A long time ago on a farm far, far away, (well, not too far)… a baby boy was born to Fred and Luella Zillinger. The fourth of four boys, his older brothers dubbed him “Gregory” on the way to see him in the hospital. Greg grew up in the farming community of Phillipsburg, Kansas, where he was baptized and confirmed at First Lutheran Church and attended the local public schools. 

He left home to pursue his higher education at Kansas State University but soon decided that a vocation in theology would be more fun than one in astrophysics and mathematics. At the urging of his pastor and other mentors in the faith, Greg transferred to Concordia University, Seward, Nebraska, where he majored in Theology and minored in Chemistry and Mathematics. At Concordia Greg was a member of the Concordia Singers choir and took voice lessons for four years. In the time he had left after studying two Biblical languages, singing, working at the library, and playing Nintendo he met and wooed a sweet little musician from the big city of Denver, Colorado. Greg and Sara were married on December 28, 1996 in Littleton, Colorado.

In 1996, Greg graduated with his B.A. from Concordia and moved on to the next Concordia in his life – Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri. At Seminary, Greg sang with the American Kantorei choir, continued working at the library, and studied hard! Sara supported this endeavor with her Lutheran Teacher’s Diploma and Special Education certificate by teaching for the Lutheran Association for Special Education in St. Louis.

At the Call Service in 2000, Pastor Z accepted his call assignment to St. Peter Lutheran Church in Hannover, North Dakota, which is “not so much a town as it is a crossroads.” In Hannover, he and Sara increased the population by at least 50% by bringing home five new blessings – Joshua in 2000, Noah in 2002, Jaina in 2004, Elijah in 2006, and Keira in 2007. Pastor Z was active on the board of the North Dakota District Lutheran Camp (Shepherd’s Hill at the Crossroads), and with the circuit youth as well as his church youth group – including leading District Junior High Youth functions. He served as Secretary for both the Circuit and the District Conference and led Vision and Goal Planning for several local Lutheran congregations and Martin Luther Elementary School.

In 2009, Pastor Z accepted a Divine Call to serve as Associate Pastor at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Centennial, Colorado. While there, he reinvigorated the high school youth program, supported the preschool and active senior programs, all while carrying out the traditional pastoral duties of preaching, teaching, and visiting.