Distinguished Alumni: Stanley Workman
Published by Calvin Seminary
Stanley Workman
Stan Workman was born and raised in Muskegon, Michigan. He and his wife Mary Lee raised four children; today, they are blessed with thirteen grandchildren and seven great- grandchildren. Stan graduated from West Michigan Christian in 1962, Calvin College in 1966, and Calvin Seminary in 1969.
Stan was ordained in 1969 and served the CRC as a pastor for the next forty-five years. He shepherded churches in Kalamazoo, Michigan; Olympia, Washington; and Orlando, Florida. Alongside his pastoral work and preaching, Stan devoted his energies to leadership development and church planting. As part of these ministries, Stan worked with twenty-three interns from Calvin Seminary and Reformed Theological Seminary. By God’s grace, this labor produced spiritual fruit: eleven of the interns got involved in church planting, and the local church served as the parent church for twelve church plants.
In addition to working tirelessly at the local level, Stan was engaged in multiple activities at the regional and national levels. His ministry commitments included:
Coaching pastors throughout the U.S.
Serving five years as part-time Regional Director for Classis Southeast
Serving twenty years as Ministry Coordinator for Classis Southeast
Serving as part of Kingdom Enterprise Zone with CRC/RCA
Serving as a delegate to Synod ten times
Serving on multiple denominational boards and committees
Serving as a regional representative for the Development team of Calvin Seminary
Reflecting on his life in ministry, Stan says that “All the work with interns, coaching, committees and pastoral care was always a two-way process, with me learning just as much as I gave. It was a challenging but satisfying career that I would do again.”
To the 2022 Calvin Seminary graduates, Stan offered these words of encouragement: “You are about to step into an exciting and rewarding career of presenting the Good News of the Gospel. Work hard, stay positive, and enjoy! Never forget it’s not about you, it’s about Christ. It’s His church, not yours. And always remember to ‘trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths straight’ (Proverbs 3:5-6).”
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