When the Rev. Matt Griggs and his family visited Central Freeborn and East Freeborn Lutheran churches last September, they had an immediate sense of belonging.

“We just love it here,” said Griggs of the two-point parish he’s been serving since mid-November. “The people had a good sense of who they were and a good sense of mission. They’re very caring. I felt our whole family has been embraced.”

This is Griggs’ first two-point parish, and up to this point, Central and East Freeborn had separate pastors — at least since 1960, Griggs said. The churches had shared a pastor to that point.

“Some of the people have been here before,” Griggs said of the shared relationship. “Some have nostalgic memories of being partners.”

Griggs, 37 and a native of New Hope, said he grew up going to church and had thought about going into the ministry. He attended Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and graduated with a degree in history and biblical languages. After he spent a year as a missionary in the Slovak Republic, he knew for certain he wanted to pursue the ministry.

“I had experienced culture shock,” he said. “It really opened my eyes.”

He enrolled at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, graduating in 1999. It was there that he met his wife, Emily, who was in the seminary too. They married in 1998.

His first assignment, in March 2000, was as a pastor in Hanley Falls in Yellow Medicine County.

Family: wife, Emily; children Eliza, 8, Caleb, 7, Cheyenne, 6, Gillian, 3, and Levi, 15 months

Interesting fact: He’s interested in genealogy and has been able to learn his wife is a descendant of a U.S. president, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and one of the passengers on the Mayflower.

It was there that their first two children, Eliza, who is adopted, and Caleb, a birth child, arrived.

In 2002, they moved to pastor a church on the Iron Range and their other three children, Cheyenne (also adopted), Gillian and Levi, were born.

The church was Finnish and Norwegian in its heritage.

“So it’s kind of like home being down here,” he said of the Norwegian heritage in the area. It’s also not far from both sets of grandparents, which allows for lots of short trips to the Twin Cities area.

He also likes the fact that there are so many Lutheran churches and supportive pastors in the area. “I feel like I’m in a community, not in competition for members.”

His family is purchasing the parsonage at East Freeborn Church, and thus is making an investment in the community, he said.

Griggs said there are about 300 members between the two churches, and only three to four miles between the two. Central Freeborn, being about 10 years old, has a contemporary feel. East Freeborn is an older church. “I’m a big history buff, so I feel like we’ve got the best of both worlds,” the pastor said.

The two churches still have their own identities, but share what they can. He credits the many lay people who make it work. “That helps free me up to do the things I’m called to do,” he said. “Both churches have a can-do attitude.”

He said the brotherhood of the churches has been holding joint events and the women’s groups have also done some things together.

“They love to experiment and try new things,” Griggs said of congregation members. “I sense a big spirit of ‘let’s try it.’ That attitude will carry us through.”

Griggs said his goals for the churches, while he is the pastor, is for them to be the best they can be, “the body of Christ in the area and express the love of God in a way unique to them.”

“They take the role seriously,” he said. “They don’t want to be idle.”

He also wants to empower the laity. “Yes, I’m a leader, but I don’t want that to get in the way. I want to inspire and motivate and see what we can do together.”

He said he’s still in the listening stages with the congregations. “I’m very confident that in two or three years people are are going to see a lot happening here. We’ll be doing the work that needs to happen. We’re going to be what we need to be in Christ’s love.”