Our Faculty
Born and raised in the Philippines, Dr. Najapfour earned a ThM from Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Michigan and a PhD in Historical Theology from the Theological University of Apeldoorn in the Netherlands. He has served as a minister of the gospel since 2001, with pastoral ministry experience in the Philippines, the United States, and Canada. He currently pastors the Heritage Reformed Congregation in Jordan, Ontario.
He is the author and co-editor of numerous books and has contributed articles to various journals, periodicals, and encyclopedias. He is also the cofounder and president of God Is Our Help Ministries. He blogs at biblicalspiritualitypress.org. He and his wife, Sarah, are blessed with five children.
Dr. Brian G. Najapfour
Founder and President
Professor of Historical Theology and Biblical Spirituality
Originally from Scotland, Dr. Macleod currently resides in Michigan, where he serves as pastor of the Free Reformed Church of Grand Rapids. He holds a PhD in Systematic Theology from Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and is the author of How Can I Benefit from My Baptism?. He and his wife, Lenelle, are blessed with six children.
Dr. Ian Macleod
Professor of Systematic Theology
Rev. Elshout is a retired pastor of the Heritage Reformed Congregations, having served congregations in Jordan, Ontario (1998–2005), Chilliwack, British Columbia (2005–2012), Hull, Iowa (2015–2023), and the Reformed Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan (2023–2026); he also served as a part-time instructor at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
In addition to Wilhelmus à Brakel’s The Christian’s Reasonable Service, Rev. Elshout has translated Theodore VanderGroe’s exposition of the Heidelberg Catechism, The Christian’s Only Comfort in Life and Death (2 vols.), and Alexander Comrie’s Distinctive Marks of Saving Faith. He is also the author of Christ’s Portrait of the Christian: An Exposition of the Beatitudes.
Rev. Elshout was previously married to Joan (1949–2013) and has two children, David and Sarah, and seven grandchildren. He is currently married to Clarice (since September 19, 2015), and they reside in Inwood, Iowa.
Rev. Bartel Elshout
Professor of Church Polity
Adjunct Professors
Dr. Venema has served as an elder in his church and preaches on a regular basis. He also speaks and teaches in a variety of church and conference settings. His special interest lies in Reformation theology, particularly the work of the Reformers John Calvin and Heinrich Bullinger. Dr. Venema’s books, Heinrich Bullinger and the Doctrine of Predestination: Author of “The Other Reformed Tradition” and Accepted and Renewed in Christ: The “Two Fold Grace of God” and the Interpretation of Calvin’s Theology, reflect this interest.
He is the author of several other books including But for the Grace of God: An Exposition of the Canons of Dort; What We Believe: An Exposition of the Apostles’ Creed; The Promise of the Future; Getting the Gospel Right; Children at the Lord’s Table?; Christ and the Future; The Promise of the Future Study Guide; and The Gospel of Free Acceptance in Christ.
Dr. Venema is a co-editor and frequent contributor to The Outlook and the Mid-America Journal of Theology.
Dr. Cornelis P. Venema
President Emeritus and Professor of Doctrinal Studies, Mid-America Reformed Seminary
Dr. Herman Johan Selderhuis was born in Enschede on 21 May 1961. In that city he went to the Ichthus College, where he obtained the diploma Atheneum-A in 1979. After a two-year preparatory course in classical languages, he studied theology at the Theological University of Apeldoorn from 1981, where he passed the candidate exam. At the beginning of 1988, also in Apeldoorn, he took the doctoral exam (old style) in Church History. From 1987 to 1992 he was pastor of the Christian Reformed Church of Hengelo. From 1992 to 1997 he was associated with the Christian Reformed Church of Zwolle.
He received his doctorate on 21 January 1994 and was inaugurated on 23 January 1997. While studying at Princeton Theological Seminary from 1979-1981, Dr. Venema was a Teaching Fellow in the Department of Theology. He served as pastor of the Christian Reformed Church of Ontario, California, for six years before coming to Mid-America. Dr. Venema serves as President of the Seminary in addition to his systematic theology teaching responsibilities.
Dr. Herman Selderhuis
Professor of Church History and Church Law, Theological University of Apeldoorn; President, European Academy of Religion (EuARe)
Dr. Maarten Kuivenhoven earned his BA in Honors History from University of Western Ontario (2004), his MDiv from Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary (2010), and his ThM from Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary (2011). He completed a PhD from Calvin Theological Seminary (2019) writing his dissertation entitled “Songs of the Son: Exegetical Method, Christology, and Piety in Reformation and Post-Reformation Interpretations of Select Messianic Psalms.” He is an ordained pastor in the Heritage Reformed Congregations (HRC) and previously pastored the Heritage Reformed Congregation of Grand Rapids, MI from 2010-2022.
He is married to Jennifer, and they have five children.
Dr. Maarten Kuivenhoven
Professor of Theology and Assistant Professor of Church History; Director of the DMin Program, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary
Dr. Joel R. Beeke (PhD, Westminster Theological Seminary) is the chancellor and professor of homiletics and systematic theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. He has served as a pastor since 1978 and currently ministers at the Heritage Reformed Congregation of Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is the editor of the Puritan Reformed Journal and The Banner of Sovereign
Grace Truth magazine, the board chairman of Reformation Heritage Books, the president of Inheritance Publishers, and the vice president of the Dutch Reformed Translation Society. Beeke
has written and coauthored 120 books, edited 120 books, and contributed 2,500 articles to Reformed books, journals, periodicals, and encyclopedias.
He frequently lectures at seminaries and speaks at Reformed conferences around the world. The Lord has blessed him and his wife Mary with three children and ten grandchildren.
Dr. Joel R. Beeke
Chancellor and Professor of Systematic Theology and Homiletics, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary