Thirty seminary graduates have been declared candidates for ministry in the Christian Reformed Church this year. Most of these candidates earned their master-of-divinity degrees from Calvin Theological Seminary, the CRC’s official theological school, in Grand Rapids, Mich. Applicants who earned their degrees elsewhere have completed The CRC’s Ecclesiastical Program for Ministerial Candidacy, which is administered by CTS.
These candidates have been recommended for ministry by the Calvin Seminary faculty and the Synodical Ministerial Candidacy Committee (SMCC). Further information for each candidate, along with information on this year’s other Calvin Seminary graduates, is available on the CRC website at www.crcna.org.
Also introduced here, but not pictured, are those who received degrees from the seminary without seeking candidacy.
The Banner asked Rev. Thea Leunk, SMCC chair, and Rev. Duane Kelderman, Candidacy Committee chair at Calvin Seminary, to offer the candidates words of encouragement as they are introduced to the church.
Dear Candidates,
We have good news and, well, hard news for you. The good news is that the church you are about to serve wants you to flourish in your ministry! You have heard the call of God and answered it. Your dedication is remarkable. The church is moved by your sacrifice and hard work to get to this point. The church wants you to flourish.
The hard news is that you will truly flourish in your ministry only when you and the congregations you serve empty yourselves for Christ’s sake, when you take up your crosses and follow Jesus. And most days people aren’t standing in line eager to carry a cross, much less die on one with Christ. So the very church that wants you to succeed will often resist the call of the gospel. And you will get caught in the crossfire.
But be encouraged. Though the road ahead is difficult, it is also filled with joy and rewards too many to number. You will look far and long to find pastors who regret giving their lives to ministry. Indeed, when you lose your life for the gospel, you find it.
We encourage you to be humble. You have a lot to teach the church. You also have so much to learn. Good listening and good leadership are two sides of the same coin—now and throughout your ministry. The ministry is not about you. When you are weak, then you are strong.
We also encourage you to love those you lead. People cannot be bludgeoned into righteousness. Your message is a gospel of grace, not a yoke of commands. If people could be good, they would. They need a Savior. They need to be loved.
And finally, when you feel like the road is too long and the path too steep, remember, it’s not your church. It’s Christ’s. You don’t have to carry the whole load. A recurring and liberating discovery that pastors make throughout their ministry is that they are not God! Keeping that straight enables you to laugh a little more, to be thankful, and to be a little lighter on your feet.
Blessings in your ministry!
Thea Leunk
Chair, Synodical Ministerial Candidacy
Committee
Duane K. Kelderman
Chair, Calvin Theological Seminary Candidacy Committee
Troy Bierma
Language: English
Contact:
c/o Lloyd and Dianne Bierma
438 A 12th Ave. Circle NE
Sioux Center, IA 51250
616-706-8014
tbierma@gmail.com
Shawn Bootsma
Language: English
Contact:
500 S. Grape St.
Morrison, IL 61270
815-772-3307
sbootsma@hotmail.com
John A. Bothof*
Languages: English
and basic Dutch
Contact:
3347 Vassar St.
Dearborn, MI 48124
313-274-1198
jbothof@sbcglobal.net
Micah Bruxvoort
Languages: Spanish
and English
Contact:
1601 E. 61st St.
Sioux Falls, SD 57108
925-858-0127
micahbruxvoort@yahoo.com
Jeffrey R. Bulthuis
Languages: Spanish
and English
Contact:
16920 Elm Lane Dr.
Tinley Park, IL 60477-2810
708-429-5662
jeff.bulthuis@gmail.com
Nicholas Davelaar
Languages: basic Dutch, basic Spanish, and English
Contact:
12743 Goldenrod Ct.
Wayland, MI 49348
616-307-4021
nckdvlr@vfemail.net
B. Joy Engelsman
Language: English
Contact:
3088 South Jasmine St.
Denver, CO 80222
303-470-7308
firstcrc-joy@qwest.net
Tobin (Toby) S. Gruppen*
Language: English
Contact:
3104 Roberts Way
Holland, MI 49424
616-738-0776
pray@i2k.com
Todd H. Hilkemann
Languages: English and intermediate level Spanish
Contact:
3053 Maryland Ave. S
St. Louis Park, MN 55426
952-831-6264
pastortodd@calvarycrc.net
Leon Johnston
Language: English
Contact:
c/o Jack and Merry Vandervalk
Box 747
Claresholm, AB T0L 0T0
Canada
403-625-2292
leonandjoy@yahoo.ca
Ben Katt
Languages: Spanish
and English
Contact:
8509 Greenwood Ave. North #20
Seattle, WA 98103
206-595-4160
katt.ben@gmail.com
James Kim
Languages: English
and Korean
Contact:
1594 Garden St.
Anchorage, AK 99508
907-272-8418(w),
907-868-3725(h)
getlights@msn.com
Rita Klein-Geltink
Language: English
Contact:
211 Dufferin St.
Guelph, ON N1H 4B5
Canada
616-516-6975
rita.kleingeltink@gmail.com
Brian Kuyper
Language: English
Contact:
827 Concession 4, RR#3
Jarvis, ON N0A 1J0
Canada
905-932-9474
bbkuyper@yahoo.com
Hyuk Soo Kwon
Languages: Korean
and English
Contact:
1031 Calle Alegre
Glendale, CA 91208
818-507-5779
hyuksoo@gmail.com
Zeke Nelson
Languages: Spanish
and English
Contact:
16895 Jeffrey Dr.
Delhi, CA 95315
209-201-4984 (cell)
znelson@gatewaychurch
merced.org
Samuel Perry
Language: English
Contact:
7509 12th Ave.
Jenison, MI 49428
616-777-0006
sperryiv@hotmail.com
Richard L. Pinckney
Language: English
Contact:
2315 Tulane Dr.
Lansing, MI 48912
616-974-9538
rpinckn2@calvinseminary.edu
Robert L. Pollema Jr.
Language: English
Contact:
5086 140th Ave. SE
Clara City, MN 56222
320-847-2594
desertstreams@mac.com
David J. Prince
Language: English
Contact:
3407 Burton Ridge Rd. SE, Apt F
Grand Rapids, MI 49546
616-949-2496
djprince60@aol.com
Michael Ribbens
Language: English
Contact:
125 17th Street Circle SE
Sioux Center, IA 51250
616-901-7438
mribbens@gmail.com
Daniel Roels
Languages: Spanish
and English
Contact:
2253 Osceola Dr. SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49506
616-247-3984
droels15@yahoo.com
Daniel Roukema
Language: English
Contact:
30952 Sandpiper Dr.
Abbotsford, BC V2T 5L6
Canada
604-864-4923
roukema@shaw.ca
Benjamin Spalink*
Languages: Japanese (conversational) and English
Contact:
17 Ida St., Apt. 2
Haledon, NJ 07508-1530
616-915-0937
benspalink@gmail.com
Dave Spoelma*
Language: English
Contact:
5165 Marlowe SE
Kentwood, MI 49548
616-534-6680
dspoelma@comcast.net or
dspoelma@secondcrc.org
Michael VanderKwaak
Language: English
Contact:
8671 Sunrise Dr.
Chilliwack, BC V2R 3J1
Canada
604-792-2168
mikevkshema@yahoo.com
Jana Vander Laan
Language: English
Contact:
1206 Edna St. SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49507
616-246-5236
jbos4@calvinseminary.edu
Reese VanderVeen
Languages: Dutch (conversational) and English
Contact:
120 North Virginia St.
Conrad, MT 59425
406-278-5846
mvander9@calvinseminary.edu
Theodore Vellenga
Languages: English and American sign language
Contact:
811 S Westnedge, Apt. 1
Kalamazoo, MI 49008
269-381-2793
ted.vellenga@gmail.com
David Westra
Language: English
Contact:
622 Benjamin SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49506
616-452-7162
westras@sbcglobal.net
Brian Willats*
Language: English
Contact:
985 S. Idaho St., #47
La Habra, CA 90631
562-686-5533
bribriw@juno.com
