A Courier Nebraska reader wrote in to ask the following question: “I heard Brad von Gillern is connected with Lifegate Church. Can you find out if that’s true or not?”
We checked it out. Here’s what we learned.
Yes, he’s connected
Nebraska state Sen. R. Brad von Gillern (R-Elkhorn)—who is running for reelection on Nov. 3—does have a history with Omaha’s Lifegate Church.
We reached out to him directly and he confirmed in an email that from 2008 to 2022, he was a board member for Lifegate. He also lists his position with the church on his campaign website, his LinkedIn page, and his iVoterGuide profile.
Why is this relevant?
We assume our reader wasn’t simply curious—they were getting at something deeper than a yes or no answer. That’s because Lifegate Church has a complicated history with a convicted sex criminal.
We should note that there’s no evidence linking von Gillern to the convicted sex criminal, but his general association with the church that hired one is starting to raise concerns online.
In December 2004, Mike Hintz, who had been a First Assembly of God youth pastor, was arrested and charged with three aggravated misdemeanor counts of sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist. The Des Moines Register reported on March 15, 2005, that Hintz’s victim was 16 years old at the time of the incidents. The First Assembly of God fired Hintz upon learning of the accusations.
Three months later, Hintz pleaded guilty to all three charges.
In 2015, Lifegate hired Hintz as a pastor. In a video statement from March 2025, Micah Eldridge, Lead Pastor, defended the vetting process.
“Through a series of interviews, reviewing case transcripts, seeking outside counsel and input from our team, and spending quite a bit of time with he and [his wife] Sharla, we felt his life was a beautiful story of redemption and that he was qualified and completely safe to return to pastoral ministry,” Eldridge said in the video.
“The elders were united, the Lord led the process. We were and still are convinced that Mike’s hiring was a God-inspired decision that honored the power of the gospel to heal, to redeem, and to restore.”
Eldridge said that Lifegate had even handed out to members of the congregation copies of a book that Sharla had written about Mike’s criminal conduct and the problems it caused in their marriage.
In a video post on her Facebook page on March 8, 2025, Hintz’s victim, Rachael Behnke Stokka, said she was shocked to learn Hintz was ministering to couples in Nebraska after what he had done to her.
“I feel like I’ve just been silenced,” Stokka said in her post. “I have just come to find out that he—back in 2015—moved back to where he had come from and he is ministering to other couples and the church is very proud of this: he’s ministering to other couples because of his ‘infidelity.’
“I’m not a freaking infidelity; I was a child, and it all just came out just after I turned 17.”
A week after Stokka published her video, Eldridge announced that Hintz would no longer be a pastor at Lifegate but that Hintz had been welcomed to stay on as a volunteer. He said that as the elder board had spoken with Stokka the previous fall, “it has become apparent that the lack of reconciliation between her and Mike—and the dynamics that come with that—will create a stumbling block for many.”
Von Gillern’s ties to Hintz
Since Sen. von Gillern was a board member for Lifegate Church from 2008 to 2022, his service aligns with Hintz’s hiring and nearly all of his work as a pastor.
In an email to Courier Nebraska, von Gillern defended the hiring decision.
“I recall that his interview process was very rigorous, transparent, public, involved the full staff, a licensed psychologist and legal counsel,” von Gillern wrote. “Additionally, a town hall meeting was held with congregants to address any questions or concerns. The entire church, from leadership to attendees had a voice in his role.
“I also recall that once hired, Mr. Hintz and his wife worked together as a team.”
Von Gillern added that in his time on the Lifegate board, he didn’t know of any issues with Hintz’s performance or complaints or reports of misconduct against him.
Lifegate valeus
Members of the Facebook group Handmaids of Nebraska have raised concerns over von Gillern’s tenure during the Hintz years, and the senator’s close association with a church that emphasizes fundamentalist teachings around purity vows and marital roles.
Former members and community discussions on platforms like Reddit characterize the church’s messaging around purity and intimacy as having caused long-term shame, guilt, and emotional distress. Their memories also point to the church’s history with scandal and trauma.
Today, church leadership has increasingly framed its messaging around grace, freedom in Christ, and emotional and spiritual health through Lifegate’s various ministries and programs.
In the Nov. 3 election, von Gillern will face Cindy Maxwell-Ostdiek of Omaha for representation of Legislative District 4, which covers west-central Douglas County. Click here to check your voter registration, see your ballot, and find your voting options.
