Event Details

Join us on Thursday, April 18, for the 2024 Founders' Day Lecture on The Western Theological Seminary Legacy in Chiapas, Mexico. 

Vern and Carla Sterk, along with special guests J. Samuel Hofman ‘58, Jim Heneveld ‘81, Rev. Janelle López-Koolhaas ‘01, and Rev. Dr. Dennis Voskuil, will share about the unique legacy of WTS in Chiapas, Mexico.

The lecture will be available via livestream and in person in the Mulder Chapel at Western Theological Seminary and is open to the public. 

Registration is not required. Sign up if you want the livestream link delivered right to your inbox.

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About the Speakers and Guests

Vern Sterk and his wife, Carla, served as missionaries in Chiapas, Mexico, from 1969 to 2009. During their nearly forty years of service, they helped grow churches, train leaders, translate Biblical text, and even help the church survive a civil war movement. 

Vern has led 15 intercultural immersion trips to Chiapas. He holds degrees from Hope College ‘64 and Western Theological Seminary ‘68 and a Ph.D. in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Seminary ‘94. Vern taught Missiology at Western Theological Seminary from 1997 to 2009. 

J. Samuel Hofman is a graduate of Hope College ‘55 and Western Theological Seminary ‘58 and is the author of Mission Work in Today's World and From Jerusalem to You. Sam and his wife, Helen, have spent over twenty years serving in missionary work in Chiapas, Mexico.

Jim Heneveld graduated from Western Theological Seminary in 1981 and pastored at Belltower Reformed in Ellsworth, MI, from 1981 to 1993. Jim served in Chiapas, Mexico, teaching and developing literature for over twenty years. 

Rev. Janelle López-Koolhaas graduated from Western Theological Seminary in 2001. That same year, she was ordained and commissioned by the RCA as a missionary to Chiapas, Mexico, where the Iglesia Nacional Presbiteriano de México invited her to serve in the indigenous Tzeltal Presbytery as an instructor for the ministry formation of local pastors.

Janelle has also served as a solo pastor of a small multicultural congregation outside of Vancouver, Canada, and an interim pastor in multiple settings in the Holland, MI, area. Presently, Janelle is installed as a minister at Third Reformed Church in Holland, MI. 

Rev. Dr. Dennis Voskuil came to Western Theological Seminary as president in 1994 after serving as a teacher, pastor, and student of church history. He was a professor of religion at Hope College before joining WTS and has also served as pastor of several churches.