Date: Tue, 13 May 1997 08:22:17 -0400 (EDT) From: Darrell128@aol.com Subject: NR 97048: United Reformed Approve Two More Ministerial Candidates NR #1997-048: United Reformed Approve Two More Ministerial Candidates The United Reformed Churches can now add two more men to its ministerial roll: Rev. Phil Vos, who has pastored Covenant URC of Kalamazoo (formerly the Free CRC of Kalamazoo) since the spring of 1996, and Steve de Boer, pastor-elect of Eastmanville (MI) URC. Both are 1995 graduates of Mid-America Reformed Seminary. Raised as the son of a banker in Sheldon, Iowa, Vos graduated from Dordt College in 1985 and spent a number of years as a sales representative in Los Angeles before entering seminary. De Boer, the son of a dairy farmer in Wyoming, Ontario, worked in the provincial roads department for a number of years after high school before enrolling in Redeemer College, graduating in 1992. Following an extended examination that occupied the first day of Classis Midwest's April 8 and 9 meeting at Covenant URC, both men were approved for ordination by their respective churches. Vos' ordination took place on April 18; de Boer's ordination will wait until summer when he completes his internship at First Christian Reformed Church of Orange City, Iowa. NR #1997-048: For Immediate Release United Reformed Approve Two More Ministerial Candidates by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service KALAMAZOO, Mich. (May 13, 1997) URNS -- The United Reformed Churches can now add two more men to its ministerial roll: Rev. Phil Vos, who has pastored Covenant URC of Kalamazoo (formerly the Free CRC of Kalamazoo) since the spring of 1996, and Steve de Boer, pastor-elect of Eastmanville (MI) URC. For Vos, who was called to the Kalamazoo church before the adoption of the URC church order and its examination requirements, the April 8 exam was both a candidacy and ordination exam. A "classis contracta" of ministers in the Iowa area examined de Boer earlier this year and declared him a candidate for the ministry. Both are 1995 graduates of Mid-America Reformed Seminary. Raised as the son of a banker in Sheldon, Iowa, Vos graduated from Dordt College in 1985 and spent a number of years as a sales representative in Los Angeles before entering seminary. De Boer, the son of a dairy farmer in Wyoming, Ontario, worked in the provincial roads department for a number of years after high school before enrolling in Redeemer College, graduating in 1992. After graduating from MARS, both men attended Calvin Seminary's program for admitting graduates of other seminaries to the Christian Reformed ministry, but decided not to enter the CRC ministry. Vos accepted the call to the Kalamazoo church while in Calvin Seminary; de Boer completed his required year of study at Calvin and began a one-year internship at First CRC of Orange City, Iowa. "After Synod 1995 and the one year at Calvin Seminary and the decisions of Synod 1996 we felt we could no longer go in the same direction as the Christian Reformed Church," de Boer told the URC classis in his exam. The CRC's Classis of the Heartland has been charitable despite de Boer's decision, granting him an exhorting license to allow him to complete his internship in Orange City before going to Eastmanville. Following an extended examination that occupied the first day of Classis Midwest's April 8 and 9 meeting at Covenant URC, both men were approved for ordination by their respective churches. Vos' ordination took place on April 18; de Boer's ordination will wait until summer when he completes his Iowa internship. Vos' ordination almost didn't happen. Shortly after accepting the call to the Kalamazoo church, he was diagnosed with cancer and began a chemotherapy regimen that severely sapped his strength and reduced him to preaching only once every other week. Vos' church only scheduled him for ordination exams after his doctors indicated that the cancer treatments appeared to have completely eliminated the cancer from his body and allowed him to end chemotherapy treatments. "This fulfills a lot of expectations; this is the goal for which we have been striving since the beginning of this," said Vos. "Although I've been their unordained pastor, this cements the bond." Vos noted that his entire consistory and three of the five deacons, along with a number of church members, came to the ordination exam. De Boer seconded Vos' emphasis on the importance of ordination. "It's no longer an internal call, but the church has recognized that call," said de Boer. "The goal has always been an ordained ministry, not just someone allowed in the pulpit." Both men are married with sizeable families, and credited the support of their families with making it possible for them to get through the necessary seminary training to enter the ministry as older men. "I would not have gotten through the past five years without the love and support of my wife," said Vos. "Our wives took on a huge role." Classis Midwest stated clerk Rev. Ralph Pontier said he was pleased by the successful exams. "We're deeply humbled and grateful the Lord has allowed us to have this at our very first classis," said Pontier. "The candidates showed themselves to be gifted of God for ministry." Cross-References to Related Articles: #1997-042: Fraternal Relations Focus Headlines First Meeting of United Reformed Churches' Classis Midwest Contact List: Cand. Steve de Boer, Pastor-Elect, Eastmanville United Reformed Church 207 Kansas Ave. NW, Orange City, IA 51041 H/O: (712) 737-2202 Rev. Ralph Pontier, Stated Clerk, Classis Midwest (URC) 4608 Jackson Ave., Orange City, IA 51041-7446 O: (712) 737-4901 * FAX: (712) 737-3350 Rev. Phil Vos, Pastor, Covenant United Reformed Church 7724 Hampton Oaks Dr., Portage, MI 49024 O/FAX: (616) 324-5217 * H: (616) 324-5132 ---------------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/reformed/archive97: nr97-048.txt .