The Virginia Synod is excited to announce that the Virginia Synod Council has called Pastor Tina Toburen to serve as the next Director for Youth and Young Adult Ministry. Pastor Toburen will begin serving on August 1, 2026.
A Word from Bishop Milton
We rejoice and welcome Pastor Tina Toburen as the new Director for Youth and Young Adult Ministry. Upon a recommendation from the Virginia Synod Search Committee, Pastor Tina Toburen was issued the call on Wednesday, June 10, at the summer meeting of the Virginia Synod Council.
Sprouts, in the above scripture, bring to mind new growth. We are excited about the leadership and relational gifts that Pastor Tina Toburen will bring to continue to develop and expand this ministry.
I ask you to join with me in welcoming, supporting, and praying for Pastor Tina Toburen as she guides the youth and young adult ministry of the Virginia Synod forward into the future.
Blessings,
Bishop Phyllis Milton
In accepting this call, Pastor Tina Toburen begins a new chapter of ministry within the Virginia Synod. We are grateful for her faithful service and look forward to the ways God will work through her leadership in this synod-wide ministry.
Meet Pastor Tina Toburn
Pastor Tina grew up in Southeast Michigan, in the small farming community of Dundee. After graduating from high school in 2004, she followed in her middle sister’s footsteps and attended Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, PA, where she majored in Psychology. She graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2008 and then made the small trek “up the hill” to attend the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (LTSG). While at LTSG, she concentrated her studies on Luther and Town and Country Ministries. She graduated from LTSG in 2012 with honors in Preaching, New Testament, and Reformation Studies. Following graduation, she lived in Pittsburgh and served as the associate pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Fox Chapel. In 2013, she was ordained and accepted a call to serve Grace Lutheran Church in Red Lion, PA where she served until 2016. She moved to Newport News in August of 2016 and has served at Trinity, Newport News since December of 2016. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, watching movies, following the University of Michigan and Detroit sports teams, and spending time with her 14 year old pup, Scully.
Please join the Virginia Synod in welcoming Pastor Tina Toburen. We give thanks for the gifts, experience, and vision she brings to this ministry and look forward to the ways God will work through her to engage and inspire youth, young adults, congregations, and ministry leaders across our synod.
Pastor Tina Toburen will begin serving on August 1, 2026.
