Staff

Pastor Samantha

Pastor Samantha started serving as Pastor of First Lutheran Church in August of 2025. She received a Master of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and was ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in 2019. 

Prior to taking this call, Pastor Samantha served as a chaplain at UChicago Medicine where her unit assignments included the Emergency Department, Trauma Service, and Burn & Surgical ICUs. She completed her chaplain residency at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and is a board certified chaplain through the Association of Professional Chaplains. She has also served in a variety of roles in different parish settings, including both rural and urban ministry contexts.

Pastor Samantha is excited to be back in the Kansas City area having grown up in Stilwell, Kansas. She is grateful for the opportunity to serve a congregation so open to God’s call to “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.”

While in seminary, Pastor Samantha worked as a community organizer with a local progressive organization in Chicago. She met her husband, Tyler, through work on various electoral and issue campaigns. Pastor Samantha and Tyler have two adorable (and rambunctious!) pups: Flynn and Abilene. Pastor Samantha loves to cook, bake, and read.

Contact Pastor Samantha: pastor@firstlutherankc.com

Charles Hoeft

Minister of Worship and Music | Parish Administrator

Charles Hoeft has served the congregation of First Lutheran Church since 2019. He initially joined the music staff as organist, eventually stepped into a new role as Parish Administrator, and in 2025 was appointed as Minister of Worship and Music. In this position, Charles directs the chancel choir and handbell choir, coordinates the music for all worship services, and leads congregational singing from the organ and piano.

Originally from Minnesota, Charles moved to the Kansas City area in 2014 to pursue a career in music. In addition to serving First Lutheran, he has maintained an active piano teaching studio over the past decade, and has also worked with several local schools as a collaborative pianist. Charles is a graduate of the University of Kansas (D.M.A. in piano performance), the University of Missouri-Kansas City (M.M. in piano performance), and Luther College (B.A. in music and English literature).

When he has free time, Charles particularly enjoys baking and cooking, doing crossword puzzles, and taking long walks outdoors. His sourdough starter, affectionately named Prudence, has given life to countless loaves of bread. He believes that food, like music, always offers the opportunity to experience something new.

Tiffany Johnson

Director of First Lutheran Early Education Center

Tiffany started as an Assistant Teacher at Zion Preschool in the summer of 2001 and became a lead

teacher in 2004. When the preschool moved to First Lutheran Church in 2005, she moved with it. In 2014, she became the Director but still spends time in each classroom which she loves! 

Tiffany graduated from KU with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education. Tiffany loves working with kids and loved all her years as a teacher. Kids are so refreshing and eager to learn and they always make her laugh. 

Tiffany likes spending time with her friends and family. She loves music, reading, movies, bad reality tv and Chiefs football. She lives in the Waldo area and loves it.