Broene to Retire from Calvinist Cadets

The rain was pounding so hard and the lightning cracking so fiercely that the best he could do was to fall down on his knees in his tent to pray, says Dick Broene.

But Broene, the retiring executive director of the Calvinist Cadet Corps, also recalled how he burst out laughing during the storm that marched through the woods during the 2011 Cadet International Camporee in Reed City, Mich.

“God was showing off. He knows what he is doing. I was on my knees laughing and praying. I wasn’t afraid where the lightning would hit,” says Broene, who will step down at the end of February after serving 32 years as the leader of the Calvinist Cadet Corps.

Deep faith coupled with good humor seem to be hallmarks of Broene’s career. Prayer comes to him freely as does an infectious smile, especially for cadets.

Even as he retires, Broene will continue to serve as a counselor at his church, Coit Community Church in Grand Rapids, Mich. In fact, he has been a counselor there for more than 40 years. Before that, he was a cadet himself.

At Coit, he helped build the program. They were meeting in a storefront chapel and at first had no boys, and so he went across the street to Coit Elementary School and recruited two boys to join — and the club grew.

“We had 20 kids, all community kids, within a year,” he recalls.

After graduating from Grand Rapids Christian High School and Calvin College, he began working in his father’s glass and aluminum installation business.

Meanwhile, he volunteered on the Calvinist Cadet board and then applied for and was hired to become executive director in 1983.

“I am fortunate in that this is what God has called me to do,” says Broene. “I’ve always said there are probably better people who could do the job, but there has been no better job for me.”

Cadets meet regularly in local churches to participate in prayer, Bible study, crafts, projects, games and to work on merit badges. They also take part in  church and community  projects.

International camporees, held every  three years, are also an important part of cadeting. They often draw more than 1,000 men and boys who live for a week in the wilderness in tents they craft out of poles and duct tape.

They regularly hike, canoe, mountain climb, cook their own meals and have devotions around the campfire at night.

The last handful of camporees have been a challenge because of bad weather. At one in Iowa, a flood washed out the campground on the weekend before the event, forcing them to locate to another site. Last August, campers and counselors needed to be evacuated for a night from the 17th Cadet International Camporee in Central Alberta because of wind and rain.

Throughout, says Broene, they have made due and  had fun.

Besides the international camporees, cadets get outdoors for weekend or summer outings.

Founded in 1952, the corps has more than 600 clubs throughout North America. It also has a brother organization in Australia and New Zealand, and since 2006 has been working in Kenya and Uganda.

About 75 percent of the clubs are in CRC congregations. “I always say that we are the CRC’s ministry for boys,” comments Broene.

Over the years, he has seen cadets change. In the past, many came from stable, two-parent homes. But this is no longer the norm.

“More and more are coming from families without the father in the home,” says Broene. “And that makes our job harder. We might be the only positive role model some of these guys have.”

Counselors also compete with a lifestyle in which many of the boys stay indoors, playing their electronic games and devices.

But if they can reach the boys and encourage them to join a club, good things can happen, says Broene.

“When they get out doors, they tend to love it,” he says. “They realize there is more to life than they had so far imagined and that God is at the center of their life.”