Pastor Matt was born and raised in Decatur, IL. He attended St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and attended grade school at the Lutheran School Association. It was during this time that he developed an interest in pastoral ministry. After high school Pastor Matt received his Bachelor’s Degree in Pastoral Ministry from Concordia University, Wisconsin in 2005. From there he attended Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, graduating with his Master of Divinity in the spring of 2009.

Pastor Matt and his wife Bethany are blessed to have five sons: Lincoln, August, Grant, Silas, and Hiram. In his spare time he enjoys hiking, listening to music, reading, traveling, sports, and spending time with his family.

Before coming to Praise and Worship, Pastor Matt served at River of Life Lutheran in Rogersville, MO, Trinity Lutheran Church in Spencerport, NY, and Trinity Lutheran Church & School in Crown Point, IN. 

Pastor Matt and his family look forward to getting to know you and working together in sharing Jesus with our friends and neighbors in the greater Branson area after he’s installed on July 14, 2024!

Dar Karsten

Pastor Dar Karsten and his wife, Jan, have been married since 1968; they have three children—Kyle, Sara, and Joel. They are all married and have made Dar and Jan grandparents eight times. Family is the top priority of their Christian ministry.

Pastor Dar was ordained as a Pastor in 1969 (note that 2019 marks his 50th anniversary of pastoral ministry!) and has served congregations in Wisconsin and Missouri, pastoring a church in Eureka, Mo for 34 years. Since taking retirement in 2006 (which Pastor Dar calls his “re-firement”), he led the new church start of Praise & Worship, initiating the first gathering in 2007. Praise & Worship chartered as a congregation in 2013 under his leadership and partnership with the Missouri District of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

Jan is also a Registered Nurse and has worked in an Extended Care Facility for over 30 years. She also helps conduct Health Fairs and really enjoys mentoring young women in Christian living and has served as a MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) Mentor Mom.

In August 2023, Pastor Dar stepped into an interim role of serving as pastor after Mark Hunsaker accepted a call to do church planting in the area around Austin, Texas.

Barry Kolb

Raised in Seward, Nebraska, Barry was privileged to receive a Christian education from kindergarten through college. After teaching and coaching for 18 years, he graduated from Concordia Seminary, Fort Wayne in 1985, and has served 4 churches and 2 interims.

Barely making it out of college, he has since earned 3 master’s degrees and a doctorate. In addition to pastoring churches, he has taught in 9 foreign countries, served as a church consultant and in leadership roles of several ministries. He has also served as a Bible teacher at Angola Prison in Louisiana for 20+ years. In 2022, Barry took on the challenge of leading a special team to start a new church: resTore in Hollister, MO! Serving as church planting pastor there, more and more people are being restored in this new neighborhood outpost!

Barry is married to Nancy and is father to Eric (Sheryl) & Terri, and grandfather to Joshua! His hobbies include writing, reading and just about any sporting event, especially the Nebraska Cornhuskers and College of the Ozarks!

Proverbs 3:5-6 is his life verse. His personal mission statement is: See the Vision, Live the Mission and Feel the Passion.

This is unfolding in real time as Barry and Nancy both serve the people of resTore, a new church starting in Hollister, MO!

Aaron Hunsaker

Participating in his family’s journey to uproot from “normal life” and transition into full time ministry, Aaron has had an adventure of moving from Nixa, to St. Louis for four years at Concordia Seminary and then back to the Ozarks, landing in Branson.

Working as a Server in area restaurants, Aaron loves to work hands-on with people, enjoying in particular, the area of customer service. Branson’s unique position as a tourist destination for many in the Midwest affords some fun and unique opportunities! But another hands-on love that has arisen during this time is Aaron’s love for percussion with Praise & Worship’s music team. You can often spot him playing the Cajón or other drums during our worship services.

Aaron enjoys gaming, football, listening to music such as NF and building things by hand.

His favorite book of the Bible is Revelation because it tells about where everything is going what what will happen when Jesus comes back to make all things new, when there will be no more tears, no more sickness, no more death.

Lair Parent

Lair has spent most of his life (from the age of 12 on) in some aspect of theatre. He started as a performer, but couldn’t handle all the rejection, so went into the technical end of things.

He spent over 40 years as a stage manager and technical director for Industrial theatre, doing shows for the Fortune 500 companies, from IBM to Boeing, to all the major automobile manufacturers.

He tried retirement, but didn’t like it very much, so is now working at Silver Dollar City in a job that requires no brains but keeps him physically fit, walking 5 to 11 miles a day.

The father of four very successful sons, he travels during the two months that SDC is closed to visit his boys and 10 grandchildren in four corners of the country: California, Washington, Vermont and New York.

Having lived on both coasts, he is totally sold on the Ozarks as God’s Country, both for the climate and for Praise & Worship Church and what it has added to his life.

Lauren Lindwedel

Born in St. Louis but moved to the Ozarks in 1995, at just 6 years old, Lauren went to Reed’s Spring School District from 1st grade through graduating. Going to Missouri State University and receiving a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing Management, she was able to stay close to home as she helped her family start their family winery, which she now runs with her parents and brother in law.  

Growing up, she was apart of her school's volleyball and basketball teams as well as traveling teams, following in her siblings footsteps. She has a very loving family that all live in the Ozarks. Along with her parents, she has two older sisters with two brother in laws, 3 nieces, 1 nephew, & 1 great-niece.  

Throughout grade school and college, Lauren traveled with the youth group from the Lutheran Church on 3 mission trips (Denver, Arkansas, & Canada) and 2 National Youth Gatherings. Along with vacations with her family, this became a passion of hers to see the world. She tries once a year to go to somewhere new. Even during college, she took a semester abroad in London and that has become her most rewarding decision she has made.  

Lauren's favorite verse is Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” This verse was also her baptismal verse as well as the verse her sports teams would say before each game. It is also the verse she lives by as she has had some trying times in her adult life. 

Anthony Hunter

Born in Canton, Ohio, Anthony grew up watching cartoons and reading comic books religiously. That passion brought him to Tempe, Arizona, for a few years to earn a bachelor's degree in animation. Taking the knowledge from his degree and his love of cartoons, he began to create comic strips of his own in 2012. Silent Sillies, a silent cartoon as a comic, entertains hundreds of followers weekly.

Along with his comic, Anthony has designed characters for various business, was cartoonist for a kid friendly zombie comic book LAMEBRAINS, and made a coloring book for the city of Branson! After finding his church home at Praise & Worship, he was inspired to share Scripture passages accompanied with digital silhouette artwork to help spread the good news online.

While in college, he met his wife Brittiney, and the two got married in the desert state. They moved to Hollister, Missouri, to raise a family and became parents of two beautiful children, Erin and Connor who were baptized at Praise & Worship on Oct 29, 2017 (the 500th anniversary of the Reformation). Commonly he is seen reading comics, making comics, and watching cartoons and sci-fi.

Feeling the call to create, he shares his work by attending local comic conventions and art events. He describes himself as a big kid and he continues to grow in the Spirit to follow the call to “love thy neighbor” (Matthew 29:39).

Anthony is serving at resTore to help more and more experience the love and restoration that comes through Jesus!