A feature on the Rev. Kristen Koch, alumna of Atonement Lutheran School, Florissant, Missouri
Some stories take decades to tell. Rev. Kristen Koch’s begins in August of 1973, when she was baptized at the Lutheran Church of the Atonement in Florissant, Missouri. It winds through a childhood spent in classrooms and pews, a season of missionary work in Tanzania, years of seminary, and more than two decades of ordained ministry. Today, as Director for Evangelical Mission for the Central States Synod — serving all of Missouri and Kansas — Kristen’s story is still unfolding. And it all began at an ELCA School with a big mission.
Kristen’s first memory of Atonement Lutheran School says everything about the kind of place it was.
“My first memory of Atonement Lutheran School is getting in trouble as a Kindergartener,” she recalls with a smile. Because her older brother was already a student there, Kristen had visited enough times to feel completely at home. So one day after lunch, she simply walked upstairs and back to her classroom — all by herself. When her teacher caught up with her in the hallway, Kristen’s explanation was matter-of-fact: she already knew her way around and didn’t need help.
“So clearly, I felt at home at Atonement School from the very beginning.”