Our Pastor

Pastor Gabi Aelabouni

Pastor Gabi Aelabouni began his call to serve God’s people at St. Elias Christian Lutheran Church in June of 2005. In addition to serving our congregation, he is the pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Brookfield, Illinois.

Pastor Gabi was born and raised in a small town in the Galilee region, near Nazareth. Although he has heard that “no good can come out of Nazareth,” he feels that some of his neighbors have done pretty well over the last 2,000 years—especially a certain Nazarene named Jesus. He is the youngest of four siblings in a close-knit Christian family and became the first one of his immediate family to leave home when he moved to the U.S in 2001 in order to study to become an ordained Lutheran pastor.

Pastor Gabi received his B.A. in Psychology and Criminology from Unisa University in Haifa, and his Master of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. He is passionate about preaching the Gospel, teaching, and sharing the good news with God’s people. Pastor Gabi invites you to join the community at Faith for worship, to visit him with your questions or concerns, and to know that you are a beloved child of God!