Charles has served as the Director of Congregational Care since May 2011.

The son of Dutch immigrants to Canada, Charles grew up in the Christian Reformed Church (CRC); always a “religious kid,” he loved going to church twice a Sunday, Sunday School classes, Vacation Bible School, Wednesday evening Heidelberg Catechism instruction, deep theological discussions with his dad and Opa (grandfather). Except for Jonathan Edwards, then John Calvin, he believes that the early twentieth century Dutch theologians were the best!

He has a Bachelors Degree in Psychology from Calvin College (now University), 1980. He felt the call to ministry in 1981, studied for and received a Masters of Divinity (M.Div., 1987) from Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan. While serving his third church, he was able to pursue a Masters of Theology in Church History (Th.M., 2008), doing his thesis on Jonathan Edwards. He also completed half of a Ph.D. in Church History, but withdrew from the program in 2010.

Ordained to the ministry in the CRC on December 4, 1987, Charles has served three other churches: Archer Avenue CRC, Chicago, IL; Grace CRC, Burke, VA; and Riverside CRC, Grand Rapids, MI.

Charles enjoys writing. He completed two month-long devotionals for Today, a ministry of The Back to God Hour (July, 1996 and July 2005). In September 2024, his first book was published, titled From Glory To Glory: The Imitation of Christ for Cultural Engagement, about God’s calling on all Christ-followers to glorify God in every aspect of their lives, to serve faithfully as culture-makers in and for their local culture.

While writing is fun (he plans to turn his thesis into a book next), for other fun Charles bikes a lot (a minimum of 200 miles a month), hikes; he was playing hockey again until he got injured. He loves live music concerts, reading, good movies, and watching hockey (favorite team: Montreal Canadiens—of course!).

He has five children: Samuel, Elisabeth, Aaron, Lydia, and Grace.