WELCOME!
“I am excited to further and deepen the mission of Western Theological Seminary to prepare women and men, called by God, to serve the church of Jesus Christ. Pray for us and join us, as we continue to train women and men who will proclaim the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with love and boldness, who will be ministers of reconciliation–bringing those who are far from God into union with Christ, who will pursue justice for the poor and the oppressed, and who will care well for God’s creation as faithful stewards of our Father’s world.”
-Dr. Felix Theonugraha, twelfth president of WTS
From the President’s Desk
November 2021
I am so grateful for your faithful prayers and generous support for Western Theological Seminary. This Fall, we reached record enrollment for the third semester in a row, with 386 students across all degree programs. Amidst news about the decline of the church, students are being called to Western Theological Seminary for ministry preparation and sustenance. Praise God! Yet, we also know that we could not have done this without your partnership in the Gospel. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!
Western Theological Seminary was founded when seven of the first eight Hope College graduates petitioned the General Synod for permission to continue their theological education in Holland, Michigan. Over 155 years later, Western remains faithful in her mission to form women and men for faithful Christian ministry and ongoing participation in the Triune God’s ongoing redemptive work in the world, for the Reformed Church in America, but also for the broader church. Today, the fastest growth is among students who consider themselves to be non-denominational. As former president Dr. I. John Hesselink noted in his inaugural address, “It is simply not true, as our stationary still indicates, that we merely serve the Reformed Church. We serve the church of Jesus Christ around the world!”
This is why, as you might have heard, our Board of Trustees submitted a request to the 2021 General Synod to allow Western Theological Seminary to move from our current status as a Seminary that is legally owned and operated by the General Synod to an affiliated status, the same status enjoyed by the colleges. Being an affiliated seminary of the RCA would allow us to build on the strength of our Reformed heritage while also increasing our service to the broader church. It would also strengthen the governance of the Seminary since the Board of Trustees would be granted final decision-making authority on matters most pertinent to the Seminary.
During the General Synod, this request was referred to the General Synod Council for review, along with the Commission on Church Order. I am looking forward to working closely with these bodies to make sure that our request is re-presented to the General Synod in an orderly manner. But I also want to answer any concerns or questions you might have about our proposal.
If you would like to chat further, please feel free to reach out to me at president@westernsem.edu. I look forward to hearing from you!
Blessings,
Dr. Felix Theonugraha
B.A. University of California, Berkeley
M.Div. Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Ph.D. Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Speaking Engagements
2022
August 7, 2022 – Teaching at Pillar Church in Holland, MI.
August 21, 2022 – Teaching at Camp Geneva Summer Worship, Holland MI
About President Felix Theonugraha
Dr. Theonugraha is an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America who last served as Vice President for Student Life and University Services at Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois.
A pastor’s son who first felt a call to ministry at age nine, Felix Theonugraha was born in Indonesia to Chinese Christian parents. The family originally had a Chinese last name, but changed it to the Indonesian “Theonugraha” (meaning “God’s Grace” and pronounced theo-new-GRA-ha). When Felix was 12, his father accepted a call to pastor a Mandarin-speaking congregation in the San Francisco Bay area, and they immigrated to the United States.
Dr. Theonugraha was first drawn to the RCA because of how his family was accepted and supported, especially during a difficult season of ministry in his father’s life. “I saw how the denomination came around him in such beautiful ways,” he recalls.
“As an egalitarian,” he says, “I’m also drawn to the RCA’s stance on women in ministry.” At Trinity, Dr. Theonugraha co-chaired a task force on gender equity and also worked on the university’s racial reconciliation
team. “I’ve lived in many places where I’ve been seen as an outsider,” he explains. “As a result, I’m mindful of the tendency for human beings, even Christian communities, to exclude. But I have also seen firsthand the way that people, especially Christian communities, can also embrace ‘the other’ with the love of God.”
Dr. Theonugraha majored in Psychology and English at the University of California, Berkeley, and then attended seminary at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School while under the care of the Central California Classis. He completed his Ph.D. at Trinity in Educational Studies and met his wife Esther there—she was also a master’s student and is now completing a Ph.D. They are the parents of a son and daughter, ages 12 and 10.
Dr. Theonugraha began working at Trinity International University as Associate Dean of Students in 2006, then became the Dean of Students, then Vice President for Spiritual Life and University Ministries, and finally Vice President for Student Life and University Services. In that role he led the enrollment team, athletics department, alumni office, and student life division.
Prior to ordination in the RCA, Dr. Theonugraha came to WTS to take classes in the summer of 2004 with then Academic Dean Leanne Van Dyk and President Timothy Brown. He also took the class “Pastor as Person” in 2006 and even got to play basketball with Dr. Dennis Voskuil.
“I learned the depth of Reformed theology with Dr. Van Dyk, the beauty of Reformed worship with President Brown, and the emphasis on pastoral formation that was and continues to be a strength of WTS today,” he shares.
Dr. Theonugraha’s personal experience, as well as his professional role as a talented administrator, make him uniquely qualified to lead WTS into the rapidly changing and diversifying world of theological education.
“WTS has an incredible history,” Dr. Theonugraha says. “My prayer is that I can extend and deepen that history so WTS continues to be a place that prepares women and men who are called by God to lead the church in mission, and do so in a way that is mindful and responsive to our time and place in God’s story—such as the increasing ethnic diversity in our country and the growth of the church in the Global South and East.”
Dr. Theonugraha will draw upon the call of Jesus to shepherd and serve the institution to continue its mission, participating in God’s ongoing redemptive work in the world.
WTS Presidents Through the Years
(There were no presidents from 1866 to 1894)
John Walter Beardslee, President of the Faculty 1894-1916
James F. Zwemer, President of the Faculty 1917-1921
Evart John Blekkink, President of the Faculty and President of the Seminary 1921-1924
John E. Kuizenga, President 1924-1930
Siebe C. Nettinga, President 1930-1938
Jacob Van der Meulen, President 1939-1942
John R. Mulder, President 1942-1960
Harold N. Englund, Acting President 1960-1962
Herman J. Ridder, President 1963-1971
Lester J. Kuyper, Interim President 1971-1973
I. John Hesselink, President 1973-1985
Marvin D. Hoff, President 1985-1994
Dennis N. Voskuil, President 1994-2008
Timothy L. Brown, President 2008-2019
Felix Theonugraha, President 2019-
Leadership Team
Felix Theonugraha
President and Professor of Educational Leadership
Kristen Deede Johnson
Dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs, G.W. and Edna Haworth Professor of Educational Ministries and Leadership
Andy Bast
Director of Development
Anne Chanski
Director of Marketing and Communications
Jonathan Dockery
Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance
Rayetta Perez
Director of Administration and Human Resources, Title IX Coordinator
Lindsay Porter
Executive Assistant
