Vriesema to Be Director of Partnership Administration

Roberta Vriesema has been appointed as the director of partnership administration for the Christian Reformed Church in North America. This is a new position, replacing the chief administrative officer role filled since 2022 by Shirley DeVries, who plans to retire in early 2026. Vriesema, who lives in Morrisburg, Ont., was appointed by the Council of Delegates during their October meeting. 

“We did thorough interviewing and asked robust questions,” said Phil Apol, a COD board member and part of the hiring team involved in recruiting and interviewing applicants. “Roberta is who we thought would be most appropriate and best for this position.” 

Vriesema has broad experience in a variety of organizational contexts. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Redeemer University in Ancaster, Ont., and a certificate in conflict management and mediation from Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ont.

Professionally, she has managed chicken farms, served as a phoneline counselor, acted as a governance consultant, been the director of administration for Open Doors Canada, and served as an Ontario representative for the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC). 

Vriesema also has extensive experience with the Christian Reformed Church, working as a caretaker of a church in Guelph, Ont., serving on the Judicial Code Committee for six years, and serving as a member of the Council of Delegates since 2022. 

While living in Guelph, Ont., Vriesema and her daughter led worship for many years as part of a praise team at Water Street CRC. Recently Vriesema and her husband, Joshua, moved to Morrisburg, Ont., where she has taken on the roles of Grade 7 catechism teacher and worship committee member at Community CRC, Dixons Corners, Ont.. 

“Roberta has a deep love for and knowledge of the CRCNA,” said Zachary King, general secretary. “She also has broad organizational experience in which she has successfully pursued collaborations in the challenging context of labor relationships. I am excited to see how God will bless the CRCNA through her.”

For Vriesema, this position offers an opportunity to use her God-given gifts for a higher purpose.

“I've always felt called to serve God,” she said, noting that she grew up as a child of missionaries who served with World Renew (then the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee) in Bangladesh. “My parents were careful to teach us that while their work with CRWRC looked like what people would expect as missionary work, I was also serving God in meaningful ways by doing my chores and respecting their rules. We are all called to serve God in our own ways with our own gifts.”

She noted that when the CRCNA started implementing the recommendations of the Structure and Leadership Task Force at the start of her Council of Delegates term, she saw an opportunity to use her gifts of administration for the church. 

“While I wasn't called to be a missionary or a pastor, I do have skills in governance, organizational development, and leadership,” she said. She added that she had thought about applying for the chief administrative officer role in 2022 but recognized that the timing wasn’t right. 

“At that time, my family and I were walking through a very hard and difficult time of grief over my son’s death. It was not the time,” she said, adding that DeVries, who was hired for the role, filled it wonderfully instead.

Later, said Vriesema, when the new director of partnership administration position became available, the reworked job responsibilities seemed like an even better fit for her gifts.

“I felt strongly that I could do the work well in the time and place that our denomination is in today,” she said. “My past experience in working in places of conflict and difficulty seem like a good match for some of the challenges our denomination is currently facing.” 

The director of partnership administration position has been created to guide and orient the ministries of the CRCNA according to the direction provided by synod and the Council of Delegates. Partnering with the executive leaders of the Canadian and U.S. ministry boards, as well as the leaders of Calvin University, Calvin Theological Seminary, and World Renew, this position will advance the work of the CRCNA in such areas as governance and compliance, joint ministry plans, finance, and budgets, with the aim of creating a well-functioning organization that operates efficiently and effectively on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border. 

“We have a beautiful and precious history of being a denomination that does hard things in deeply convicted and passionate ways,” said Vriesema. “We emphasize a deep connection to seeking God's presence in his creation. Yes, sometimes we have had moments of division and despair, yet God continues to work in and through us. I look forward to playing a role in helping the CRCNA work through its current challenges and step into the future God has prepared for us.” 

The plan is for Vriesema to begin in this role Nov. 10.