Redeemer is led by a team of ‘elders’. We believe that this is what we see as the model set out for church leadership in the New Testament. The history of the early church (as seen in the book of Acts) shows apostles planting new churches and appointing local elders to continue the local work (e.g. Acts 14v23). These elders must meet clear strict requirements (1 Timothy 3; Titus 1; Titus 2; 1 Peter 5), which can be summed up in the following definition:
“An elder is a man who is called and gifted by God, who together with the other elders has the responsibility for leading a local church, and is: shaped by apostolic ministry, able to lead himself, able to lead his family and able to lead his local church.” (PJ Smyth, The World Needs More Elders, God First, 2008, pp. 11.)
How are elders appointed?
The Biblical process is that God calls and equips them, then that calling and competence is seen by other people, and then they are recognized and set in place.
For this to happen:
– The person must recognize their calling and gifting to be an elder;
– Those who will be served by the new leader must confirm their gifting (Acts 6);
– Existing authorities (e.g. apostles) should confirm what others have seen (Acts 6; Galatians 2).
Who are the redeemer leaders?
Chris Taylor
Chris leads the team of elders in Redeemer. Originally from Botswana, he lived in South Africa and the UK before moving to Holland with his family in 2010. Apart from being passionate about Redeemer(!), Chris loves sport, travel, and photography. Chris is married to Karin, and together they have three children.
Tjitze Weststrate
Tjitze is a proper Dutchie and loves being part of an International Church. Besides his business job he: loves leading worship, oversees the church’s finances, loves to play (and mostly watch) sports, and to spend time with his family and doing some DIY! Tjitze is married to Elsbeth and together they have one son and two daughters.
Tom Kleinhout
Tom used to work as a researcher for a science company. Tom’s role is the Redeemer staff team is to focus on preaching, Academy and overseeing Redeemer The Hague. His natural curiosity extends to food, brewing beer, history, travelling and having coffee with Tineke, his wife. They have two daughters.
Bram Kersten
Bram loves Jesus and the word of God. He is married to Lisanne and they have two daughters, Joy and Naomi. Throughout the week Bram works as an entrepreneur in the media world and owns his own video production company. Besides his passion for the gospel you can ask him to barbeque at any time of the year. We call him the ‘Grill Master’ for a reason.
Pieter Jan Boot
Pieter Jan is a man longing to see more of Jesus in The Hague. He is married to Elsbeth Joy and together they have two sons. Pieter Jan is overseeing the pastoral ministry in Redeemer.