Gary W. Thies, the mission development counselor for the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, will be the mission speaker at Zion Lutheran Church in Albert Lea at the 8 and 10:30 a.m. services Feb. 3.

Thies will present a message of missions and what will take place in the mission division of the church body. The multi-media presentation will feature artifacts from various fields and Powerpoint presentations.

Thies was born and raised near Mapleton, Iowa, and has spent 33 years in the banking, estate and insurance industry and brings a new vision as a layman.

He has traveled to 76 countries and his miracle stories have been part of his presentations in more than 1,300 churches throughout the United States.

In addition to his full-time mission work, Theis has served as chairman to the congressional academic selection committee in western Iowa, president of the Western Iowa Technical Community College foundation board, a member on the board of directors of the Iowa State Bank in Des Moines and was appointed by the governor to serve on the judicial selection in western Iowa. Theis and his wife, Maxine, live on a farm east of Mapleton.