As another year comes to a close for the Federation Board, we look forward to new members joining the board. This article serves as an introduction of our nominees for Spiritual Advisor, Vice-President, Vice-Treasurer, Vice-Secretary, and Event Coordinator. Rev. Eriks, Bryce Kooienga, Andrew Prins, Kelsey Kuiper, and Dana VanDyke finish their terms in a few months, and we thank them for all the time, work, and energy they put into the Fed Board the last two years.
The Spiritual Advisor provides counsel and guidance to the members of the Federation Board. This year’s nominees are Rev. Cory Griess and Rev. Carl Haak. Rev. Griess is currently the pastor of First PRC of Grand Rapids and has served there since March of 2018. He previously served as pastor at Calvary PRC in Hull, IA from 2009 to 2018. Rev. Griess desires to serve on the Federation Board because of his love for the youth of our churches.
The other nominee for Spiritual Advisor is Rev. Haak. He is currently the pastor of Georgetown PRC. He would like to be involved in promoting our Protestant Reformed young people societies and helping them to prosper. He remembers his days in South Holland YP’s with fondness and would hope all the young people would have the same experience.
The nominees for the position of vice-president are Jesse Bomers and Jake Kamps. The vice-president serves for one year as vice-president before becoming president the next year. The president presides over Federation Board meetings and takes part in other committees and their meetings. Jesse Bomers is currently a member of Hope PRC. He is a student at GVSU and works at Kamps Tile and Stone. He desires to serve because he would like to help the young people of the PRC in any way he can. Ever since he served as a convention chaperone, he realized that he would love to be able to go every year, and this nomination would further help him to be able to help the young people.
The other nominee, Jake Kamps, is a member of Grandville PRC and has been his entire life. He has worked at Kleyn Electric for about six years. He would find it a joy to serve as a member of the Federation Board. He thinks this would be a nice opportunity to work on behalf of the young people and would be a profitable learning experience.
The next position is for vice-treasurer. Similarly to vice-president, this person will serve as vice-treasurer one year and as treasurer the next. The treasurer is responsible for keeping a record of all money received and distributed by the Federation Board, delivering financial reports to meetings, and performing all financial work. The two nominees are Jeremy Van Baren and Brice VanOverloop. Jeremy Van Baren attends First PRC of Grand Rapids and is a student at Calvin College studying mechanical engineering. He also works part–time at Vibration Research Corporation. He would like to serve on the Federation Board because he enjoyed the years he had in young peoples and the conventions he attended, and he is happy to help make sure others in our churches have a similar experience. He is happy to serve our churches and God in any way He deems fit.
The second nominee, Brice VanOverloop, is currently a member of Faith PRC, and is a student at Davenport University studying accounting. He would like to serve on the Federation Board because he sees it as a way to use his talents to serve in God’s kingdom.
The secretary of the Federation Board is responsible for taking record of the minutes of the Board meetings, conducting all correspondence, and keeping charge of all records. The nominees for the position of vice-secretary are Brianna Meulenberg and Emily Schipper. Brianna Meulenberg attends Grace PRC, and she is currently attending Calvin College for elementary education. She wants to serve on the Federation Board because she thinks it is a great opportunity to serve the church and body of Christ with fellow believers. She also thinks the Federation Board plays a key part in the spiritual lives of the young people of our churches, and she would love to be a part of that.
The second nominee, Emily Schipper, is a member of Southwest PRC. She is currently employed at Oral Surgery Associates, where she works as a receptionist. Emily became engaged to Devin Hiemstra this past fall, and they plan to be married August 2, 2019 at Trinity PRC. She desires to serve on the Federation Board to help in the spiritual growth of our young people and to encourage them in their spiritual walk with Christ.
The last position to fill this year on the Board is for Event Coordinator. The Event Coordinator is responsible for planning events such as the annual Preconvention Singspiration and the Thanksgiving and Easter Mass Meetings. The nominees for this year are Ellie Jessup and Leah Kuiper. Ellie Jessup is a member of Hope PRC. She works as a medical assistant at a family practice of Mercy Health. She would like to serve on the Federation Board because she sees this as an opportunity to serve the church with her time. Ellie thinks that because she is single and still living at home, this gives her a unique calling and ability to serve the church in any way that she can, and she believes that it is important to be busy in the church. Ellie also enjoys planning and coordinating things like the events listed above.
Leah Kuiper is currently a member at Southeast PRC and attends Baker College of Muskegon where she is studying to become a Physical Therapist Assistant. She also works at Mr. Burger Restaurant in Wyoming, MI. Leah desires to serve on the Federation Board because it would allow her to serve on a federation that puts unity and spiritual growth at the forefront of their mission. She believes that, if chosen, she can add to the unified expression of our specifically Protestant Reformed character.
The Board thanks all those who accepted their nominations and have expressed their willingness to serve. We ask for your prayers for all these nominees as we wait for voting to take place at the 2019 Protestant Reformed Young People’s Convention at the Michindoh Conference Center in Hillsdale, MI. We also ask for your prayers for our work and that God will bless our work for the young people of our churches.
Title:Federation Board Update: Nominee Introductions
Author:Kara Zwak