2025 Thornapple Year-in-Review

Julia Sandstrom
LEAD Pastor


Get the 2026 Pre-REad Packet

Annual meeting forms
can be downloaded
at the bottom of this page

Information about the proposed governance documents can be found Here

From the lead pastor

Dear Thornapple,
 
In 2025 Pastor Lynne and I began to serve in new ways, we both felt a sense of God calling us into similar but also new expressions of our pastoral vocation. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Evangelical Covenant Church ordaining women. While that decision is five decades old, the reality is that only 15 percent of Covenant churches are led by women. You are leading the denomination in affirming the New Testament vision that calling, not gender, is the basis for vocational ministry. It is an honor to serve at Thornapple.

Throughout the process of discernment over calling me and Pastor Lynne into new roles, one concern kept popping up: “Will they burn out? Is it too much?” As I said then, we were taking a first step in staffing, not a final one. I have been grateful for the lay leadership that have come alongside our staff in all areas of ministry from finance and governance to Trailblazers and nursery. In particular, I give thanks for Jeff Hughes, who tirelessly worked on updating our property insurance as well as our governance documents. The mission of the church is for all of us, not only for staff, and I see how this church embraces the mission on a daily basis.
 
Because of increased generosity in 2025, we are able to bless our ministry partners with more resources and we are able to plan for new staff to come on board in order to equip the saints for ministry. As you will see reported in sections below, the Holy Spirit has been at work moving us into further generosity. While the 2025 financial report may seem like a bunch of numbers, I see significant steps in entrusting our financial treasures to God. Discipleship must extend into our bank accounts if we are truly seeking the kingdom of God in all areas of our life.
 
There is a lot more I could say about how God is at work among Thornapple and through Thornapple in the world and I plan to do that at our Annual Meeting on February 22. I look forward to seeing you there where we will celebrate what God has done and is doing in His church.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Julia

P.S. I know annual meetings are not considered a “good time”. However, it is at these meetings that we make really important decisions like affirm a budget (which puts into numbers our hopes for the year), choose new leaders (which puts in place servants of Christ who will help shape our mission), and this year, approve new governing documents (which are necessary tools for the business of the church). If you are a member or not, I invite you to come. Let’s think of this less as a meeting (though it is that) and more of a celebration of doing God’s work together.

Join us February 22 following worship for the annual meeting

In advance of the meeting, Congregational forums will be held
on Tuesday, February 10 at 6pm and Sunday February 16 at 11:30am

Where did you see God at work in Thornapple in 2025?
This year I saw God using the people of Thornapple to join in His kingdom work here on earth through their availability, gifts, and desire to love their neighbor. There was a group who rehabbed a house for ICCF and another group who goes weekly to sort clothing for their supply closet. Others made meals for Family Promise or Degage. There are those who quietly care for others who need help and companionship. Small groups who care for one another during difficult times. The list could go on and on. I love seeing people respond to the invitation of God to join him in a variety of ways.

My one-sentence prayer for 2026:
Holy Spirit, help us to continue to listen and pay attention to your invitations
and where God is at work in our world that we may join Him.

Lynne McLaughlin
Associate Pastor

Where did you see God at work in Thornapple in 2025?
In 2025, I clearly saw God at work within Thornapple through the life and growth of our church community. This was evident in our children’s programs, where dedicated teaching volunteers served faithfully and children left Sunday worship with smiles and excitement. God’s hand was also visible in the spiritual and numerical growth of our NextGen groups, as well as in the broader church through strong, biblically grounded sermons, meaningful Sunday morning community, and deeper connections formed within our small groups.

My one-sentence prayer for 2026:
Dear Heavenly Father, may we experience as we study and read your word as a nourishing feast not just helpful or inspirational bits. Amen

Doug Datema
elder

Where did you see God at work in Thornapple in 2025?
I saw us go deeper into a spirit of unity at Thornapple, despite the division that we currently see in the world. God is shaping us into a community of Jesus followers that seek justice, compassion and love for 'the least of these.' I feel that we are more willing to say that we don't have this faith walk all figured out, but we are eager to walk this journey together.

My one-sentence prayer for 2026:
Lord Jesus, I pray that they will know we are Christians by our love. Amen.

Sue Smith
Elder

Where did you see God at work in Thornapple in 2025?
This year I saw God’s blessing on Thornapple through a new energy and excitement running throughout the church.  In 2025, as needs for volunteers, staff, or giving became present, the congregation was always ready to step in and fill the void with enthusiasm.  This new excitement has also led to increased church attendance and membership growth.  It was a real joy and blessing to worship with such an enthusiastic group of Christ followers.

My one-sentence prayer for 2026:
Dear God, help Thornapple to harness the many gifts and talents you have blessed us with to advance your Kingdom.  Amen

Todd Sytsma
Elder

Where did you see God at work in Thornapple in 2025?
This year I saw God at work through consistency at Thornapple. I observed consistency of individuals and families on Sunday mornings, consistency in hearing kids and adults be joyful and watching us all participate in the life of the church, consistency in our staff and our pastors who consistently show up with purpose and meaning, and consistency in feeling the Spirit here with us. Through these observations I am touched by God reminding me that He is reliable, dependable and fulfills His promises.

My one-sentence prayer for 2026:
Lord, we can find an unlimited number of human differences among us, yet we all belong to You - we are One Body in Christ - continue Your work in us so that this sameness precedes all other thoughts.

Molly DeHoog
Elder

Where did you see God at work in Thornapple in 2025?
  I saw God move in Thornapple this past year by stirring up interest in the plight of Gaza and of the homeless through the attendance at the after church seminars.  I was also encouraged by the sermon series on Daniel and Revelation which took challenging parts of Scripture and made them approachable and applicable.  

My one-sentence prayer for 2026:
May we all move from interest in the war-ravaged and homeless and take concrete steps to help in these areas and may the church encourage the grassroots desires to serve.

Dave Harrell
Elder

Ministry Updates

Children's Ministry Highlights

  • 9 new families this year
  • Kingdom Kids averages 65 kids with 20 HS helpers and 50 adults serving once a month
  • Nursery averages 7 kids and 30 volunteers serving throughout the year
  • Trailblazers averaged 45-50 kids each week with 8 adult leaders serving every week and 25 kids outside of Thornapple have been coming
  • Our Trailblazers volunteered 6 times at retirement homes, playing games and doing crafts with the residents 
  • Reverse trick-or-treating event where Trailblazers blessed the retirement home residents with socks, crossword puzzles, lotion, glass wipes, snacks, candy, and more
  • Summer VBS saw 200 kids attending and 75 teens and 25 adults serving
  • Birthday cards are sent out each month
  • Multiple family lunches throughout the year
  • Summer events included pool parties, Craig's Cruisers, SkyZone
  • Fall retreat to Portage Lake was attended by 35 kids and 5 leaders

Student Ministry: Middle School

Thornapple Middle School Ministry is a place where 7th and 8th grade students can find belonging, develop their beliefs and work to start becoming who God has made them to be. We spend time getting to know Jesus through God's word and getting to know one another through regularly meeting together.

We gather on Sundays for Ignite and are currently working through a Faith Foundations curriculum from Fuller Youth Institute. This study challenges our young people to understand why we believe what we believe and brings about a lot of great questions. We also meet together on Tuesday evenings for Refuel, sharing meals, engaging with the Bible and playing a lot of silly games.

A few highlights of the year include The Hunt (a photo scavenger hunt) and Reverse Trick or Treating at Sunrise Senior Living and a sledding Christmas party at the Read's home!

The Summer Service Adventure was the capstone of the [school] year. Students served with Kids Food Basket, ICCF, Mel Trotter Ministries, Family Haven, Family Promise and more. They took a class at Degage about how best to respond and interact with people experiencing homelessness. They ate great food and had tons of fun with pool parties and silly string wars, went on ice cream runs throughout the week and ended each night with a bedtime story before sleeping at church.

Middle School is made richer by the fantastic leaders who model Christ, care about students and are down for all kinds of silly fun! Good things are happening all around for middle school students. We have a number of new students attending, and they are engaging with scripture, and demonstrating their faith through spiritual disciplines and outreach to others.

Highlights

MS Refuel (Tuesday Nights)
  • Dinner together
  • Coke Clubs
  • Reverse Trick or Treating
  • Christmas Giving to ICCF
  • Bible Study

MS Ignite (Sunday Mornings)
  • Ten x 10- Faith Foundations
  • Donuts and bagels
Other fun events
  • Pool parties
  • The Hunt
  • Laser Tag
  • Fall Retreat
  • 8th Grade Supper Club
  • Family Lunches
  • Summer Service Adventure
  • Craigs Cruisers
  • SkyZone
  • Sledding party

Student Ministry: high School

In an ever-changing world, our students continue to take the challenge of being “people of the book,” trusting in God’s Word as we seek to walk with Jesus today.

We experienced active reading of the Bible at Huddle, in small groups, and with the rest of the church during our annual collective reading challenge. It has been said, “you cannot Christian alone” - and our communal reading and responses reflect that!

Our students and small group leaders continue to embody Christ by showing up for each other in prayer and in person, at church and extracurriculars, in fun times and in tough times.

A loving and welcoming community has proven contagious, as we see about a half of our growing group being students raised at Thornapple and the other half student ministry only (a.k.a., friends of our students whose families don't attend Thornapple)!

“For God’s glory and neighbor’s good” has been embraced by our students and equipped by our community partners through our Spring Service Training, LMDJ Summer Serve Program, Summer Service Trip to Nashville, and our annual “Grinch Night” buying gifts for families in need (as well as serving on Sunday mornings!). We praise God that “we are not the center of the universe” and that He has empowered us for a journey together full of challenge and joy! 

Highlights

  •  Huddle
  • Supper Clubs (small group dinners at students/leaders/pastors homes)
  • 2 Baptisms (Chris Goodell, Josh Hayhurst)
  • Students Serving on Sunday Morning (Over two dozen students serving in Childrens Ministry, Tech Booth, Worship Band, Snow-shoveling, etc.)
  • Winter Retreat (22 students, 5 adult leaders)
  • We Love TSM Brunch fundraiser
  • Spring Service Training with local community partners
  • Senior Banquet & Senior Say So
  • LMDJ Summer Service Program (7 TSM students)
  • Pool Parties
  • Summer Service Trip to Nashville  (42 students, 15 adult leaders, 2 weekend cooks)
  • Amazing Race house-to-house “Cartoon Edition” (86 students {57 TSM, 29 invitees}, 63 adult volunteers {17 drivers, 17 first time station leaders, 29 veteran station leaders}, 20 estimated kid and middle school helpers/observers)
  •  Student-led Huddles
  • Fall Retreat at Geneva Camp (49 students, 13 adult leaders)
  • “Grinch Night” buying gifts for ICCF Community Homes families ($1,266 raised and spent!)
  • Huddle Christmas Party
  • TSM Alumni Supper Club Reunion (22 student alumni, 16 leaders)

Adult Ministries

MomCo (formerly MOPS)
  • 64 Moms - most from outside of Thornapple
  • 92 children
  • Co-coordinators Courtney Smith and Erin Bartlett
  • 10 Mentor Moms

Women's Ministry
  •  Three Bible Studies
  • Two Game Nights

Men's Small Groups
  •  Four Bible Studies meeting throughout the week
  • Two Men’s Breakfasts

College & Young Adults
  •  Two Sunday post-church brunches
  • Handed out exam study/treat bags in the spring and winter
  • Attended the church fair at Calvin University
  • Sent notes and gift cards to Thornapple's recent high school grads
  • Individuals and couples signed up to be College Mentors through Calvin University
Spiritual Formation
  •  One prayer gathering
  • Two spiritual retreats
  • Spring Seminars on the Middle East and Resiliency in Kids
  • Ten Commandments self-guided study/book
  • Fall Seminar with Degage
  • Church at the Crossroads gathering
  • Referrals to spiritual directors 

pastoral care

Stephen Ministry
  •  11 Active Stephen Ministers
  • 6-8 Care Receivers throughout the year. We would love to see more people at Thornapple take advantage of the gift of having a Stephen Minister. 
  • Leadership Team: Marian Hunt, Barb Hoogeboom, Joyce Zaagman, Cheri Fox, Sam Woolpert
  • “Cancer, Now What?” books distributed as needed

Grief and Loss
  •  Supported families and spouses with Journeying Through Grief books, personal notes, and calls throughout the first year of loss and beyond.
  • Four funerals in 2025

Care Ministries
  •  Meals to families and individuals in time of crisis, illness, or grief
  • Helping find rides for people as needed
  • Regular visits to Thornapple members in assisted living, independent living, and living alone
  • Meeting with people as needs arise, going to hospitals, and checking in with people
  • Prayers of the People each week and offering easy access to request prayer through the app/website

Pine Rest Church Assistance Program (CAP)
  •  Thornapple used 22 sessions of counseling last year through the CAP. We hope there are even more in the future!
  • CAP is available to all individuals who attend Thornapple in some way and includes three free counseling sessions per person per issue, financial advice, legal advice, and an online library full of resources
  • We will be having Spring Seminars with speakers from Pine Rest in March of 2026 to help build healthier relationships

Love Mercy Do Justice

Our team currently has 12 members, with much larger stable of hands-on support once we count everyone that stays involved.

Our role remains to help focus our church community on core issues of injustice and places where mercy and help are needed in the greater community, and to empower the church to think and respond in loving, godly ways.

The team, through Thornapple's budget and giving, offers financial support to key mission partners, including Family Promise, International Justice Mission, ICCF, Servants Center, and Dégagé, as well as funding the Summer Serve program (formerly known as Glenn Van Noord).

Through 2026 and into 2027, we have committed to a focus on poverty and housing crises and will work to greatly expand our partnership with ICCF.

Last year, LMDJ sponsored and promoted several important ministry initiatives:
  • Ongoing community blood drives
  • Funding local prison ministry through Reach the Forgotten as well as donating funds to Feeding America West Michigan
  • Serving meals monthly at Dégagé Ministries
  • Preparing and serving meals to families in housing crisis through Family Promise shelter in Wyoming
  • Rehabilitation of four affordable homes for families in need through ICCF
  • Organizing the donation center at ICCF’s Family Haven homeless shelter
  • Together with NextGen Ministries, collecting and helping to distribute over 300 backpacks to families in need through ICCF
  • Together with NextGen Ministries and the pastoral staff, hosting a seminar about the realities of homelessness through Dégagé
  • Hosting a Christmas Marketplace to provide over 460 items for families in need to get essential supplies through ICCF
  • Employing seven students part or full-time to serve the underserved and experience the work of God in urban GR through Summer Serve

international missions

Global Partners 
  • Eight Global Partners: Five partners with a specific country focus. Three of our partners work is global, serving in over 85 countries combined. 
  • Several visits and meals shared with the Norens, the Misras and the Cross families when they were in the US. 
  • We have enjoyed having the Hirt family be a regular part of our Thornapple community since their return from Thailand last year. Their work with Wycliffe continues to bear fruit via technology in both Bible translation and counseling services.
  • The Norens returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo; they delayed their retirement and continue to serve in both agriculture and nursing. 
  • The Maharjan's church in Nepal continues to grow and find more opportunities for ministry within their community. Recently, they were able to minister over Christmas with caroling and sharing the gospel message. 
At Thornapple
  • A new mission display board in The Commons near the coffee bar. We also began work on a Children’s Mission display downstairs that we look forward to completing in 2026. 
  • We’re grateful for the Advent devotional from Langham Partnership that our church was able to distribute. 
  • Both the Cascade 6K Walk for Water and CWRD Can Drive were able to benefit international missions - thank you to the congregation for your support and participation in these initiatives!
  • Over the summer months IMT spent time revisiting and refreshing our process to allow us to be intentional, faithful partners to our mission partners.
  • Four new IMT members: Gary Burge, Dave Harrell, Julia Sandstrom, and Katie Sytsma. With the influx of new members, both Mark Hunt and David Lieuwen were able to step off the committee after several years of faithful service.
If anyone is interested in learning more - you are welcome! IMT Meetings are typically the first Mondays of each month at 6:30pm.

Downloads

Proxy Form

This method is preferred to absentee ballot since a proxy vote counts toward a quorum.
Please complete a proxy and give it to your designated representative so they can turn it in at the Annual Meeting and vote on your behalf.

Absentee Ballot

An absentee ballot does not count towards our quorum but does signify having your vote heard if you are unable to attend or designate a proxy. 
Please complete the absentee ballot and return it to the Elder Secretary (Laura Bartlett) by mail or email PRIOR to the start of the meeting.

Pre-Read Packet

Click the image above to download the 2026 Annual Meeting Pre-Read Packet or pick up a hard copy at the Welcome Center in the Lobby.

If you need to have a hard copy mailed to you,
please contact Kimberly Korpak.