| 2008 Leadership Development Grants Report |
In 2008 Classis disbursed $10,000 in support of three leadership
development initiatives. This report describes the results of those grants
Madison Square CRC: Antioch Leadership Development Network
Grant: $5000
Objective: 12-14 leaders developed
Contact: Dave Beelen
1. Which developing leaders participated in the program?
2. How was the leadership development experience structured and
implemented?
We met in September for a two day kick off retreat. In October we met for a
three day intensive workshop on Preaching led by Dr. John Rottman and Dr.
Mary Hulst on the methodology of preaching entitled “The Four Pages of the
Sermon.” We also met in November for our first regular meeting. Each
participant is also given opportunities for supervised preaching at their
home church. Each person is assigned a mentor. The mentor-mentee
pairs meet together once a month to go through a workbook on developing
the character of a leader. That workbook is entitled “Preventing Ministry
Failure.”
3. How has leadership capability increased due to this program?
We have developed an environment of peer learning. At our meetings every
month one of us preaches a sermon to the whole group which follows the
concepts taught in our October preaching workshop. After preaching the
sermon, we have a group “debrief” time in which we critique the sermon.
This is a pretty intense learning experience for us as preachers of the
gospel.
Oakdale/Madison CRC: Youth Leadership Development Initiative
Grant: $2500
Objective: 12 leaders developed
Contact: Amy Westra
1. Which developing leaders participated in the program?
2. How was the leadership development experience structured and
implemented?
First, the youth leadership teams from each church met and discussed
which youth might be good candidates for this program. We sent out
invitations for students in grades 10-12 who have demonstrated an ability to
be an upfront or a behind the scenes leader. The teens applied and were
chosen to participate after a rigorous interview process. Six students from
Madison and five from Oakdale were selected.
We have once again contracted with the Grand Rapids Initiative for Leaders
to provide the materials and leadership for the initiative. Teens meet with a
city-wide network of teens monthly for training on various leadership related
topics including: your divine design as a leader, defining leadership,
community capacity building, being empowering leaders, leading cross
culturally, defining personal mission statements, goals and objectives,
remaining a balanced leader. After each topic has been introduced, the
small groups meet weekly to dig into the topic further and to begin to put
their learning into practice in our local congregations. Teens are matched for
service based on their spiritual gifts, personality profiles and passions. Each
teen serves within a ministry at the church as well as on a decision making
body of the church in order that they gain understanding of leadership
structures and how decisions are made on a larger scale.
3. How has leadership capability increased due to this program?
We have seen our teens plug into many different areas of service once they
discovered their spiritual gifts. All of the teens are now serving on the high
school youth group planning team. One teen is using his musical gift as he
leads worship in children’s church. One teen has joined the sound tech
team. Two teens are volunteering as small group leaders in the middle
school youth group and one teen is volunteering in the church office to make
phone calls to youth to invite them to come to youth group. Others are
serving as small group leaders for the children’s ministries. Teens are also
involved with Youth Unlimited and the CRC Denominational Ministries by
serving on the planning team for the Where U At youth conference and
creating a refugee simulation exercise called Tents of Hope.
We have also seen youth step up more in leadership at school and teens
are reporting that they are more apt to control their tongues and stay out of
fights in school. One teen took an opportunity to stand up to the police on
behalf of his peers. He decided that instead of fighting with his fists that he
would use the right channels to ensure that the voices of youth were heard
when there was racial profiling happening in his neighborhood. And he
made a difference because there ended up being a peaceful resolution to
the problems that the youth were facing with the police Three teens also
decided that they were ready to make their profession of faith because of
their involvement in GRIL U. The teens are also journaling weekly and
reflecting on leadership within their small groups during youth group. It has
been incredible to see the teens desire to lead small groups too. They are
preparing the lesson and helping to facilitate discussion and prayer with
their peers during youth group. We are really pleased that they are also
stepping up on Sunday mornings to speak in front of church and share with
the congregation how the program is impacting their lives at church, home
school and the neighborhood.
4. Financial Report
To date, we have spent $1,100. Each of the 11 participants has received
their incentive stipend of $100 for completion of the first semester. This is
also a huge improvement from last year when we only passed out incentives
to 6 of 10 participants. Teens are taking their role as leaders very seriously.
Seymour CRC: Intentional Cross-Cultural Relationship Initiative
Grant: $2500
Objective: 1 leader developed
Contact: Philip De Jonge
Seymour Church expresses thanks to Classis Grand Rapids East for the
Leadership Development money granted to us for Josh Holwerda. Josh has
proven to be an outstanding individual who is making substantial
contributions to the vision and ministry of Seymour Church. We are
confident that the money Classis has invested in Josh and in our
congregation will continue to pay significant kingdom dividends in the future.
In order to make the most of this Leadership Development opportunity,
Seymour structured and implemented the following:
Leadership capacity has increased significantly as a result of the
Leadership Development grant awarded to Seymour Church. That increase
in leadership capacity is evident both in Josh and in the congregation. Josh
has demonstrated his ability to listen to and learn from the dynamic family
system in our congregation by smoothly participating in the life of the church
and appropriately exercising leadership in the body. He has shown an
increase in his preaching, teaching, and pastoral skills proportionate to his
growing experience. And most significantly, Josh indicates an increasing
awareness of the need not only to model relationship-building ministries but
also to equip others for these ministries. This equipping mentality is where
we anticipate that we will see the greatest long-term benefit from the
Leadership Development Grant.
Accounting for Grant--Through 9/30/2008
06/30/2008 Grant received from denomination $ 2,500.00
06/30/2008 Offset against Josh's salary - costs not covered by reduction
of Carl's hours $(2,474.00)
09/30/2008 Offset against Josh's salary - costs not covered by reduction
of Carl's hours $(26.00)
Holwerda Internship Costs
Year Ended 6/30/2008 (Josh began mid January 2008)
Holwerda, Josh Salary $ 5,472.54
Holwerda, Josh Social Security $ 418.65
Holwerda, Josh Hospitality $ 106.55
Offset against Josh's salary - costs not covered by reduction of Carl's
hours $(2,474.00)
Quarter Ended 9/30/2008
Holwerda, Josh Salary $ 2,769.24
Holwerda, Josh Social Security $ 211.85
Offset against Josh's salary - costs not covered by reduction of Carl's
hours $ (26.00)
(balance of grant)
Net cost of Holwerda internship after grant $ 6,478.83
development initiatives. This report describes the results of those grants
Madison Square CRC: Antioch Leadership Development Network
Grant: $5000
Objective: 12-14 leaders developed
Contact: Dave Beelen
1. Which developing leaders participated in the program?
- Bryan Blakely and Mark Van Drunen (First CRC)
- Pearl Banks (Neland CRC)
- Jordan Bruxvoort and Denise Posey (Kalamazoo)
- Mark Quist, Wayne Coleman, Angela Perry (Holland)
- John Rozeboom, Doug VanderGriend, James Jones (Oakdale Park
CRC) - David Beelen, Joy Bonnema, Christy Carlin, Brad Knetsch, Laura
Carpenter, Alton Hardy, Cisco Gonzalez, Paula Seales, Anthony
Dickerson, David Beelen (Madison Square Church)
2. How was the leadership development experience structured and
implemented?
We met in September for a two day kick off retreat. In October we met for a
three day intensive workshop on Preaching led by Dr. John Rottman and Dr.
Mary Hulst on the methodology of preaching entitled “The Four Pages of the
Sermon.” We also met in November for our first regular meeting. Each
participant is also given opportunities for supervised preaching at their
home church. Each person is assigned a mentor. The mentor-mentee
pairs meet together once a month to go through a workbook on developing
the character of a leader. That workbook is entitled “Preventing Ministry
Failure.”
3. How has leadership capability increased due to this program?
We have developed an environment of peer learning. At our meetings every
month one of us preaches a sermon to the whole group which follows the
concepts taught in our October preaching workshop. After preaching the
sermon, we have a group “debrief” time in which we critique the sermon.
This is a pretty intense learning experience for us as preachers of the
gospel.
Oakdale/Madison CRC: Youth Leadership Development Initiative
Grant: $2500
Objective: 12 leaders developed
Contact: Amy Westra
1. Which developing leaders participated in the program?
- Allison Vander Ploeg
- Clarence Smith
- Ethan Bascom
- Dutcher Snedeker
- Juwan Tett
- Tyrie Palmer
- Alyssa Van Beek
- Emily Peless
- Liza Fongers
- Kelsi Jones
- Ben Brewer
2. How was the leadership development experience structured and
implemented?
First, the youth leadership teams from each church met and discussed
which youth might be good candidates for this program. We sent out
invitations for students in grades 10-12 who have demonstrated an ability to
be an upfront or a behind the scenes leader. The teens applied and were
chosen to participate after a rigorous interview process. Six students from
Madison and five from Oakdale were selected.
We have once again contracted with the Grand Rapids Initiative for Leaders
to provide the materials and leadership for the initiative. Teens meet with a
city-wide network of teens monthly for training on various leadership related
topics including: your divine design as a leader, defining leadership,
community capacity building, being empowering leaders, leading cross
culturally, defining personal mission statements, goals and objectives,
remaining a balanced leader. After each topic has been introduced, the
small groups meet weekly to dig into the topic further and to begin to put
their learning into practice in our local congregations. Teens are matched for
service based on their spiritual gifts, personality profiles and passions. Each
teen serves within a ministry at the church as well as on a decision making
body of the church in order that they gain understanding of leadership
structures and how decisions are made on a larger scale.
3. How has leadership capability increased due to this program?
We have seen our teens plug into many different areas of service once they
discovered their spiritual gifts. All of the teens are now serving on the high
school youth group planning team. One teen is using his musical gift as he
leads worship in children’s church. One teen has joined the sound tech
team. Two teens are volunteering as small group leaders in the middle
school youth group and one teen is volunteering in the church office to make
phone calls to youth to invite them to come to youth group. Others are
serving as small group leaders for the children’s ministries. Teens are also
involved with Youth Unlimited and the CRC Denominational Ministries by
serving on the planning team for the Where U At youth conference and
creating a refugee simulation exercise called Tents of Hope.
We have also seen youth step up more in leadership at school and teens
are reporting that they are more apt to control their tongues and stay out of
fights in school. One teen took an opportunity to stand up to the police on
behalf of his peers. He decided that instead of fighting with his fists that he
would use the right channels to ensure that the voices of youth were heard
when there was racial profiling happening in his neighborhood. And he
made a difference because there ended up being a peaceful resolution to
the problems that the youth were facing with the police Three teens also
decided that they were ready to make their profession of faith because of
their involvement in GRIL U. The teens are also journaling weekly and
reflecting on leadership within their small groups during youth group. It has
been incredible to see the teens desire to lead small groups too. They are
preparing the lesson and helping to facilitate discussion and prayer with
their peers during youth group. We are really pleased that they are also
stepping up on Sunday mornings to speak in front of church and share with
the congregation how the program is impacting their lives at church, home
school and the neighborhood.
4. Financial Report
To date, we have spent $1,100. Each of the 11 participants has received
their incentive stipend of $100 for completion of the first semester. This is
also a huge improvement from last year when we only passed out incentives
to 6 of 10 participants. Teens are taking their role as leaders very seriously.
Seymour CRC: Intentional Cross-Cultural Relationship Initiative
Grant: $2500
Objective: 1 leader developed
Contact: Philip De Jonge
Seymour Church expresses thanks to Classis Grand Rapids East for the
Leadership Development money granted to us for Josh Holwerda. Josh has
proven to be an outstanding individual who is making substantial
contributions to the vision and ministry of Seymour Church. We are
confident that the money Classis has invested in Josh and in our
congregation will continue to pay significant kingdom dividends in the future.
In order to make the most of this Leadership Development opportunity,
Seymour structured and implemented the following:
- Josh is a full and functioning member of the Seymour Church staff,
participating in all meetings, strategy sessions, and continuing
education. - Josh is a participant in Elder Board meetings, learning from the
leadership interaction and contributing from his perspective and
areas of expertise. - Josh is a participant in Council meetings, adding his insights to the
discussion and discernment of vision for Seymour Church. - Josh exercises leadership in a formalized vision casting process for
Seymour Church through his involvement with a Discovery Team that
works with Volunteers in Service to gather information and gain
insights from our community and congregation. - Josh is a participant on a Conference Team which is mandated to
articulate Long-Range Goals and a Ministry Plan for Seymour Church. - Josh maintains community relationships as one of Seymour’s
representatives in the Alger Heights Neighborhood Association as
an Alger Heights Block Captain. - Josh networks with area churches and organizations in order to
promote healthy community in the Alger Heights area, including such
things as his leadership in organizing a Community Garden, a
Community Night-Out, and an Arts & Craft Fair. - Josh is assigned regular preaching responsibilities at Seymour
Church. - Josh is involved in teaching youth and in pastoral care throughout the
congregation.
Leadership capacity has increased significantly as a result of the
Leadership Development grant awarded to Seymour Church. That increase
in leadership capacity is evident both in Josh and in the congregation. Josh
has demonstrated his ability to listen to and learn from the dynamic family
system in our congregation by smoothly participating in the life of the church
and appropriately exercising leadership in the body. He has shown an
increase in his preaching, teaching, and pastoral skills proportionate to his
growing experience. And most significantly, Josh indicates an increasing
awareness of the need not only to model relationship-building ministries but
also to equip others for these ministries. This equipping mentality is where
we anticipate that we will see the greatest long-term benefit from the
Leadership Development Grant.
Accounting for Grant--Through 9/30/2008
06/30/2008 Grant received from denomination $ 2,500.00
06/30/2008 Offset against Josh's salary - costs not covered by reduction
of Carl's hours $(2,474.00)
09/30/2008 Offset against Josh's salary - costs not covered by reduction
of Carl's hours $(26.00)
Holwerda Internship Costs
Year Ended 6/30/2008 (Josh began mid January 2008)
Holwerda, Josh Salary $ 5,472.54
Holwerda, Josh Social Security $ 418.65
Holwerda, Josh Hospitality $ 106.55
Offset against Josh's salary - costs not covered by reduction of Carl's
hours $(2,474.00)
Quarter Ended 9/30/2008
Holwerda, Josh Salary $ 2,769.24
Holwerda, Josh Social Security $ 211.85
Offset against Josh's salary - costs not covered by reduction of Carl's
hours $ (26.00)
(balance of grant)
Net cost of Holwerda internship after grant $ 6,478.83
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