Mr. Farruggia has a passion for spreading the Gospel. To that end, in 2023, he acted on his vision to create an organization to help spread the good news of Jesus through the Lutheran Church in Norway.

Mr. Farruggia has over 40 years of experience owning and operating various businesses throughout his career.  He is a lifelong Missouri Synod Lutheran and, for the last three decades, has worshiped at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Carol Stream, Illinois. 

Mr. Farruggia is married and has two children and four grandchildren.

Mr. Crosby is a lifelong LCMS member, spending the last 39 years at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Carol Stream, IL. During those years, he has served as Assistant Treasurer, a member of the Office of Ministry and Care, Chairman of the Elders, and has participated in various other committees. 

Mr. Crosby has also enjoyed being a member of the choir and an instrumentalist. Mr. Crosby is married with three children and one granddaughter.

Ms. Franz was at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Carol Stream, IL for 25 years. With a move to Tennessee, she is now an LCMS member at Christ Our Savior in Loudon, TN.

At church, she has served as Secretary to the Board, Usher, and in various other positions on committees. Outside of church, Ms. Franz was part of the Citizens Advisory Council to the school district, a case appointed special advocate (CASA) for neglected children and a member of CERT (Citizens Emergency Response Team). Ms. Franz is married with two children.

Pete Blackwell was, is, and always will be a fallen sinner, but also has peace through the grace, mercy, and forgiveness provided through Jesus Christ!  He sins, yet he is saved!  This is the amazing message of the Lutheran Church to the people of Norway, and FOLCIN has given Pete an opportunity to support those who spread this message to the Norwegians!

In his personal life, Pete is now retired from 35 years in the software field, predominatly working for a small software company in the reinsurance sector filling roles such as programmer, designer, manager, customer relations & contracting, accounting/finance, COO, and CTO, and apparently mastering none. His career was in a software company specializing in reinsurance.

He is married with three children, one of whom was given through the gift of an adoption from China.  This adoption has given Pete an appreciation of the great blessing of being adopted by God, as HIS child – and this adoption comes with the unfailing love of our Heavenly Father, and the inheritance of eternal life with Him! Thanks be to God for using fallen sinners to support those who plant and water the gospel, and for His sending of the Holy Spirit to accomplish the miracle of making the gospel germinate and grow in Norway!

Rev. Dr. Albert B. Collver III was drawn to confessional Norwegian Lutheranism through the fellowship he helped build. As Director of Church Relations for the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and General Secretary of the International Lutheran Council, he initiated and led the theological conversations beginning in 2011 that resulted in formal fellowship between the LCMS and the Lutheran Church in Norway, concluded in 2014–2015. He joined the Friends of the Lutheran Church in Norway board in January 2026.

During 14 years of international ministry, Rev. Dr. Collver represented confessional Lutheranism across 225 trips to 61 countries on six continents. He served as General Secretary of the International Lutheran Council from 2012 to 2019, during which time the ILC grew from 33 to 53 member churches. He also founded the Lutheran Leadership Development Program, which equips pastoral leaders from Lutheran churches in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Rev. Dr. Collver is a lifelong member of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and currently serves as Pastor of Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church in Troy, Illinois. He and his wife, Terra, have two children, Christopher and Kaitlyn.