Nate & Shelley Nelson – Senior Pastors
Nate Nelson deeply loves the people of Tomahawk and those in the surrounding area. He very much enjoys the natural beauty of Northern Wisconsin and is extremely blessed to have lived in Tomahawk now for over half of his life. He has been married to his beautiful wife Shelley since 2000 and together they have seven crazy awesome children who ensure every day is an amazing adventure. Nate is a PK (pastor’s kid) and is beginning to better understand the privilege it is to have been raised in a Christian home by parents (Ross and Mary Nelson) who although imperfect, showed in solid and tangible ways the incredible and unending love of our Heavenly Father that is made known through receiving His Son, Jesus Christ into our hearts and lives. They not only showed Nate how to receive this incredible gift of love but also what to do with it…give it away! Share it! Love people! This truth absolutely laid the foundation for Nate’s life. He is passionate and called by God to share this same love with those he comes in contact with.
Shelley was born and raised in Tomahawk. She met Nate, her amazing husband, in high school and they married while she attended college at UWSP, where she graduated with BFA in graphic design. She also graduated from Vineyard Leadership Institute, a pastoral training course. Since she was a child, Shelley has always had a passion for worshiping God through music, but as she became a mother, God expanded this passion to include raising up the next generation of worshipers of Jesus. She currently oversees Kingdom Kids, which exists to help kids know, grow and show Jesus to the world around them! Shelley and Nate are parents to seven beautiful, energetic children. She is therefore an expert at multitasking! In her limited free-time, Shelley loves to read, go for bike rides, or do Pinterest crafts.
Worship Overseers – Ellen Hilgendorf & Jason Nehring
Ellen began serving as a Worship Overseer in 2023. Church music has been a constant part of Ellen’s life from age 6 to the present. She played piano and organ, sang and accompanied church choirs, played keyboards and sang in a variety of worship teams, wrote and arranged music for instrumentalists and vocal groups, and was the worship team
director for a large multi-campus church in the Chicago area. This included selecting and arranging music for teams on a weekly basis and directing the weekly rehearsals. Ellen also taught piano, voice, saxophone and guitar for 35 years in her adult years.
Jason felt called to worship in High School and has served NWVC with that gifting since. Jason leads worship in several ministries within the church, Youth Group, Worship events, and Sunday Service.
Mat & Shani Messerschmidt – Youth Overseers
Shani and Mat began serving as Youth Overseers in 2023. Prior to leading the TAC (Teens About Christ) Youth Group, they served for several years as our Kingdom Kids Overseer.
Colleen Nehring – Administrative Assistant
Colleen has been married to her husband Evan for 26 years. They have three children, Megan, Wade, Jason, and one son-in-law, Tim Nelson. Colleen’s greatest joy is being a grandma to her beautiful grandchildren, Lily, Asa, and Gianna. And we don’t want to forget her three grand-dogs Cooper, Avery, and Willow.
Colleen asked Jesus into her heart in 3rd grade and grew up in the Assembly of God church. It was Vineyard music that drew Colleen and Evan to Northwoods Vineyard in 1997. They felt they had found their home and have been with Northwoods Vineyard since, with a few adventures in between.
Colleen is blessed to have her children and grandchildren close by and enjoys spending her free time with them, just doing life together (especially her grandchildren). She also enjoys creating on her Cricut, reading, and cooking.