West Michigan Christian News writer Terry DeBoer surveys the landscape for the area's faith-based arts and entertainment events over the coming month. Here are three highlights for February.

Tom VanDerKolk: “The biggest key is putting others first.”Tom VanDerKolk is no stranger to humble beginnings. Nearly 26 years ago, the energetic VanDerKolk grabbed a bucket, brush and a four-foot stepladder and painted a home in Wyoming for $400.

Fast forward to today: VanDerKolk is president of Grand Rapids-based VanDerKolk Painting Inc., an industrial, commercial and residential operation that has a staff of 30 employees. Twenty-four of them are painters, rounded out with estimators, an office manager, and a field supervisor and shop manager. Sales this year is projected at $4 million.

Part of the revenue outlook is because VanDerKolk recently acquired Kooi Industrial Painting, a Grand Rapids industrial sand blasting and painting services company founded in 1927, whose notable projects include the Calder in downtown Grand Rapids, the Sixth Street Bridge, and the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel.

Ryan Waalkes is Bridge Street House of Prayer’s director.Bridge Street House of Prayer's Mission School is not intended for young people who prefer to chill in a coffee shop with their friends or check out the latest Facebook posts. It's deeper and more satisfying than all of that.

Rather, BSHP's Mission School is an eight-month discipleship program that immerses students ages 18 to 29 people into a life of mission. They learn what it truly means to hunger for Jesus, affirms BSHP director Ryan Waalkes.

Building 429 performs Jan. 28 in ZeelandOnce again West Michigan's Christian concert scene began January with a winter blast – a Winter Jam blast, that is. The annual 10-band concert tour hit Van Andel Arena on Jan. 8 headlined by David Crowder.

The tour also marked the Van Andel debut of young faith-based rapper Steven Malcolm, a Wyoming Park H.S. grad whose new album debuts Feb. 17. (see previous article)
 
Let's check the post-Winter Jam list and see what's ahead.

West Michigan Christian News writer Terry DeBoer surveys the landscape for the area’s faith-based arts, entertainment, and enrichment events over the coming month. Here are three highlights for January:

(left to right): Artist Paul Collins and Dino Newville are the Blues Gym co-founders.Step inside the Blues Gym at 4248 Kalamazoo Ave. SE in Kentwood, and you’ll immediately see equipment associated with a physical fitness: a boxing ring, punching bags and gymnastic mats. But its co-founders, Dean “Dino” Newville and Paul Collins, see something beyond a room dedicated to training kids boxing, kickboxing and martial arts.

They see a place where at-risk youth learn from nonjudgmental instructors a better route to take that doesn’t involve drugs, where they learn morals and respect for police officers and themselves and realize the Word of God through deeds and actions.

An Ascension Worship audition at Santos Guitar USAA network to help area churches fill temporary openings for worship players is on the way to West Michigan.

Ascension Worship is an international organization with individual networks in more than a dozen U.S. cities. Now it's coming to Grand Rapids and already local worship artists are getting involved.

"We've been holding auditions every Tuesday and Thursday," said local Ascension network manager Ace McKay. "We're trying to get as many completed as we can, so we can start making (the artists) available to churches that need them." Instrumentalists, vocalists – even sound technicians – have all stepped up to be part of the emerging network.

Retired and still making a difference, left to right: Jim and Marilyn Proudfit and Marilyn and Sidney Postma.Before he retired in 2010 from Dermody Trucking's maintenance department, Caledonia resident Sidney Postma faced a sobering decision. Should he relax and while away his time or do something to make a difference in others' lives?

"If you just retire and sit home and rot, that's what would happen, Postma said of the post-work choice he did not go with.

Instead, Postma said he made the right decision — on behalf of the Lord and His people as a volunteer member of an interdenominational ministry that enlists the help of couples who travel the nation to work on a plethora of projects for Christian ministries.

And "Christian ministries" is an expansive term. It includes churches, conference centers, campgrounds, orphanages, schools, missionary retreats and training facilities, homes for abused children and recovery homes for adults.

Orlando "Substance" Rodriguez has officially gone nationwide with his latest release.

The Grand Rapids-based singer-songwriter has been working these songs for the past several years. But "Turn the World Off" made its USA chart debut several months ago, when his song "You're There" reached Billboard Magazine's list of "most added gospel singles."

Navigating between urban and Christian contemporary sounds, Rodriguez features numerous ballads and several up-tempo tunes on this collection. "Living Blessed" boasts tight harmonies with an urban beat and dashes of hip-hop assisted by his label mate Watchmane.

Tongue-tied parents and church leaders who are ill-at-ease discussing sex and abstinence with children and teens have a new, biblical-based ally designed to help them to communicate God’s best for physical intimacy, love and relationships while reducing the number of abortions performed.

The Pregnancy Resource Center of Grand Rapids, 415 Cherry St. SE, recently launched The Whole Sex Talk: Dangerous. Beautiful. Gift., a six-session program (recommended length of time for each of the six sessions is one hour) that shepherds parents and churches in how to have ongoing conversations with kids about sex and its consequences before marriage and why it's God's best to wait until matrimony.

Glenys NellistGlenys Nellist lives in Rockford, but a book published in her native England is the inspiration for her Love Letters from God series of books for children.

When her four sons were young, they loved the book "The Jolly Postman, or Other People's Letters" by Janet & Allan Ahlberg. The story has a postman delivering letters to fairy tale characters, with children able to open the envelope on each page and pull out the letter addressed to their favorite characters.

Nellist brought the book with her to the United States when she and her husband David moved here several decades ago, and it became the inspiration for her own children's books. Her first book, "Love Letters from God: Bible Stories" came out with Zonderkidz in 2014, complete with lift-the-flap letters from God written for young readers.

"I love to write, so when I decided to write a storybook Bible I needed it to be unique because there are so many out there," said Nellist. "God whispered, 'Remember those little letters? Write letters after the Bible stories as if they're from me.'"