By Don McCrory

(First appeared in the May 2005 issue of The Banner.)

Husband and wife team Ben and Bev Becksvoort care deeply about the health of your church—or any church, for that matter. The Becksvoorts recently led a series of six workshops on anxiety, change, leadership, relationships, generosity, and spiritual care for CRC pastors and other church leaders.

“Healthy congregations are a passion of ours,” said Ben, the Great Lakes regional leader for Christian Reformed Home Missions. Bev is a therapist for Safe Haven Ministries in Grand Rapids, Mich. “A church and its leaders need to be experiencing a measure of good health if they are to focus on and pursue their mission,” said Ben. “These workshops are one tool in creating healthier congregations.”

The half-day sessions, held at Calvin Theological Seminary, were offered through the cooperation of Home Missions, Pastor-Church Relations, and the seminary. A “Sustaining Pastoral Excellence” grant from the Lilly Foundation subsidized the cost for the participants.

In addition to serving approximately 30 participants at the seminary, the workshops were broadcast online to eight church leaders who accessed the training via the Internet. Frank Engelage, a member of Providence CRC in Beamsville, Ontario, was impressed with the technology.

“I was able to view the presentation live,” Engelage said, “but if my schedule precluded my live attendance, I was able to view the presentation later at my leisure in my own home.”

Rev. Stan Sturing, a first-time pastor of Community CRC in Saginaw, Michigan, drove two hours each way to attend the workshops.

“This course came at a time when I needed it the most,” Sturing said. “It has given me the tools for staying grounded and connected in my ministry.”