Rev. Dr. Hans Kouwenberg, Calvin, Abbotsford, British Columbia
Kouwenberg came to his current charge after 20 years at St. Giles, Prince George, B.C. He has served on a number of the church’s national committees, including the Assembly Council and the Task Force for the Revision of The Book of Praise. He has been clerk and moderator of the Synod of British Columbia and moderator of the Presbyteries of Kamloops and Westminster. Currently the convener of the Board of St. Andrew’s Hall and a member of the Committee on Theological Education, Kouwenberg has served as a member of the governing bodies of all three of the church’s theological colleges. In 2005, the Presbyterian College, Montreal, awarded him an honorary D.D. He has also been the editor of Channels and a contributing editor to the Record.
Kouwenberg currently teaches literature at a Bible College in Abbotsford and is convener of a Regional Health Spiritual Care Advisory Council. He has served on several Christian community boards, and has acted as a chaplain for the Royal Canadian Legion and for correctional services.
Hans is married to Colleen, a learning assistance teacher; they are both survivors of cancer; and have three grown children: Jonathan, in the Canadian Navy; Joanna, a veterinarian; and Jennifer, studying medicine. He enjoys movies, choral music and collecting first edition C.S. Lewis books.
1. What did you think when you found out that you were nominated?
“I was surprised–one never expects these things–honoured, delighted and humbled. As I was nominated some years ago, in 1991, in fact, for the 118th General Assembly, I know that there is a process to be followed: several Presbyteries need to nominate you, so I am thankful to know that, after all these years, I still seem to have several friends across the church! I realize there will also need to be a time of discernment for the wider church. If it is God’s will and the Church’s will that I be asked to serve in this capacity I am willingly and gladly prepared to serve our Lord.”
2. What would you bring to the position?
“Although I grew up in southern Ontario, a province I love for its history and proximity to Quebec, I have been blessed to serve Christ and his Church in two happy, healthy, growing, transforming congregations in a very beautiful part of the country: St. Giles’ Presbyterian Church, Prince George, in the central part of the province of B.C., and in Calvin Presbyterian Church, Abbotsford, in the fabled lower mainland. Both congregations have, by the grace of God, been able to move from being single, pastor-led congregations to multi-staff, paid and volunteer ministry team-led congregations, as they have clarified their vision, goals and strategies to serve a wider constituency in the communities in which they have found themselves.
“I’ve also been interested to discover how God has led me in my ministry.
“When I graduated from Knox College, I thought I’d eventually do doctoral work in theology and end up teaching in a college or university setting; instead, God has given me a love for the general practice of ministry. In the middle of my ministry, I’ve taken doctoral studies in congregational renewal at Fuller Theological Seminary, in Pasadena, CA, with special emphasis on ‘bridging the traditional-contemporary gap’ that so often develops in congregations which seek to transform themselves in following God’s purposes.
“Little did I think when I was first a student minister for two summers in 1968 and 1969 in a pioneer Hungarian community called Bekevar, in Kipling, Saskatchewan, where the people graciously allowed me to “try on ministry” to see if I liked it or could do it, that I would end up being privileged to serve a former Hungarian congregation that has transformed itself into an English speaking congregation, with people from many different ethnic and denominational backgrounds, in Abbotsford, B.C. Little did I think that both congregations I would serve would also host a Korean, and, in the case of Calvin Church, both a Korean and a Slavic congregation. God’s providence is awesome!
“I have been privileged to be able to serve Christ and the wider church in local, regional and national capacities. This has enlarged my own vision and perception of what God and his people can do. People have been kind enough to ask for my opinion and have welcomed my leadership in ways that I would never have imagined. I have moderated and convened many meetings; I would hope to moderate the General Assembly well.
3. What would be your theme(s) for your moderatorial year?
“I am grateful for and deeply aware of the benefits of belonging to a connectional, mainstream church, with a fine Canadian history and its important Presbyterian and Reformed distinctives. I am passionate about the local church, the preaching-teaching ministry, and the pastorate–visiting and being among God’s people. I have learned much about the power of a loving, compassionate congregation, full of faith, and with hope for the future. I am keen to share the little I have learned about what helps churches that are ‘dying for change’ become churches of the 21st century, engaging our culture and community for Christ.
“I am committed to working with and enhancing the governance of the elders among us. In the two congregations I have served, I have been blessed with two fine, dynamic, growing eldership teams. It is the elders, elected by God’s people, who can carry a congregation forward. As the Convener of the Advisory Council which worked with the exciting, first three-year pilot project of the ground-breaking Elders’ Institute of St. Andrew’s Hall, in Vancouver, dreamed and developed by Dr. Brian Fraser and directed by Erin Crisfield, and as the current Convener of the Board of Governors of St. Andrew’s Hall, well aware of the wonderful work done by our current Director of the Elders’ Institute, Dr. Roberta Clare and her staff, I would like to help continue to lift up the things that provoke elders and other leaders in the church to better and greater service for our Lord.”
4. What do you think are the church’s current strengths, challenges?
“Belonging to a connectional, ‘mainstream church with an evangelical heart’ (Calvin Church’s motto), with a fine Canadian history, and important Presbyterian and Reformed distinctives; yet, which includes ‘saints from every tribe and language and people and nation’ (Rev. 5:9b).
“Like William Willimon, the United Methodist Bishop of Alabama, I see ‘the greatest, timeless challenge facing the local church’ as the same one we’ve never quite met in the past 2,000 years: to enable our congregations to be half as interesting [and compassionate] as Jesus!”
