Timothy Leadership Training Institute
3233 Burton SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546
Phone: (616) 957-6094
Fax: (616) 957-6102
Email: tlt@timothyleadershiptraining.org
William (Bud) Ipema
Director
bud@ipemas.net
Biography
Rev. William Ipema, known to most as Bud, has been an outspoken figure on North American causes for the past three decades. It was in the early 1960's that he left a successful career in construction and decided to pursue ministry. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Calvin College and a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Calvin Theological Seminary. Since then his experience in urban ministry is vast and varied. He was founder and president of goodcity™ (formerly Mid-American Leadership Foundation) where he oversaw the development of the successful economic, housing, youth and capacity building initiatives involving many faith- and community-based organizations.
Rev. Ipema was the Director of the Chicago-Orleans Housing Corporation, vice-president of Leadership Foundation of America, co-director of the Synodical Committee on Race Relations of the CRCNA and was the founder of the Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education. He has also been active on many boards nationwide serving such diverse interests as programs for inner-city students, justice advocacy, urban and community development, street ministry and international ministry.
He is currently the Director of Timothy Leadership Training Institute after retiring not only once from his various roles, but twice! He has been happily married to his wife Donna for 50 years. They have three grown children and seven grandchildren. Together they enjoy playing pinochle, golfing and traveling. They reside in River Forest, IL and Holland, MI.
Harold Kallemeyn
Regional Director for Francophone Africa
Biography
Harold has been engaged in French speaking ministry for over 35 years in France, Quebec and francophone Africa. Born and raised in the Chicago area he has travelled and lived the world wide. After graduating from Calvin College in 1972 he did youth work with Operation Mobilization in France and studied theology in Paris. In the 1980's he lived and worked in Montreal, Quebec as a church-planter. With a Master of Theology in church history from the Free Evangelical Seminary in Paris and a Doctor of Philosophy in Pastoral Theology, he taught for 16 years at the Reformed Seminary in Aix-en-Province, France until 2005. Still based in France, he now works with CRWM and Timothy Institute as the Coordinator for French speaking Africa. Harold travels regularly to Africa to implement Timothy Leadership Training in the twenty French speaking countries of that continent.
"My goal is to implement a self-sustaining TLT program in each of those countries by 2013. My motivation is Timothy Institute's response to the historic unprecedented need for Christian leadership training around the world."
Harold has been married to his wife, Elsbeth, for 33 years and even before they were married, they shared the commitment to mission work in the French speaking world. They have three adult children who live in Canada and United States.
Gary Schipper
Regional Director for Latin America and Eastern Europe
gschipper@timothyleadershiptraining.org
Gary is Timothy Institute's Master Trainer and Program Developer. He is a recent addition to the staff and works part-time. The other half of his time is spent pastoring a Christian Reformed Church in Indianapolis, IN. He has been married to his wife, Rosemary, for 34 years and they have four grown children and three grandchildren.
Gary joins Timothy Institute with a significant background in both cross-cultural missions and non-traditional education. He graduated from Kuyper College, Calvin College and Fuller Theological Seminary with a focus on leadership development systems in a mission's setting.
He ministered in various Central American countries for eleven years with Christian Reformed World Missions and also worked with Christian Reformed Home Missions for twelve years teaching and organizing non-formal leadership training networks around the USA. In addition, he has pastored churches in both Texas and Indiana.
It is obvious that Gary is deeply passionate about pastoral leadership training and feels a particular burden for thousands of men and women around the world who have limited access to quality Christian preparation. He desires to see Timothy Leadership Training spread with effectiveness and creative non-dependency to many cultures and countries where the need is desperate and the church is growing. He is grateful for TLT's vision and proven, results-oriented track record. Pray that Gary will be an effective servant to the Sprit-call emerging leadership in the Church of Jesus Christ.
Munyiva Annah Kitavi
Regional Director for East and Southern Africa
makitavi@timothyleadershiptraining.org
Biography
Dr. Munyiva Wa Kitavi joined our staff in September 2008. She is the Coordinator for East and Southern Africa. Born and raised in Kenya, she comes to us with a wealth of cross-cultural ministry experience. She has spent much time in the classroom, both in Africa and in the United States, as an elementary and secondary school educator and has been involved in a number of programs, most recently as a reading specialist in Grand Rapids Public Schools. She is experienced in teaching and church-planting in cross-cultural settings and has helped to lead conferences and workshops on church leadership in African countries.
Munyiva wrote her doctoral thesis in Instructional Leadership using Timothy Leadership Training as her research base. She was the director of church ministries of the African Church in Grand Rapids, MI. Munyiva has been married to her husband, Mwaya, for 26 years and has four children. Today, both Munyiva and Mwaya reside in Kenya where they also oversee the work of Christian Reformed World Missions in the region. They leave behind their four young adult children.
"I am using the Timothy Leadership Training to empower churches to become self sustaining as they work together within the local church, and across denominations. My goal is to see the present master trainers hold training with all denominations represented. I believe that sound church leadership training is key to self sustaining churches."
Julie Baker is a published author (five books with David C. Cook Publishing, Colorado Springs), a published songwriter (Shawnee Press), Christian recording artist (eight CDs), and for 12 years was the president of a national women's ministry called TimeOut for Women. TimeOut held over 80 leadership conferences to over 80,000 women in that time-frame. Julie is a former high school English teacher, college administrator, and leadership trainer for Fortune 500 companies. Julie is married to Paul (36 years) and they have two adult children who are married. Julie splits her time at TLTI providing friend and fund-rising activities and assisting pastors who train with TLTI in the North American regions.
Ver Bernardino
Regional Director for Asia
vbernardino@timothyleadershiptraining.org
Biography
Ver completed his Timothy Leadership Training and became the first Master Trainer in Asia. Bud Ipema trained and awarded him the certificate in one of his trips to the Philippines. Later, Bud invited him to join the Institute. Ver now serves as the Regional Director for Asia. He brings to the Institute his wealth of experience in dialogue education.
Ver first realized that he was being called into ministry in 1987 while serving as Director of Dorcas Cottage Industries, a project started by the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC). A simple question from a CRWRC Country Consultant, “Have you ever thought about going into ministry?” spiraled into conversations with friends and family, an M.Div from Asian Theological Seminary and coursework in the Master of Theology program at Calvin Theological Seminary. Ver has held several ministry positions including Church Planter, President of the Reformed Ministry Academy, CRC Philippines Synod President, Mentor, and many others. Currently, he serves as Pastor of Calauan Christian Reformed Church while serving the Timothy Institute half-time.
Ver is happily married to his wife, Marian. Together, they have three daughters: a set of twins, Gabrielle Grace and Danielle Joy, and their youngest, Michelle Ann.
Henry Personaire-Hogeterp
Master Trainer in West Africa
hperterp@timothyleadershiptraining.org
Our family has served in West Africa for the past 15 years with Christian Reformed World Missions. Two things that we've noticed are that the church in Africa is growing dramatically and that there is a huge need for leadership to facilitate this growth. While there are many training programs attempting to respond to this need, no program has responded like Timothy Leadership Training. When ever we offer a training the response is, "This training is not like other training programs!" We have seen many examples of TLT helping build a sustainable, healthy African churches. There are many, many stories to tell!
I'm very excited to have the opportunity to study the impact TLT has had on church and society in West Africa at the Akrofi Christaller Institute in Ghana. During this time I will continue to serve part time with TLT.
Cindy Kuipers
Administrator
ckuipers@timothyleadershiptraining.org
Biography
Cindy joined the Timothy Institute staff as an Administrative Assistant in January of 2007 and continues to work in the capacity of Administrator. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Calvin College. After graduating she worked in their Information Technology Department before beginning work with TLTI. Cindy gives direction to the administrative staff of the Timothy Institute and supports the ministry through strengthening and creating new relationship contacts.
Cindy and her husband, Chris, welcomed their daughter Claira into the world in April of 2006 and son Bryce in August of 2010. Chris is a math teacher at South Christian High School where he also coaches football. Much of their spare time is spent at football games where Cindy and Claira cheer Chris on as coach. Cindy also enjoys many outdoor activities such as running, hiking, camping, as well as staying indoors to bake or read a good book.

Ruth joyfully joined the Timothy Institute in May 2010. Previous to TLT, she earned her teaching degree from Calvin College and taught for two years in various Christian schools in and around Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. She and her husband, Bob, live in Caledonia, Michigan along with their 13 year old Beagle, Radar. Bob is currently working towards his Doctorate degree in Applied Statistics through Western Michigan University. In her spare time, Ruth enjoys reading, crocheting, and traveling.
Since joining TLT, Ruth has truly appreciated the passion and love that the staff and trainers have for the work they do. "I sincerely pray that God can use my simple gifts to assist others in advancing His kingdom. What a blessing it is to be a part of this organization!" Ruth is currently working in the TLT office, offering administrative assistance to the trainers, staff, and supporters of TLT and also doing her best to update and maintain the TLT website. Yep, she's the one to talk to with suggestsions or concerns about this site!





