Kirk Perry Bridgers was born on April 11, 1952, in Savannah, Georgia, into a family with deep ancestral roots tracing back to Salzburgers who settled in Effingham County in the early 1700s and earlier Jamestown settlers. Raised on stories of faith, family, and heritage, he frequently visited Ebenezer Lutheran Church—completed in 1769 with his grandfather’s help—and served as youth group chaplain while maintaining weekly ties to the ancestral church. As the youngest of four boys, he began delivering the Savannah Evening Press at age seven, managing 250 customers six days a week until high school graduation at 18. This experience sparked a lifelong fascination with people, diverse behaviors, sales, and effective communication through eye contact, rapport, and substance—earning him recognition and a feature article in the newspaper.
Recruited by the IRS, he served as a Revenue Officer in Columbia, South Carolina, from 1974 to 1975, handling delinquent tax accounts, investigations, and interagency work involving immigration and drug enforcement. After reflection, he resigned and entered Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary the following Monday. During seminary, he served churches across South Carolina, interned in Appalachian Virginia (organizing a new Lutheran church in Wise and ministering at Clinch Valley Community College), and graduated to accept a call to Solomon Lutheran Church (est. 1797) in East Tennessee.
Bridgers married Janet Biser in 1976; they have two sons, John and Bill. In 1984, Bridgers accepted a call to Peachtree Road Lutheran Church in Atlanta, where he founded the Peachtree Road Lutheran Preschool that fall. Through fundraising, facility upgrades, and missional focus, the school grew into a full-day, year-round program serving ~160 children (with NAEYC accreditation and pursuing SACS). He oversees it daily as “headmaster,” emphasizing three goals: teaching God’s love (through chapel, prayer, and curriculum), fostering love for others (building self-esteem and healthy relationships), and igniting a passion for learning (via languages like Mandarin, German, and Spanish, plus creative, engaging activities).
In Atlanta, he organized the Interfaith Association of North Atlanta, served as on-call FBI chaplain, sat on boards for Lutheran Services of Georgia and the Georgia Christian Council, chaired synod committees on world hunger and ministerial leadership, and spoke at events like the National Day of Prayer. A member of the Georgia Salzburger and Effingham Historical Societies, he traveled in 2009 to study interfaith dialogue at the House of Hope in Galilee and Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem.
