As another Federation Board year is close to being finished it is time to introduce our new nominees. These nominees will be brought up to the delegate meeting at the upcoming 2016 convention hosted by Grace PRC. For those who don’t know who we are or what we do, what follows is a brief summary of what we do.
The Federation Board of the Young People’s oversees Beacon Lights, conventions, Young Calvinists, Scholarship Committee, and organizing young people’s mass meetings in the Grand Rapids area. Those that are on this board are from the Grand Rapids area because we are located in Grand Rapids. Since some delegates may not know who these people are, the next few paragraphs will give them insight into who they will be voting into position at the delegate meeting at the convention.
The nominees for spiritual advisor this year are Professor Barry Gritters and Rev. Ron Van Overloop. Prof. Gritters is originally from Redlands, California. He is married with 6 married children and 18 grandchildren. He was called to the seminary in 2003 and before that was at Byron Center PRC and then Hudsonville PRC for 10 years each. He is currently teaching in the seminary. He teaches some Old Testament courses and some New Testament courses, but mostly practical theology courses, which are preaching, church government, missions, and pastoral counseling.
Our second nominee for spiritual advisor is Rev. Ron Van Overloop. He is presently the pastor of Grace PRC. He has served there since November 2008. He served the Protestant Reformed denomination as a missionary for almost ten years. In addition to Grace PRC, he has been the pastor of Hope, Bethel, Georgetown, and Byron Center. He has always had and still has a great interest in and love for the young people of our denomination. As a youth he served two terms on the Federation Board and later served as spiritual advisor. He and his wife Sue have been gifted with seven married children and blessed with twenty-eight grandchildren.
Next we have the youth coordinator. Mr. Brad Bruinsma and Mr. Daniel Langerak are the nominees for this position. Mr. Brad Bruinsma is a member of our Grandville PRC. With his wife and three daughters, he lives in Grandville MI. He has served on the Federation Board for the past two years as an advisor and liaison for the Young Calvinist Committee. As the work with this committee continues to gain ground, we asked if he would be willing to leave his name up for nomination for a possible second term.
Mr. Daniel Langerak is married to Annie and has one child, Benjamin. He works in maintenance and also as a machinist at a tool and die shop. If elected to this position he hopes to provide a helpful perspective and do his best to assist the work done on the young peoples’ behalf.
Up for nomination for vice president we have Brandon Kaptein and Bryce Kooienga. Brandon Kaptein attends Faith PRC and works full time for Spectrum Net designs as a project manager. He is engaged to Macey Dykstra and is looking forward to their wedding in June 2016. If nominated he hopes to continue the faithful work that the Federation Board has done in the past by continuing to labor for the spiritual good of the young people.
Bryce Kooienga is a member of Faith PRC and works as an apprentice for Kleyn Electric. He feels that serving on the Federation Board would be an excellent opportunity to serve the young people of the church. His goal is to ensure that there continues to be a high level of interest in the Federation Board activates, fellowship between the young peoples’ societies, and spiritual growth of the young people.
The nominees for vice treasurer are Daniel Gritters and Justin Hiemstra. Daniel Gritters is a member at Byron Center PRC. He has just finished his first year at Grand Valley State University and with a major in Computer Science. His parents are Marvin and Marcia Gritters, and he has five brothers.
Justin Hiemstra is a member of Trinity PRC. He lives in Hudsonville with his wife Natalie. Justin is currently employed at ME Yacht Restoration in Holland. He enjoys boating, fishing, and working on house and car projects. He is thankful for the potential opportunity to serve the church, especially the young people, through this position.
Last, our nominees for vice secretary are Miriam Koerner and Katelyn Van Overloop. Miriam Koerner is a member of Southeast PR Church. She is currently studying English Language and Literature at Grand Valley State University. Miriam works part-time as a waitress at Russ’ Restaurant in Wyoming, Michigan. She is excited to serve on the Federation Board because she sees it as an opportunity to serve actively with other members of the church and to encourage the young people to grow in their faith through the reading of Reformed literature and the fellowship of the saints.
Katelyn recently concluded her year as a senior at Covenant, and while she is sad to leave high school behind, she is excited for college. Lord willing, she will be going to Baker College of Muskegon this coming fall to be a physical therapist assistant. This summer and during the school year she will continue working at Keegstra’s Dollar Store in Hudsonville, where she has worked for a year now. She can’t wait to see what God has in store as she begins a new part of her life.
The Federation Board thanks the nominees for being willing to be up for nomination. A special thanks to those who are retiring this year. Nicole Kamps, Stephen Bodbyl, Prof. Dykstra, and Joel Rau, you will all be missed but we hope you have been blessed in your time serving on the Federation Board. The Board also thanks everyone for their prayers and support as we strive to glorify God in our work. Most importantly we thank God for blessing us with the opportunity to glorify him in our work as members of the Federation Board.