These pages introduce the 53 people declared by Synod 2008 to be candidates for ministry in the Christian Reformed Church.
The number of potential new pastors is exceptionally large this year because of changes in the master-of-divinity program at Calvin Theological Seminary. We rejoice in this “bumper crop” and with these candidates and their families. And we commend them to the churches for your prayers and consideration.
The CRC’s candidacy process has been evolving in the past few years. There is now an active partnership between the faculty of Calvin Seminary and a standing synodical committee called the Candidacy Committee. These two bodies work together to encourage and prepare men and women for ordained ministry.
Most of the 53 people pictured here earned their master-of-divinity degrees from Calvin Seminary, the CRC’s official theological school, in Grand Rapids, Mich. Fourteen of them earned their degrees elsewhere and completed the CRC’s Ecclesiastical Program for Ministerial Candidacy, which is administered by Calvin Seminary. For furture information on these Candidates, see www.crcna.org/pages/candidates.cfm.
The Candidacy Committee and the faculty of Calvin Seminary join together in publicly congratulating these people and in calling the church to rejoice and work with them in service to our Lord. In the words of Ephesians 3:21, “to God be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
James Alblas
Language: English
Peter Armstrong
Language: English
Paul Birnbaum
Language: English
Martin Boardman
Languages: Dutch
and English
Steven G. Boersma
Language: English
Brian Bork
Language: English
Ioan Daniel Bud
Languages: Romanian
and English
Keith Buist
Language: English
Christopher Cassis
Darrin J.B. Compagner
Languages: English
and Spanish
Scott A. DeVries
Language: English
Stephen De Wit
Language: English
Eric J. Dirksen
Language: English
Steve Dozeman
Language: English
Adam Eisenga
Language: English
Paul G. Hackett
Language: English
William Harris
Language: English
Mark Hilbelink
Languages: English
and Spanish
Craig Hoekema
Language: English
Laurie W. Hogge
Language: English
Margaret Hummelman
Languages: English
and basic Dutch
Margaret J. Jenista
Ladan Jennings
Languages: Farsi
and English
C. Layne Kilbreath
Language: English
James Knochenhauer
Language: English
James A. Kralt
Language: English
Matthew Lanser
Languages: English
and basic Spanish
John R. Lee
Languages: English
and Spanish
Jacob Meadows
Language: English
Henry W. Meinen
Language: English
Peter Oh
Languages: Korean
and English
Benjamin M. Oliveira
Languages: English
and Russian
Dominic J. Palacios
Christian R. Pedersen
Languages: English
and some Spanish
Henry J. Reyenga
Language: English
Daniel Roukema
Language: English
Ryan Schreiber
Language: English
David P. Stockdale
Language: English
Joyce Suh
Languages: English
and basic Hausa
Nicholas Van Beek
Language: English
David Van Berkel
Languages: English, some French, and a little Korean
Zachary Vandenberg
Language: English
Grant Vander Hoek
Language: English
Jeff Vandermeer
Language: English
Chad Vandervalk
Language: English
Joshua Van Drunen
Language: English
Craig Van Hill
Language: English
Steve Van Noort
Language: English
Joel Van Soelen
Language: English
Mark W. van Stee
Language: English
Brad Vos
Language: English
Aaron Walters
Language: English
Daniel C. Zylstra
Language: English
Editor's note: When first published this article included contact information for the candidates, which has since been removed. To get the current Candidacy booklet with contact information, visit crcna.org/candidacy/candidates.
About the Author
David R. Koll is a retired Christian Reformed pastor. He lives in Huntington Beach, Calif., and is a member of the Anaheim CRC. He was the CRCNA director of candidacy from 2008 to 2021.
