Opening and Roll Call
The chairman of the Board, Rev. John Louwerse, welcomed all present. He led in opening devotions. All governors were present. This includes Revs. John Louwerse, Joe Poppe, James Slaa, Jeff Temple, Clarence VanderVelde, Julius VanSpronsen, and brothers Adrian Bartels, Alan Datema, Herman Post, Peter Vandersluis, and Kasper VanVeen. Dr. Jason Van Vliet was present as Principal and administrative assistant Leanne Kuizenga was present to take the minutes of the meeting.
Memorabilia
Information was shared about the personal circumstances of emeriti professors, as well as widows and families of professors. This includes sisters Deddens, DeJong, and Gootjes, and Drs. and sisters deVisser, Van Dam, and Visscher. Of particular note, we may report that sister Dinie Gootjes has been invited to attend a symposium hosted in honour of Dr. N. H. Gootjes by former students of his in Korea. An update was given on how Dr. Ted Van Raalte is recovering well after quintuple bypass heart surgery.
Minutes and Agenda
The minutes of the meeting held on January 11, 2024 were approved. The agenda for the meeting was established. The action log was reviewed.
Decisions, Reports, Agenda Items
- Since our last meeting, Dr. Jannes Smith has accepted his appointment as Vice-Principal for two years. A Memorandum of Understanding with the churches in South Africa concerning the support of their students was updated. It was adopted after a small change. A proposal was presented for the process of finding a new Vice-Principal, recognizing that it is advantageous for someone to serve as Vice-Principal before filling the Principal role, if possible. The Board adopted this proposal for inclusion in the Handbook.
- A decision was made by email resolution to approve a new CRTS handbook structure. This gave those appointed to work through the Handbook opportunity to do a thorough revision of the handbook and come with proposals to this meeting. The decision to review the Handbook with all our policy governance documents is part of our commitment made to the Association for Theological Schools (ATS) to do a full review of all CRTS’s policies and procedures (report due November 2025).
- A decision was made by email resolution to approve of the 2023 audited financial statements for the seminary, to have them submitted to the Canadian Revenue Agency by June 30.
- Since our last meeting the Board gave approval for our principal to sign a letter to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. This letter was signed by 22 accredited degree granting post-secondary Christian institutions across Canada, opposing some of the new limits set on student visas for international students. These limits have the potential to prevent international students from entering our BTh program, but international students are still able to join our MDiv program. Both masters and doctoral programs are exempt from the new limits on visas. No response has been received from the government.
- Dr. Reuben Bredenhof sent the Board a response to its inquiries about the workload of administering the Pastoral Training Program. Since he has not been in this role long enough to fully know the workload demands, he proposed to allow him to administer the program for a full year before sending in a review. This was gratefully accepted.
- A 2024-25 email address list of all those involved with CTRS was distributed.
- The seminary’s strategic plan was reviewed. Faculty succession remains an area of concern for the Board. There is a real need for ministers and graduating students from CRTS to pursue further studies to get training to potentially serve as future professors. We have three of our five professors reaching the age of retirement in the next 10-15 years. A letter has been sent to the Church Councils about this, and an article has been printed in Clarion to raise awareness. The Board decided that it would be beneficial for the Senate to identify graduating students and ministers deemed suitable for further studies and for faculty and governors to reach out to them and personally encourage them to consider further studies. The Senate was also asked to develop a pathway document that would provide some guidance for how prospective doctoral students figure out where to study and who might be available as doctoral supervisors. The Board reviewed input from the survey it had sent out to the councils of the churches earlier this year, asking how financial support for further studies should be organized. There was a strong sense that the federation should support this, at least in part. Therefore, a committee was appointed. A committee was appointed to investigate how to structure a bursary fund for those pursuing further studies, and the Board plans to submit a supplementary proposal to Synod 2025 about this.
- A letter was received from the Australian deputies communicating the decisions of the recent Australian Synod. In this letter the Australian Synod expressed it deep appreciation for the work undertaken by CRTS in the training of men to faithfully serve as ministers of the Word. Synod also made a decision about the potential development of an Australian Affiliate Campus. This decision makes clear that this is a longer-term project that requires a collaborative approach. We expect to hear further from the Australian deputies about this as they deal with their mandate given by Synod.
- The Board decided to conduct the next strategic planning session in September 2025 and made some arrangements for this.
- The minutes of the Academic Committee meeting held on September 3, 2024 were presented for information. Revs. James Slaa and Julius VanSpronsen reported on lecture visits to CRTS in March, 2024. They also reported on visits with the professors and students. The Board received this report with thankfulness.
- The Finance and Property Committee presented an annual report on their activities. They presented the CRTS proposed budget for 2025, and it was approved. The Board approved the transfer of $16,000 from the general fund to the library fund (a standard, annual transfer). The Finance and Property Committee formally presented the financial statements for 2023; these had already been approved by email resolution. With thankfulness it was noted that the renovation of faculty office areas was completed this past summer. The annual assessment for 2024 was set at $101 per communicant member, a $1 per cm increase from last year. Minutes of the Finance and Property Committee’s meetings since our last Board meeting were presented for information.
- CRTS’s health and safety policy was reviewed to ensure that the entire CRTS community fulfils CRTS’s occupational health and safety commitments.
- Margaret Alkema joined the meeting to provide background and answer questions regarding our contact with the Association for Theological Schools (ATS), and in her role as assessment coordinator, and for the material concerning governance since she contributed to the work on this. A draft report was submitted regarding how CRTS deals with diversity. This report was already presented and our stance on diversity was already approved at the last meeting (see January 2024 brief report). This report is approved for submission to the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). The Board decided that members serving on the Board of Governor must be male communicant members in good standing (since their responsibility includes supervision of our faculty who are ministers of the Word). This decision will be sent to Synod 2025 with explanation for affirmation.
- The Board took note of the ATS Institutional Peer Profile and a Strategic Information Report, comparing CRTS to other similarly sized seminaries. The Board discussed the Annual Report of the Assessment Coordinator, minutes from assessment day 2024 and a metrics report we use to gauge how the seminary is doing in specific matters. These reports were received with thankfulness. The Board noted that (also) preparatory exams are now being dealt with by different Classes in the federation. Policies between various Classes are not consistent, especially with respect to the specifics of how exams are organized. We recognize that each Classis has its own authority to regulate how they administer exams. Yet for the sake of our seminary students the Board requested the Senate to take up contact with the exam organizers of various Classes, so that there is some more consistency in how examinations are administered.
- The Governance Committee proposed a series of changes to the CRTS handbook due to a comprehensive review of our Handbook. Any policy in the handbook that had not been reviewed or updated in the past five years was reviewed. A long list of proposed changes was adopted by the Board (with some minor modifications). The Bylaws of CRTS were updated. Part of the reason for this was to bring our bylaws into compliance with the Ontario Not-for-profit Corporations Act. Much of the material that was formerly in the Bylaws was included in the Handbook (when the bylaws were first adopted, we did not have a Handbook). There were changes made to reflect our actual practises and to update language. The Bylaws will be sent to Synod for its affirmation. Margaret Alkema was thanked for all her work and left the meeting.
- Dr. Jason Van Vliet presented a principal’s report. He highlighted the thankfulness of faculty for their renovated offices. He updated the Board on the health and work of professors (including our retired professors) and staff. He gave an update on the students expected in September (see Registrar’s report below). He updated what books faculty and retired professors are working on, including some material recently published or close to publication. He outlined plans for the seminary to connect with the churches and prospective students. He reported on ways in which he has worked to reduce the principal’s workload. His report was received with thankfulness.
- The chairman reported on an evaluation of the principal’s work. Fruitful discussions were held with faculty and staff. With Dr. Van Vliet’s input, an action plan was adopted to help Dr. Van Vliet further hone his leadership of CRTS. The Board is very thankful for the competent leadership Dr. Jason Van Vliet provides at CRTS.
- Dr. Jannes Smith presented a proposal for a full sabbatical, which would begin in January 2025. Our principal provided an evaluation of the proposal. The Board adopted the proposal wishing Dr. Smith a productive but also restful time as he is relieved of most of his day-to-day teaching responsibilities. The Board arranged for the reassignment of some of his administrative tasks during his sabbatical.
- Our faculty provided a report on the courses they taught in the 2023-24 academic year. This 14-page report provides a comprehensive report on the primary function of our professors in teaching and preparing men to serve in the ministry. This report was received with much thankfulness.
- The Registrar, Dr. Arjan De Visser, provided a report on student enrollment. Seven senior students are graduating this September, and eight new students are enrolled in the freshman class beginning their studies. The Lord willing, we will have 30 full time students and two part time students at the beginning of the 2024-25 academic year. This includes 28 students in the Master of Divinity program, as well as full and part time students in the Bachelor of Theology and Diploma of Theological Studies programs.
- Our librarian, sister Margaret Alkema provided a Librarian report. A total of about $59,000 was spent on the library this past year. A significant portion of the funds are used to support digital subscriptions. This report was received with thankfulness.
- The Website Committee reported on the use of the CRTS website, CRTS’s social media presence, and the Heidelberg Catechism website, which continues to be used widely throughout the world. Plans for a major update of the CRTS website and possibilities of providing catechism resources in Karen and Spanish were shared. This report was received with thankfulness.
- Minutes of the Convocation Committee were provided. An update was provided by the Faber-Holwerda Bursary Fund Committee. The Publication Committee reported on the upcoming publication of a book by Dr. Cornelis Van Dam on education.
- The Foreign Student Bursary Fund presented their report. With thankfulness they reported that the churches, as well as various individuals, have responded very generously to the special request for financial support for the South African students. They reported that during the past three years about $182,000 was raised from the churches and $191,000 from individuals. Gratefulness was expressed for the positive response to this need among the South African and other students. The balance of the fund was about $346,000 on June 30, 2024, and it is estimated that about $144,000 expenses in the coming year. Funds will continue to be required for these and other new students attending CRTS in the coming years.
- A draft report to Synod 2025 was presented. It needs to be finalized and submitted to the convening church by November 5, 2024. The Board decided that it will review this report before it is submitted to Synod.
- Dr. Ted Van Raalte reported on a tour of the churches in British Columbia. Dr. Gerhard Visscher reported on a conference for pastors he attended in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. William den Hollander reported on his attendance at the Timothy Trust Conference held in Ottawa, Ontario. Our librarian, Margaret Alkema reported on her attendance at an Association of Christian Librarians Conference held near St. Paul, Minnesota. Dr. Reuben Bredenhof reported on his attendance at the Association for Biblical Counselling in Fort Worth, Texas. These reports were received with thankfulness.
Press release and closing.
The completion of the Press Release was delegated to the vice-chairman in consultation with the Executive and the Principal. Brother Adrian Bartels closed the meeting with prayer.
On behalf of the Board of Governors of the Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary,
Rev. Joe Poppe (Vice-chairman/Corresponding Clerk)