About us
Welcome!
Pastor Ben received his Master of Divinity degree from Calvin Seminary in the spring of 1982. He and Karilynn arrived in Lake Odessa shortly after that, with hearts and minds set on being used by God in whatever way He had fashioned. Pastor Ben has a passion for God’s Word and bringing the Bible’s truths to bear upon his listeners in ways that are engaging and helpful. For fun, Ben enjoys golfing and reading books near any large body of water. Ben and Karilynn have four adult children and are proud grandparents.
Our Team
MARSHANN Ludema
Secretary
Rachel RIDDER
Worship Coordinator
Consistory
Pastor
Ben Ridder
Elders
Jason Flohr -2025
Dick Barnett - 2026
Mike Nagelkirk - 2027
Deacons
Seth Oosterhouse - 2025
Joe Leazier - 2026
Ryan Oosterhouse - 2027
Our Mission Statement
To the glory of God, Harvest Church is called to gather and nurture God’s growing family.
What
We Believe
About God & The Bible
There is only one God, creator of heaven and earth, who eternally exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Bible is the true, authoritative, sufficient, living Word of God.
About Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, was born of a virgin and is both fully God and fully human. He lived the totally perfect life that we fail to live, and died the death that we deserve as a sacrificial substitute to pay the penalty for our sin.
About Humanity
All people, excluding Jesus himself, are sinners by nature and choice. Though we are created to love, glorify, worship, and enjoy God, our sin has cut us off from relationship with Him and the just result is spiritual and physical death.
About Salvation
Only through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ-that His sacrifice alone is sufficient to cover your sin and shame-can a person be reconciled with God, gain freedom from sin, obtain eternal life, and experience full life and joy.
Our Purpose
Glorify
God through worship in spirit and truth
Gather
God’s family through outreach
Grow
in grace and knowledge of Jesus through discipleship
Give
back of ourselves what God has given through service
Grafted
to one another through Holy Spirit fellowship
Our Core Value
If anything good is going to happen, God has to do it. Therefore, it is important for us to always look to discern what God is doing and join Him in His work. Such discovery will be:
• Led by scripture
• Based on spiritual giftedness
• Bathed in prayer
• An outgrowth of small group intimacy
