Rev. Bob Bierenga, sole pastor of Allen Avenue Christian Reformed Church in Muskegon, Mich., has been deployed to Iraq. For the next year he will serve in the 177th Military Police Brigade at Camp Victoria in Baghdad, which, he stated, is “heavily involved in detainee facilitation.”
While there, Bierenga, 54, will supervise other chaplains and provide encouragement and mentoring. He was the only National Guard chaplain in Michigan who hadn’t yet been called up.
Bierenga said his church plans to welcome a summer seminary intern, followed by a variety of interim pastors. He added, “We have a young crop of elders and deacons, but they’re doing an excellent job of working together and doing leadership.”
While gone, Bierenga said he is most concerned for his wife, Nancy. He also has two married daughters.
The church held a send-off dinner and a commissioning service for Bierenga.
