It was an emotional day for Rev. Heidi De Jonge and Jenna Brandsen when Brandsen was presented as a candidate for ministry in the Christian Reformed Church.
“When I met her back when she was 13 years old, I started noticing already then the gifts for ministry in her,” De Jonge told delegates to Synod 2015. “She is being presented as a candidate for ministry today, and I’m just overwhelmed with gratitude that we get to stand on a stage together today.”
They met when Brandsen was a student in the youth group that De Jonge’s husband led at Faith CRC, Holland, Mich. When Brandsen decided to go to seminary, she chose De Jonge as her mentor in the Facing Your Future program. “We’ve grown to be really close friends,” said De Jonge.
Synod is the annual leadership meeting of the Christian Reformed Church.
Synod 2015 is meeting at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa, from June 12-18. For continuous Banner coverage, please follow The Banner Magazine on Facebook or @crcbanner on Twitter. You can find more tweeting by following hashtag #crcsynod. News stories will be posted at thebanner.org several times daily. For CRC Communications releases, webcast, and live blogging, please visit crcna.org. Unless noted otherwise, all photographs are by Karen Huttenga.
About the Author
Roxanne VanFarowe is a freelance writer who claims both Canadian and American citizenship and grew up in the Christian Reformed Church. She is a member of Blacknall Presbyterian Church in Durham, North Carolina.
