Richard E. Sytsma
Dean of Students and International Student Adviser (2000)
A.B. (Calvin College, 1964)
B.D., Th.M. (Calvin Theological Seminary, 1967, 1991)
M.A. (University of Michigan, 1977)
Richard Sytsma was born in Denver, Colorado. He spent eight of his childhood years in Japan as the son of missionaries. Richard served under Christian Reformed Home Missions from1967 to 1968 as an InterVarsity Christian Fellowship staff worker in California. After his ordination as a minister in the Christian Reformed Church Richard returned to Japan as a missionary with Christian Reformed World Missions. From 1968 to 2000 Richard served in Japan as a campus pastor, church planter, and field director. It is this rich experience that informs Richard's role as dean of students and international student advisor. Richard's goals are to help students develop godly character, to be available to serve the seminary students and community, and to make Calvin Theological Seminary a welcoming place for international students.
"As dean of students, my first goal is to encourage students in the area of developing godly character. We cannot serve God well unless we are walking closely with him and daily receiving his strength and grace. We must demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in our lives in order to see fruit in our ministry. So faithful use of the individual and communal spiritual disciplines must accompany diligent study and on-the-job training. All of us-faculty, staff, and students alike -need to grow in this area of spiritual formation. My prayer is that we can all help each other to learn from our teacher, the Holy Spirit."
Richard is married to Sandra. They have three grown children and two grandchildren.
Curriculum Vitae (show | hide)
RICHARD ERWIN SYTSMA
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts, 1964
- Residence hall counselor
- Student body president
Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, MI
Bachelor of Divinity, 1967
Field Experience:
- First CRC, Salt Lake City, Utah, summer 1965
- Calvin CRC, Rock Valley, Iowa, summer 1966
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Master of Arts in Japanese Studies, 1977
Master’s Essay: The Short-Lived Christian Pilgrimage of Arishima Takeo
Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, MI
Master of Theology in Missiology, 1991
Master’s Thesis: The Message of Forgiveness of Sin in the Japanese Context
EMPLOYMENT, PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE S.W.I.M. AND SERVICE
S.W.I.M. Team Leader, First CRC, Salt Lake City, Utah, summer 1964
Radio announcer for Sunday evening worship services, Bethel CRC, Grand Rapids, MI, 1964-1965
Christian Reformed Home Missions
- Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship Staff, San Jose, CA, 1967-1968
- Ordination as minister in CRCNA, Grace CRC, Kalamazoo, MI 1968
Christian Reformed World Missions, Missionary to Japan, 1968-2000
- Japanese language study 1968-1970
- KGK (Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship of Japan) Staff, Tokyo, 1970-1972
- Church Planter: Soka, Takesato, Koshigaya, Numazu, Atsugi, Misato, Tanashi, Kunitachi, 1973-2000
- Christian Reformed Japan Mission Field Director 1988-2000
- Other Service:
- Special lecturer in missions, Kobe Reformed Seminary, Kobe; Missionary Training Institute, Seoul, Korea; and International Graduate School of Theology, Seoul, Korea
- Auditor, Christian Academy in Japan Board of Directors, Tokyo
- Board member, Shizuoka Center of Evangelism for the Blind Board of Directors, Shizuoka
- Board member, Holy Grace Rehabilitation Center Board of Directors, Takehara
- Chairman, Japan Christian Quarterly/Japan Christian Review Publication Committee
- Member of Executive Committee, Fellowship of Christian Missionaries—Japan
Calvin Theological Seminary, Dean of Students and International Student Advisor, 2000-present
Installation as associate minister at Woodlawn CRC, Grand Rapids, MI, April 21, 2002
PAPERS AND PUBLISHED MATERIALS
“Between Church and Campus,” The Banner: November 2, 1979, pp.21-22.
“A Comparative Portrait of Two Meiji Patriots: Tokutomi and Uchimura,” The Japan Christian Quarterly: Fall 1977, pp.222-230.
“The Contemporary Lay Apostolate,” in Equipping the Laity for Service.
19th Annual Hayama Seminar, Tokyo, 1978, pp.41-70.
“The Church’s Evangelistic Task in Japanese Society,” Japan Christian Quarterly: Summer 1975, pp.165-175.
“The Cross and Crescent in Crisis,” Calvin Theological Seminary Kerux, Vol. 36, Issue 8 (January 28, 2002): p.4.
“From the World to West Michigan,” Calvin Theological Seminary Forum, Vol. 9 No. 1 (Winter 2002): p. 15.
“God Is Our Refuge,” Calvin Theological Seminary Forum, Vol. 8 No. 3 (Winter 2001): pp.7-8.
“God’s Silence in Japan,” The Banner: October 5, 1992, pp14-15.
“The Growth of the Reformed Church in Japan: A Statistical Study,” 1987, 61 pages, paper written at Calvin Theological Seminary for CRWM.
“History of the Christian Reformed Japan Mission,” 1987, 114 pages, paper written at Calvin Theological Seminary for CRWM.
“History of the Christian Reformed Church in North America,” Majiwari (Fellowship), No. 109 (January/February, 1975): pp. 10-14; No. 110 (March, 1975): pp. 10-18, translated by Toshio Onishi (in Japanese).
“The Message of Forgiveness of Sin in the Japanese Context,” 1990, 116 pages, Master’s thesis, Calvin Theological Seminary.
“Our 'Kamikaze' Sailing Adventure“ in Persevering in Ministry: Pastors Tell Their Stories. Edited by Joel Kok. Grand Rapids: Christian Reformed Church in North America, 2004, pp. 79-87.
“Our Return to Jerusalem,” Majiwari (Fellowship), No. 422 (June, 2001): pp.12-13 (in Japanese).
“A Predestined Visa Approval,“ The Banner, Volume 140, Number 5 (May, 2005), 27.
Review of Postwar Trends in Japan, edited by Shunichi Takayanagi and Kimitada Miwa. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 1975 in The Japan Christian Quarterly: Winter 1978, pp.53-54.
“The Rewards of Missionary Service,” Calvin Theological Seminary Kerux, Vol. 36, Issue 4 (October 29, 2001): pp.1, 6.
“Seminarians Reflect on Calvin Theological Seminary,” CRC Source, Vol.9, No.1 (Spring 2002): p.7.
“Seminary Students Get a Taste of Missions,” CRC Source, Vol.7, No.2 (Spring 2002): p.9.
“Sin, Shame, and Forgiveness,” (Commencement Address, Kobe Reformed Seminary 1991) Reformed Theology, Vol. XXIII (1992), pp. 3-23 (in Japanese).
“The Walk of the Christian Reformed Japan Mission, Part 1” in Senkyo: Chuo Senkyo Kenkyusho Kiyou (Mission: Reformed Church in Japan Central Mission Research Institute Bulletin), No. 23 (Takehara, Japan: Holy Grace Rehabilitation Center Press, October 10, 1998, 1-54, translated by Setsuko Yoshioka (in Japanese).
“The Walk of the Christian Reformed Japan Mission, Part 2” in Senkyo: Chuo Senkyo Kenkyusho Kiyou (Mission: Reformed Church in Japan Central Mission Research Institute Bulletin), No. 25 (Takehara, Japan: Holy Grace Rehabilitation Center Press, October 10, 2000, 3-72, translated by Setsuko Yoshioka (in Japanese).
“The Walk of the Christian Reformed Japan Mission, Part 3” in Senkyo: Chuo Senkyo Kenkyusho Kiyou (Mission: Reformed Church in Japan Central Mission Research Institute Bulletin), No. 26 (Takehara, Japan: Holy Grace Rehabilitation Center Press, October 15, 2001), 61-88, translated by Setsuko Yoshioka (in Japanese).
“The Walk of the Christian Reformed Japan Mission, Its History and Issues” in Advance of the Gospel (Takehara, Japan: Holy Grace Rehabilitation Center Press, 2001), 12-67, translated by Setusko Yoshioka (in Japanese).
“Worship in the CRCNA,” Paper presented at the Reformed Church in Japan Office-bearers Conference 1992 (in Japanese).
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Baptized in First CRC, Denver, Colorado, 1942
Lived in Japan as son of missionaries, 1952-1960
Made profession of faith, Kawagoe Reformed Church, Kawagoe, Japan, 1960
Married Sandra Kaye Benthem, June 10, 1966
Three children: Andrew, Tena, and David; two grandchildren
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