About Us
Dan Mielke grew up in Chicago and Glenda Baker in Royal Oak, Michigan. They met in September, 1966 at Moody Bible Institute and married January 25, 1969. They moved that summer to Elizabethton, Tennessee, where Dan completed his missionary aviation training at Moody Aviation. Their first son Luke was born just weeks before Dan's graduation in 1971.
In 1972 the Mielkes attended Wycliffe Bible Translators' Summer Institute of Linguistics, and in August, 1973 they travelled to Papua New Guinea to serve for four years. Their son Andrew was born there in 1974.
They returned to the States in 1977 and served at Wycliffe's JAARS headquarters in Waxhaw, N.C., where Dan was the Director of the Information and Development department. In 1981 the Mielkes moved to Bethel, Alaska to coordinate the translation of the Old Testament in the Central Yup'ik Eskimo language. Steven was born there in 1982. The Bethel Moravian Church called Dan as Pastor, and he was ordained and served there until 1988.
In August of that year, the Mielke five moved to La Grande in northeastern Oregon to begin the work of Eastern Oregon Youth for Christ. Glenda began teaching Christian kindergarten that fall. The following year Dan added the role of campus minister to the students of Eastern Oregon University through the Koinonia House and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Additionally Dan pastored the Union Baptist Church from 1997 until 2008. No additional sons were born in La Grande!
In January, 2009 Dan and Glenda launched Celebration Community Church in La Grande, with a special emphasis on equipping EOU students for fully engaged lives as disciples of Jesus Christ.