East Saugatuck Staff
Pastor Gary Luurtsema
Senior Pastor
Pastor Gary grew up just north of Holland, Michigan in a rural, country setting. He graduated from Holland Christian High School in 1984. He graduated from Calvin College in 1988 with a Business/Psychology Groups Major. In 1992 he received his Masters Of Divinity Degree from Calvin Theological Seminary. The first church he served was in Northwest Iowa called the Ireton Christian Reformed Church. He has been at East Saugatuck since April 1998.
Pastor Gary and his wife Lisa have 5 children ages 3 to 14 (4 girls and one boy). In his free time he enjoys spending time playing sports with the children. He also enjoys snowboarding, wakeboarding, playing softball, golf and tennis. He is an avid hunter as well...2 bull caribou in 2002 as well as a 400 pound black bear in 1998! Pastor Gary is thankful for the people of East Saugatuck and for their openness to change, and also is thankful for the way God has been working here. He is glad that ES strives to be a caring and accepting place for everyone.
Pastor Ed VisscherPastor of Family Care
Pastor Ed was born, grew up, and was educated in the Reeman-Fremont area of Michigan. Upon graduating from the Fremont High School, he worked for Gerber Baby Food Company. After marrying Lavon and having two children, the Lord called him into the ministry. Ed attended the Reformed Bible Institute, graduating in 1961, and he then became the Evangelist of Sunshine Chapel in Grand Rapids, MI. Following that, he served home missions churches in Racine, WI, Saugatuck, MI, Vermillion, SD, Charlotte, MI, and South Haven, MI. Since retiring in 1999, he has served as an interim pastor in a few vacant churches, and he has served as Pastor of Family Care at East Saugatuck since April 2004. Pastor Ed finds the warmth, friendship, and fellowship of the family of God at East Saugatuck to be a real blessing to him and his wife!
Dr. Wayne BakkerDirector of Worship and Media
Wayne is a native of Wellsburg, Iowa, where his parents were dairy farmers for 25 years. Wayne graduated in 1995 from Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa with a degree in Biology/Pre-Medical Studies. He then continued his education at Des Moines (Iowa) University - Ostepathic Medical Center, graduating in 2000 with a Doctorate in Podiatric Medicine (D.P.M.). The Lord then led Wayne to the Holland area and eventually to begin working at East Saugatuck in August of 2002.
Wayne enjoys golf and softball in his spare time, and loves many different types of music and concerts. He is an avid sports fan, especially of the Iowa Hawkeyes! He is happy to be able to utilize his gifts in music and video production in service of God's kingdom work, and he is thankful to be a part of a church that cares for the surrounding community.
Sherri KragtDirector of Youth Ministries
Sherri was born and raised in Hamilton, where she was brought up on a local farm. Sherri attended Hamilton Public Schools and then graduated in 1998 from Baker College in Muskegon. She graduated with an associates degree in applied science. For the last 8 years she has been working at Prince/JCI Medical Center and ContinuHealth as a Certified Medical Assistant. Recently Sherri felt that God had different plans for her and was led to be the Youth Director at East Saugatuck CRC.
Sherri and Jeff recently had their 1st child (Carter) on January 3, 2005. Sherri enjoys spending time with her family, playing sports, gardening, music, and scrapbooking. She especially loves wakeboarding, downhill skiing, softball, volleyball, and tennis. Sherri loves working with the youth from this church and from the community and is very thankful to be a part of the East Saugatuck family.
Marilyn TimmermanKids' Hope Director
Marilyn is a Michigan native whose growing up years included living in Iowa. She graduated from Western Christian High School in Hull, Iowa and went on to attend Dordt College. She taught in Christian Schools in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan while continuing to work toward a degree in elementary education. She graduated from Calvin College in 1975, worked as substitute teacher for eight years, completed a master's program, and accepted a job as a 5th grade teacher at Thornapple Kellogg Schools in Middleville until retiring in 2001. As a pastor's wife, she has been involved in many children's and adult education programs.
Rog and Marilyn served churches in Fountain Valley, CA, West Evergreen Park, IL., and Middleville, Michigan. Marilyn enjoyed staying home for ten years to have children and raise them.. Their three sons are married and they have six grandchildren all of whom live nearby. Marilyn's main interests include spending time with her family, cooking, reading,gardening, scrapbooking, and music.
Wanda SlenkMinistry Involvement Coordinator
Wanda grew up in the
Wanda enjoys traveling with her husband, Wayne, spending time with her family and her seven grandsons. She also enjoys reading, music concerts, a little golfing, and just relaxing. She is very thankful for how this church has been an encouragement to her through the years, and she now tries to be an encouragement to new people that she comes in contact with.
