren, ages 12, 8, 5 and 3.

“I thank God every day that they live as close as they do and that we get to see our four grandkids as often as we do,” he said.

Mondays, in particular, have become sacred. For the past 12 years, he’s spent them with his grandchildren – a tradition the family calls “Grandpa Monday.”

“That’s my day off, and I spend it with them,” he said. “We just did that this past Monday. The youngest is 3, so we’ve got a couple more years before she heads off to kindergarten.”

Now that Karen has been retired for several years, the couple is looking forward to time together – and time outdoors. They’ve always loved to camp and hike, and over the years, their campers have gradually grown in size.

“She’s been kind of saying, ‘Now we can actually do stuff together,’” Nelson said. “And we’ve got a lot of camping planned.”

A spiritual home – and a family home

Nelson grew up in Bloomington and graduated from Jefferson High School. After college at Concordia, he joined Immanuel in 1985 as youth director — his first full-time role in ministry.

It was also where he met Karen, who had grown up in the church. Both were Concordia grads, but they hadn’t really crossed paths until Nelson arrived at Immanuel.

“Everyone was trying to set us up,” he said, laughing. “Karen loves this story. I always say the senior pastor kept telling me, ‘Oh, Karen is such a healthy girl.’ She still laughs about that.”

They married in 1987. Nelson left in 1988 for seminary, served a first call in Grand Rapids, and returned to Immanuel as associate pastor in 1998.

He and Karen eventually moved into the Eden Prairie home where she had grown up – just a mile north of the church.

“It ended up being the perfect place for us,” he said.

Steady leadership and lasting change

Nelson became Immanuel’s senior pastor in 1999, guiding the congregation through growth, cultural shifts, and generational change.

“The average pastor these days stays at a church for less than 10 years,” he said. “And the average churchgoer is there for less than seven. Being a pastor can be really hard. There have been challenges over the years — people who didn’t like me, people who left – but overall, it’s gone really well.”

Worship attendance more than doubled at its peak. The church’s annual budget rose from $400,000 to $1.4 million. More importantly, Nelson said, the congregation built a culture of warmth and belonging.

“What I feel best about is the culture we’ve built – there’s a real sense of joy and positivity in the community here,” he said. “People genuinely care about one another. Again and again, first-time visitors will say, ‘Wow, people actually came up and greeted me. They welcomed me.’ That’s not always the case in churches – sometimes people walk out thinking, ‘No one even said hello.’”

He credits the staff for that culture.

“Part of what I’ve tried to do as a senior pastor is hire people who are smarter than me, who can do things I can’t – and then get out of their way,” he said.

Some of his most meaningful moments came over time: baptizing infants and officiating their weddings, repairing fractured relationships, and watching generations grow within the same church.

Navigating change with grace

Nelson witnessed shifts in how people define commitment.

“Twenty years ago, a committed church member came to worship four times a month,” he said. “Today, that same person might come once every five weeks.”

And Sundays themselves aren’t what they used to be.

“When we were growing up, nothing happened on Sundays,” Nelson said. “Stores weren’t open. No one scheduled sports. Now, families have tournaments and games all the time. It’s a real challenge.”

In 2012, after Minnesota legalized same-sex marriage, Immanuel held a yearlong conversation about whether to perform those weddings. Nelson and his associate supported the move. Ultimately, the congregation did too — though not without loss.

“At the time, maybe 25 or 35 families left,” he said. “Some people said, ‘Well, you can do that – just not in the sanctuary.’ That felt hypocritical.”

Nelson stayed calm.

“My whole focus was being a non-anxious presence,” he said. “I’m going to state what I believe and where I think we should go, and if you get angry with me, that’s OK. I’m going to try to be gracious and care.”

Some of those who left eventually returned.

“We may continue to disagree, but I can still care about you,” he said.

What comes next

Nelson doesn’t plan to leave ministry entirely. He may take on interim work or part-time chaplaincy, but not until fall.

“We’ve got a lot planned for this summer,” he said.

That includes a return to the Bighorn Mountains – a place that’s defined much of his life. He’s led 42 backpacking trips there through Immanuel, bringing roughly 1,000 people over the years.

He also hopes to paint.

“I’m not a great artist, but good enough,” he said. “I want to paint that sage-covered land near the Bighorns.”

His final sermon is nearly done – about 60 percent finished by late May. But he’s editing, refining, pushing for the right words.

“You can say a sentence four ways, but one of them will carry real power,” he said. “That’s what I’m chasing.”

Will it be emotional?

“I’m sure I’ll cry toward the end, when I talk about how much I love these people,” he said. “But most of it is just reflecting. What it means to be a community. To hang in there with each other. To forgive. To return.”

And then?

“The day after my last Sunday here,” Nelson said, “we’ll be heading back out to the Bighorns.”