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2012-2013 ANNUAL REPORT

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What are we doing at Calvin Seminary?Why are we doing it?These are the questions that organizations answer in order to define their statements of mission and values. What are we doing? Why are we doing it?

These are not new questions. In fact, throughout its history Calvin Seminary has been answering these questions as it pursued the work of serving the Christian Reformed Church and beyond with theological education that formed pastors and other church leaders holistically—heart and soul, mind and strength.

When I took the office of President of Calvin Seminary, I was eager to listen to the present-day answers that our faculty, students, board and staff would offer to these questions. How do these questions get answered in the second decade of the 21st century for Calvin Seminary? How should they be answered?

We launched the conversation around these two questions and more. And because words matter in an educational institution, we took our time to consider, revise, ponder, improve.

Great care and deliberation—as well as much prayer—were invested as each phrase was turned and every word examined.

The result is a well-crafted and community-owned expression of the Mission and Values of Calvin Theological Seminary—timeless yet contemporary.

Please take your time in reading them. Ponder them. I hope you are as inspired as I am to be a ministry partner of Calvin Seminary that forms church leaders to serve the church, God’s agent of hope for the world.

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Mission WHAT are we doing?

Calvin Theological Seminary is a learning community in the Reformed Christian tradition that forms church leaders who cultivate communities of disciples of Jesus Christ.

Values WHY are we doing it?

Reformed Theology – All our teaching and formation grow from a shared understanding of God’s Word as articulated in the Reformed confessions.

The Church – We are formed by and serve the church, God’s agent of hope for the world.

Cultural Context – We give our students tools to sow the gospel in a multicultural world. We challenge one another to have hearts that engage the broader world God so loves.

The Whole Person – We cultivate meaningful relationships with our students to foster personal and spiritual growth throughout our learning community.

Thank you for reading more of the unfolding story and service of Calvin Theological Seminary. Thanks even more for your support, encouragement and prayers.

You are part of the “we” of Calvin Seminary.

May our God be pleased and praised by our work together.

Jul MedenblikPresident

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LEARNING BY DOINGBrad Bierma is the first to admit that he “tried everything else” before considering pastoral ministry. The Marines. Air traffic control. Nine years in youth ministry. The son of a Christian Reformed pastor, he never dreamed he would serve as a pastor himself.

“Pastoral ministry kept coming back as where I was being called by God. It just took me time and experience to make the move,” he says.

“A holy discontent developed as I recognized my desire to hone my theological understandings. I wanted to be better equipped for long-term service.”

Now in his third year as an M.Div. student, Brad and his wife, Kristin, and their three children spent this summer in Lafayette, IN. Brad served Sunrise Christian Reformed Church while the congregation was between pastors.

“The DNA of the church has outreach to the community of Lafayette and Purdue University at the center. The congregation strives to serve God in excellence and is not content to remain still for long.”

Over the summer Brad preached weekly, provided pastoral care, and served on council and other administrative teams. He thoroughly enjoyed working with the church staff members and the congregation.

“Our family was enveloped by the congregation with love. We walked away from the summer very affirmed in our call to ministry in the local church.”

As an M.Div. student, Kevin VanderVeen is following in the footsteps of a father he never knew.

Roger VanderVeen died as a young man, in the second year of his own seminary education.

“For me, being called into ministry was very profound.” Kevin says. “Everything I had ever struggled through began to make sense.”

Kevin spent his summer as an intern at the Edmonton Native Healing Center. The Healing Center seeks to bridge cultural divides that can alienate North American native peoples from their place in the good news of the gospel. Its mission is to shape and form a community of Urban aboriginal people by honouring their culture through a Spiritual development program that is centered in the Christian tradition and Native spirituality.

As an assistant to the Center’s director, Kevin implemented programs and spent time in one-on-one ministry. One of his ministry highlights was witnessing a gradual change in one of the women at the Center. “At the end of the summer, she came into my office, tears rolling down her face… She knew God existed but wondered if he could forgive what she had done.”

Kevin prayed with the woman, gave her a Bible and offered a blessing. “There is something world-shaking about a moment where God is moving in someone and a radical change occurs,” he says.

“This internship showed me that God is without a doubt calling me into ministry. I learned that what I am drawn to in ministry is being with people…hearing their stories, and sharing the gospel.”

BRAD BIERMAOrient Canyon, CO3rd Year M.Div. Student

“The CRC is where my spiritual roots took hold, and Calvin Seminary was the best place to deepen my understandings in preparation for ministry.”

KEVIN VANDERVEENEdmonton, Alberta, Canada2nd Year M.Div. Student

“Facing Your Future at Calvin Seminary confirmed that ministry is where I need to be. I love the CRC and I feel called to serve in the Christian Reformed Church”

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LEARNING WHERE YOU ARE

CHAD VAN GINKELSioux Center, IA4th Year M.Div. Student, Distance Learning Program

“I like the slower pace of taking only three classes at a time [in the Distance Learning Program]. It allows me to reflect on the content more deeply.”

As a long-term youth director for a church he loves, Chad Van Ginkel was in no rush to relocate from Iowa to Michigan for a seminary education.

Neither were his wife and four children.

“I love Faith Christian Reformed Church. And at the stage of life in my family, it made sense for me to keep my current job and allow my children to grow up in the stability of one school.”

Still, Chad wanted to equip himself to serve his church better. He began to see new ways to support his pastor. Then there were the “overwhelming opportunities” to provide pastoral care. Chad reasoned that a seminary education could broaden the scope of his ministry.

“It became an easy decision to go to sem-inary. And a distance learning program allowed me and my family the luxury of staying where we are.”

Chad’s church allowed him a study day when he enrolled. He also carved out addi-tional time to study.

“Being a husband and father of four, I wait until my children go to bed and continue my studies from 8-11 p.m. I grew to cherish Fridays, which were a Sabbath for me.”

JIMMY LEERoslyn Heights, NY2nd Year M.Div. Student, Distance Learning Program

“My favorite class has been Formation for Ministry with Pastor Dave Beelen. I learned many spiritual disciplines that I know will be very beneficial for ministry.”

If it’s the weekend, Jimmy Lee is pastoring youth. If it’s Monday, he’s taking a Sabbath. And if it’s any other day, you’ll find him hard at work as a distance-learning M.Div. student.

Jimmy serves as the youth pastor at The New Church, a Reformed congregation a half-hour’s train ride outside New York City.

As a Korean-American, Jimmy is familiar with his congregation’s Korean culture. “I have experiences with ‘White-American’ church all the way to ‘Korean-Korean’ church.”

“I believe that has equipped me…to lead a “Mosaic-like” church—to be a bridge for communities and cultures.”

When Jimmy had the opportunity to earn his M.Div. at a distance, he welcomed it with open arms. “I can live in a metropolitan area like greater New York and get a solid Reformed education [at the same time]. I can [also] study on ‘my time,’” he says.

Distance learning also allowed Jimmy to be near his girlfriend and live with his family, maintaining valued relationships. He says the on-campus intensives of his program have been important relationally, too.

KIZZY THOMASDetroit, MI1st Year M.Div. Student, Distance Learning Program

I often say Calvin Seminary’s Distance Learning program is a “60/40”: 60 percent online, 40 percent on campus. I’m proud to say that.

Kizzy Thomas is a self-described “unlike-ly…who was converted and told to go to seminary.” She’s also the kind of student who emails her thanks when a syllabus evokes an involuntary ‘Amen!’

God is using Kizzy to reach African-Amer-ican teens in her neighborhood for Christ. This summer she started a Bible study through her church, Citadel of Faith Cov-enant, located just outside the New Center neighborhood of Detroit.

“It’s become something of a street minis-try,” Kizzy says. “14 [teens] have come to Christ; 3 have returned to school; 12 have joined the church; 5 are on their way to being gainfully employed.”

“These are youth who are unchurched, have a great deal of responsibility and stress… two are homeless. They still show up to my home every Sunday to go to church and ‘hang out.’”

With ministry priorities at her church and at home as a parent of four, Kizzy knew her life’s next chapter included online education. She concluded Calvin Seminary’s Distance Learning program was the place. “People see God’s work in my life, right where I am…. It provides space for real-time testimony [since] it’s not a usual thing to be in seminary where I am from.”

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THE RENEWAL LAB Revitalizing Churches, Training LeadersPastor Keith Doornbos of Providence CRC has been enlisted by Calvin Seminary’s Institute for Global Church Planting and Renewal to help strengthen churches in their sense of mission.

Through a program concept he developed, The Renewal Lab provides practical tools and support to guide pastors and church leaders through a two-year, directed process to kick-start revitalization in their churches. The task of church revitalization and redevelopment is familiar to Doornbos. When he became the pastor at Providence CRC twenty years ago, his congregation numbered eighty. Today he shepherds 800.

“[We’ve been] relentless in the pursuit of revitalizing the congregation and creating a missional community that’s an epicenter of God’s love in this world,” Doornbos says. “God has blessed that.”

Doornbos’s goal now is to help foster other “pulsating epicenters” that radiate God’s love.

“North America is the only continent where Christianity isn’t growing,” Doornbos says. “We’re about creating vibrant missional communities, not just vibrant communities. Churches that are healthy and strong and full of the gospel.”

What compels a busy pastor to take on a renewal project outside his own congregation? An unflagging sense thatthe church exists for the sake of the world.

Two years ago, Doornbos recognized what he calls “excess capacity” at Providence. John Burden, a recent Calvin Seminary graduate, had joined the church’s staff and had begun preaching twice a month. Doornbos viewed his freed-up time as a gift from God for the sake of the kingdom. “We had the ability to do something beyond ourselves,” he says.

So Doornbos partnered with a congregation in his classis as it underwent a leadership transition and sought revitalization. Then he worked with Calvin Seminary to place an intern at the church. One conversation with seminary staff and faculty led to another, and The Renewal Lab was born. Doornbos now devotes 60 percent of

his time to Providence and 40 percent of his time to The Renewal Lab at Calvin Seminary.

Participating churches attend eight quarterly, four-day learning labs at Calvin Seminary. Each lab begins with two days of practical instruction for pastors, and pastors then teach what they’ve learned to their teams. The whole group comes together for a banquet, large group lecture, and peer learning. Expert coaches are assigned to each pastor and lay leader for ongoing encouragement and feedback.

Eleven churches and 120 leaders make up this year’s cohort (the beta launch). Some churches are growing, and some have seen membership plateau or decline. Seminary interns are placed in some of the participating churches and receive credit for their enrollment in these Renewal Labs.

Seminarian Elaine May is an intern at one of the Renewal Lab churches, Mayfair CRC. May began her work at Mayfair early this summer.

Her first sermon text? The call of Abraham, Genesis 12:1-9. The theme was “blessed to be a blessing.”

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May undertakes her work with sensitivity to the congregation’s context balanced by conviction about what God asks his church to become.

“Change happens when there’s tension between where we are and where we believe God is calling us.”“Change happens when there’s tension between where we are and where we believe God is calling us,” she says. “It’s my human nature to resist tension, and as a result, not experience change. And yet it is the power of the Spirit that gives me the courage to embark on an adventure only Jesus can lead.”

The Renewal Lab

The Renewal Lab

A Two-Year Journeyto Kick-Start Renewal in the Local Church

Institute for Global Church Planting and Renewal

“Behold I make all things new.”Revelation 21:5

Did you know….…North America is the only continent where Christianity is not growing!

There are 350,000 churches in America

• 80% have reached a plateau or are declining

• 15% are growing because of transfer growth

• 5% are growing because of conversion growth

[Source: Barna Group]

Why the olive tree symbol? •Olive trees still bear fruit in old age.

•Olive trees can be cut to a stump and still create shoots of new growth.

•Olives produce oil that represent the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

•Olive trees are often symbolic of God’s redemptive work among his people.

The Renewal Lab

Core Staff of The Renewal LabRev. Carl BosmaProfessor of Old Testament at Calvin Theological Seminary and director of the Institute for Global Church Planting. A global speaker on missions and church planting who helped plant and revitalize multiple congregations in Brazil.

Rev. Keith DoornbosCoordinator of the Renewal Lab and pastor of a century-old congregation, Providence Church, in Holland, Mich., which has been on a twenty-year journey of renewal under his servant leadership.

Rev. Larry DoornbosPrimary champion of church planting and renewal for the Board of Home Missions of the Christian Reformed Church of North America and experienced church planter who began and developed the vibrant faith community of EverGreen Ministries in Hudsonville, Mich.

Rev. Scott Vander PloegInnovative pastor of Sunlight Community Church in Port St. Lucie, FL, who has helped take a struggling church with a handful of aging worshippers to becoming a renewed church of vitality and missional vision.

Rev. Jul Medenblik, AdvisorPresident of Calvin Seminary; Professor of Church Planting and Leadership

For further information, contact:

Rev. Keith Doornbos kdoornbos@calvinseminary.edu • (616) 396-5661

Rev. Carl Bosma cbosma@calvinseminary.edu • (616) 957-6022

Or find information about the Renewal Lab at calvinseminary.edu

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Every Monday evening, about 50 local Hispanic pastors gather in Calvin Seminary’s DeVos Auditorium to learn and grow together.

Although many have gained ministry skills by shadowing more seasoned pastors, most have not had access to formal theological education. Most are also bi-vocational: they volunteer their time as pastors and earn an income through second jobs.

Talk about a calling.

“These people have very meaningful ministries,” Dr. Mariano Avila says. “I’m humbled to serve them.”

Avila is a New Testament professor and the Th.M program director at Calvin Seminary. He is also a pastor who served six churches in his native Mexico. Throughout his career, he has worked to advance theological education for Hispanic and Latino pastors.

A couple of years ago, a staff member from the Douglas and Maria DeVos Foundation approached Avila with an intriguing question: Was he interested

LOCAL HISPANIC PASTORS STUDY, BUILD COMMUNITY AT THE SEMINARY

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in helping provide theological training for Hispanic pastors in greater Grand Rapids?

The Foundation provided funding for 45 students to participate; Calvin Seminary volunteered its facilities; and Avila went to work.

He took a year to survey pastors about their interests and the class format that would best serve their needs. And last fall the program began with its first course, Ephesians: From the Text to the Pulpit.

“We expected to lose people [as the class went on],” Avila remembers, noting many good reasons for attrition within a group of busy pastors. “[But] we gained people. Pastors started bringing other people from their churches to the class.”

About 80 percent of the pastors come from a Pentecostal tradition. Others are Methodist, Baptist, or Christian Reformed.

The group also represents a wide range of educational experience. When Avila teaches--always in Spanish—he knows that some of his students’ formal schooling ended at the elementary level. Others have graduate-level experience.

One pastor Avila met comes from a country where guerilla warfare made schooling impossible. The man had no formal education whatsoever and learned to read by studying the Bible. Now he pastors a congregation of 200.

“He’s a wonderful preacher,” Avila says.

As they studied and preached through Ephesians, the Holy Spirit began unifying the pastors across denominational lines. Theological differences notwithstanding, studying Scripture joined them in purpose for Christ.

Avila remembers the day two senior pastors approached him after class. “They came to me literally with tears in their eyes,” he remembers.

“They said, ‘Professor, this is a miracle. There is an association of Hispanic pastors in the city, and we have tried many times to do events like this, but we haven’t been successful. It’s amazing to see this happen.’”

Since that first class, the group has studied Old Testament interpretation and contextual ministry. A pastoral care course is planned for 2014.

Participation continues to be high, and thanks to the efforts of Dr. Ronald Feenstra, academic dean and professor of systematic theology, the seminary now offers an accredited certificate program in Hispanic ministries.

Avila attributes the success of the program to three things: instruction in Spanish; financial support through the DeVos Foun-dation; and respect for the pastors’ contexts.

“The pastors here would not have access to the funds [for seminary education]. Financial support makes it economically possible for them to attend,” he says. “Also, we respect their traditions. They don’t feel threatened; they feel comfortable.”

Avila says the pastors are filled with joy and a sense of accomplishment as they study together.

“They are so proud to have their IDs from Calvin Seminary,” he says.

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Celebrating New Scholarships in 2013Kenneth and Shirlee Achterhof Family Scholarship

Lloyd and Dianne Bierma Presidential Asian Ministry Scholarship

Calvin Seminary Staff Leadership Scholarship

Classis Thornapple Valley Endowed Presidential Scholarship

Jon De Bruyn Prayer and Missions Award

Harold and Frances Dekker Multi-Ethnic Scholarship

Dick and Dorothy Dykstra Presidential Scholarship

Fulton Illinois RiverBend Scholarship

Mark and Kristine Huizenga Distance Education Scholarship

C. Thomas and Evelyne Kapteyn Family Scholarship

Bill and Gloria Katt Leadership Scholarship

Susan Keesen and Andrew Vander Ploeg Presidential Scholarship

Herman and Lena Keizer, Sr. Chaplaincy Scholarship

Larry and Christine Kieft Family Scholarship

Gerrit and Ruth Koedoot International Students Scholarship

John and Marge Kuiper Family Scholarship

Lake Superior Scholarship

Lantinga Family Doctoral Scholarship

Rev. Eugene and Shirley Los Family Scholarship

Herman and Ted Minnema Scholarship

Rev. Charles Steenstra Memorial Scholarship

James and Hildred Strikwerda Family Scholarship

Sully IA CRC Presidential Scholarship

Sun Light Foundation Canadian President Scholarship

Treasuries of God Scholarship

Tulare California Presidential Scholarship

Vander Haag Family Presidential Scholarship

Bernice Vermeer Presidential Scholarship

Dr. Earl and Gertrude Visser Presidential Scholarship

Bernard J. and Patricia J. Zandstra Family Scholarship

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GROWTH IN GIVING

0

200

400

600

800

1000

0

200

400

600

800

1000$1,000,000

$800,000

$600,000

$400,000

$200,000

$0

6,000

5,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

0

1,000

2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013

5%8%

14%

20%

7%

32%

13%

1%

█ Instruction█ Public Service█ Academic Support█ Student Services

FY 2013 Operating Expenses$7,538,218

Thank you for helping us grow!

With gratitude to God we celebrate the increase in annual giving from more and more donors over the lastthree years.

FY 2013 Operating Revenue$7,615,800

13%

32%4%

13%

37%

1%

█ Institutional Support█ Employee Benefits█ Plant Administration█ Student Financial Assistance

█ Tuition█ Ministry Shares█ Gifts and Grants█ Estate Gifts

█ Release from Restrictions█ Miscellaneous Revenues

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WHY WE GIVE

Fifty years ago, with deep faith and a strong belief, we began our marriage and committed our lives to Christ through our love. Love brought us together and we knew that our future had to be built on a life of believing, trusting, worshiping and service to our Lord and Savior. Our experience was, with believing parents, that there were the strong roots of the Christian faith, CRC background, and Christian Schools. We asked God to give us the stamina to stay on course, the means to afford the cost and a legacy we could pass on to our children and grandchildren. As we look back on the 50 years, we have stumbled and fallen many times, but God has been faithful to us. He picked us up, forgave us, and blessed us with a believing family. Our belief today is to leave this world with a legacy that focuses on education; education in academics with a strong temperance in our lives of complete surrender to the Lord of our life, namely Jesus Christ our Savior. This will not happen unless we invest in leadership within our families and our Church. CTS is building leadership for our tomorrow, and the excitement on campus is contagious. The leadership is true to His direction so take your time, talent and treasure and become involved in today’s force for tomorrow’s leaders. This is why we belong to and support the CTS Presidents’ Legacy Society.

In His Service, Roger & Sandy Alderink

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61 (20%)

GENDER

245 (80%)

ENROLLMENT

1313119166131 413

THE SEMINARYBY THE NUMBERS

M.Div.EPMCM.T.S

MA Programs Th.M. Ph.D.

Certificate/Diploma Unclassified

* Non-degree seeking students are not shown

DENOMINATIONAL AFFILIATION

156CRCNA (51%)

17OTHER

REFORMED

70PRESBYTERIAN

11BAPTIST

52OTHER

15

43(Canada 14%)

170(U.S. 56%)

5(China 2%)

62(Korea 20%)

6(Indonesia 2%)

20(Other 6%)

GEOGRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION

FACULTY/CLASS INFORMATION

156CRCNA (51%)

PRESBYTERIAN

BAPTIST

52

17TOTAL NUMBER

OF FACULTY

18:1STUDENT/FACULTY RATIO

15AVERAGE CLASS SIZE

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Board of TrusteesJuly 1, 2013, through June 30, 2014

Dr. Donald G. Belanus, Region 12

Rev. Jaclyn D. Busch, Region 10

Dr. Karen De Mol, Region 8

Rev. Paul R. De Vries, Region 11

Rev. John W. Dykhuis, Region 7

Ms. Wendy Gritter, Region 3

Mr. Sidney J. Jansma, Jr., At-large

Ms. Susan Keesen, At-large

Mr. Hyung Joon Kim, Region 6

Rev. M. Jeff Klingenberg, Region 4

Rev. Victor Y. Ko, Region 2

Mr. Myles N. Kuperus, Region 10

Rev. Timothy J. Ouwinga, Region 8

Ms. Teresa Renkema, Region 11

Rev. William R. Sytsma, Region 9

Dr. Yudha Thianto, At-large

Mr. Hank Vander Laan, Region 4

Rev. Andrew G. Vander Leek, Region 1

Rev. William S. Wilton, Region 5

3233 Burton Street SE

Grand Rapids, MI 49546

info@calvinseminary.edu

(616) 957-6036