Jeremy Vander Lei

Hometown: Mount Vernon, WA
Education:Associates Degree in General Studies from Skagit Valley College. Washington State Peace Officer Certification from the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission
Degree sought: MDiv.
Family: Wife Lindsey, children Tracen (7), Julianne (6), Levi (4), Thomas (2), baby due in December 2021
Church affiliation: United Reformed Churches in North America

Jeremy was born in Mount Vernon, Washington, and spent most of his childhood growing up on the family dairy farm. He grew up with his six brothers and sisters in the Burlington Orthodox Christian Reformed Church before becoming part of the United Reformed Churches of North America. Jeremy would often hear from his “Pake or Oma/Beppe” (Grandparents in Dutch/Friesian) that they would love for one of their grandsons to become a minister. Jeremy did not feel any call to the ministry in his younger years, focusing on sports and being outdoors.

“The work is challenging but having a set goal makes the work enjoyable. Throughout the early steps of the process, the rigorous studies have not dimmed the light of excitement. I am drawn more toward the beauty of the Scriptures and the opportunity to share the Gospel with others.”

~ Jeremy

In his last two years of high school, Jeremy attended “Running Start,” a program in Washington that allows for high school students to take college classes. Jeremy attended Skagit Valley College between 2007-2009, where he obtained an Associate Degree in General Studies. Because he didn’t have a career choice in mind, he returned to the workforce after graduation. In 2012, Jeremy went on a mission trip to Peru with Lindsey and his friend from the church through Reformed Mission Services. It was shortly after returning that Jeremy and Lindsey began dating, and they were married in 2013. After two different truck driving jobs, Jeremy applied for a job with the Everett Police Department, where he was hired as a patrol officer. He remained an officer for approximately six years.

A few years ago, life circumstances drove Jeremy heavily into the Scriptures to confirm the convictions that he was facing. These were convictions that he believed were taught by the church, and he sought out wisdom in books and sermons to make sure that he was not mistaken. While neck-deep in sermon recordings and research, Jeremy began to feel the call to ministry. After speaking with Lindsey, he sought out wisdom from his pastor and others. Knowing that the Reformed churches highly regarded Mid-America, Jeremy reached out to MARS looking for information. After multiple “Zoom interviews,” phone calls, and emails, Jeremy decided to complete an introductory Seminary course to make sure the Master’s level work wasn’t outside his abilities. Through God’s providence, every task went well. He completed the course, his application was accepted, and the Vander Lei’s began packing for Indiana.

Roughly 2,200 miles and 2 “semesters” of Summer Greek later, Jeremy is loving seminary studies. He says, “The work is challenging but having a set goal makes the work enjoyable. Throughout the early steps of the process, the rigorous studies have not dimmed the light of excitement. I am drawn more toward the beauty of the Scriptures and the opportunity to share the Gospel with others. I appreciate the expertise of the professors and the care that is so evident in their teaching. The Seminary community and the local churches have been wonderful and welcoming to the “west coast guy” and his family.” Jeremy’s end goal is to become a church minister. However, he is open to missionary work or church planting if others believe that he is gifted in those areas. He is waiting to see how the Lord prepares him for the work ahead.