Meet the Staff
Pastor Eric Verhulst, Sr. Pastor
Born in Grand Rapids, MI, Pastor Eric moved 8 times in the following 15 years, the last move being back to Grand Rapids where he finished high school (1982 Grand Rapids Christian), college (1987 BA, History) and seminary (1991 M.Div). In 1991, he accepted the call to the Hull, North Dakota Christian Reformed Church and was ordained in October of that year. Four years later, in 1995, he was commissioned a Lieutenant, Junior Grade in the United States Navy Chaplain Corps. His first assignment was overseas in Sicily, followed by duty on the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73) and Naval Special Warfare Group 4 in the Norfolk, VA area. He deployed to the Middle East in both 2000 and 2003. Finally, in late 2003, he joined the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Marine Regiment and deployed with them to Iraq in 2004. In 2005, Pastor Eric transferred to the Navy Reserve and served 6 months with US Southern Command in Miami, FL. In February 2007 he was honorably discharged from the Navy and joined us here at Shalom.
In 1985 he married Barb Van Dyk, one of Rev. Fred Van Dyk’s daughters. They have three children – a daughter, Dana (born 1988) and sons Roger (born 1990) and Brant (born 1993) – who have heard all of Pastor Eric’s sea stories already. Click here to email Pastor Eric.
Pastor Steve Moerman, Associate Pastor
Pastor Steve grew up and lived in northwest Iowa for most of his life. He is married to Diane and they celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary this past June. They have four children: Debra, Sheryl, Sandra, and David. Before attending seminary and entering into the ministry, Steve and Diane were small business owners.
In 1996, Steve and Diane began their path into prison ministry. They began this path by participating in a Prison Fellowship weekend at the South Dakota State Penitentiary (SDSP) in Sioux Falls. Since that time they were part of many more PF weekends along with participating in the M-2 (Man-to-Man) and Crossroads Bible Institute programs. Before attending Calvin Seminary in Grand Rapids, Steve attended North American Baptist Seminary and served as an intern chaplain at SDSP with Chaplain Regan Beauchamp for nearly two years. Steve completed his seminary training and received an M-Div. degree in 2004. After graduation the doors opened up for Steve and his family to move back to the tri-state area.
With the support of Classis Iakota and a call from Shalom CRC, Steve has returned to the tri-state area to plant the Cornerstone Prison Church at the SDSP. He is excited about the opportunity to serve as a pastor to the men behind the walls. It is his hope and prayer that he will be able to share God’s love with them and help them to become faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.
Sarah Lieuwen, Adult & Family Ministry Director
Sarah was born and raised in Marshfield, WI. After high school, she attended Northwestern College in St. Paul, MN where she graduated in 2004 with a dual degree in Graphic Design and Bible. While at Northwestern she met and married Brady, after graduating they moved to Sioux Falls, Brady’s hometown. They have two children; Ella who is 5 and in Kindergarten at Sioux Falls Christian and Aaron “AJ” who is 1 1/2.
Sarah loves anything creative including scrapbooking, photography and crafts. She loves to cook and spend time with friends and family so entertaining and party planning is something she truly enjoys doing. Some of Sarah’s vices are reality TV shows, Birthday cake, and taking afternoon naps. And yes if you’ve been wondering she is a Green Bay Packer fan, cut her and she bleeds green & gold.
Sarah has been part of the Adult & Family Ministry team since joining Shalom in 2004 and is very excited to be able to share her talents and ideas with the members of Shalom. She has a desire to connect the members and grow the body of Christ. Click here to email Sarah.
Deb Vogel, Worship Coordinator
Deb grew up on a farm near Edgerton, MN and loved being outdoors with her dad as a child. She graduated from Southwest Christian High, and attended Dordt College and Central Michigan University, majoring in music education. At Dordt, she met and married Dayton Vogel. They taught in McBain, Michigan, later moving to Dayton’s hometown, Sibley, Iowa, where Deb taught at Sanborn and Ocheyedan Christian schools. The next move was to Vermillion for graduate school where Deb got her MM in Vocal Performance. They enjoyed being members of the small Christian Reformed outreach church while they were there. The last move was to Rock Valley to raise their two sons, Jon (20) and Jordan (18).
As well as keeping a private voice studio, Deb has taught voice at Dordt College since 1991 and also taught at Northwestern College for ten years. She was Worship Coordinator at Trinity CRC in Rock Valley for nine years.
Her favorite pastimes are cheering on her sons at basketball games, golfing with her husband, and doing Suduko puzzles to exercise her brain. Her passion is putting music and various creative elements together to form voice recitals, worship services or youth group shows. She is looking forward to learning and using the gifts of those at Shalom to help continue creating meaningful worship and praise to our God. Click here to email Deb.
DeAnna Anema, Children’s Ministry Director
DeAnna grew up in Rock Valley, Iowa where she enjoyed swimming, riding bike, and most of all having her dad teach her how to golf. She graduated from Western Christian High School, from there she attended Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa. She received her B.A. in elementary Education and an A.A. in Office Management. While she was there she married her high school sweetheart, Ryan. They moved to Sioux Falls after graduating so Ryan could start his career as a CPA.
DeAnna and Ryan have three beautiful children, Madelyn, Elijah and Paxton. In their spare time they enjoy golfing as a family, gardening, biking, and just hanging out. She also enjoys making cakes, it is a talent that God had hidden in her, and has turned into something wonderful.
She is excited to be able to serve the children that come to Shalom Christian Reformed Church. Click here to email DeAnna.
Dawn Woudstra, Admininstrative Assistant
Dawn grew up mostly in the midwest area. She graduated from Dordt College with a B.A. in Physical Education. Dawn & her husband, Jay, lived in California where whe worked as a Physical Therapist Assistant for 10 years and Jay taught at Central Valley Christian School. They moved to Sioux Falls in 2000. She began working at Shalom as the Administrative Assistant shortly after.
She enjoys working at Shalom, serving it’s members and the Lord in this capacity. Click here to email Dawn.
Chris Constant
I was born near Dixon, CA in the back seat of a 1965 Ford Mustang on the way to the hospital. I still have the newspaper articles. My dad was in the military and when he left he continued working for the government as a civilian. We moved around quite a bit in my younger years, but we settled down in Sioux Falls, SD where I went to Lincoln Senior High School. I attended National Business College out of high school and then went to Sioux Falls College (now the University of Sioux Falls) majoring in business and religious studies. Also, I taken courses from Moody Bible Institute and I am presently looking into continuing my education online over the coming years to stay abreast of the changing youth culture. I have been involved in youth and children’s ministry for almost 15 years and am so incredibly blessed that God has placed this calling upon my life.
Sharon and I were married in 2001 and at this time we have been unable to have children. We are trusting God for a miracle and are also looking into adoption. God has given us an amazing love for students. Parents see this and are touched by our deep care for their students. Not having kids has not been a hindrance in our ministry, as we never tell parents how to parent.
I love anything to do with the outdoors and I am passionate about disc golf. I am so excited to see what God is going to do through the students here at Shalom and the lives that will be radically transformed as we seek Him with all of our hearts. To God be all honor and glory! Click here to email Chris.