HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — Western Theological Seminary officials have selected the Rev. Felix Theonugraha as the seminary’s 12th president.
Theonugraha is an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America and WTS officials described him as a talented administrator.
He leaves his post as vice president for student life and university services at Trinity International University in Deerfield, IL.
Carol Van Andel and Kris DePree, co-chairs of WTS’ presidential search committee, said in a statement emailed to media, they welcomed him “with open arms as our next president. His faithful commitment to the Reformed Church in America and his penchant for leading with a servant’s heart make him uniquely qualified to extend our beloved school’s rich legacy and propel us all into a new and dynamic era.”
During his tenure at Trinity, Dr. Theonugraha led the enrollment team, athletics department, alumni office, and student life division, and also served on the President’s University Leadership Team and the Gender Equity Task Force, as well as co-chaired the Racial Reconciliation Implementation Team and taught courses in the Master of Arts in Leadership program.
He formerly led the graduate student affairs division for a time. He worked with international students and helped to introduce intercultural elements to Trinity’s chapel services.
“Western Theological Seminary has an incredible history,” said the Rev. Theonugraha in the WTS statement. “The deep commitment to ministry and passion for the Lord that characterized the students who, in 1866 requested to continue their theological studies in Holland are still evident at WTS today. My prayer is that I can continue to extend and deepen that history, so that WTS can continue to be a place that prepares women and men who are called by God to lead the church in mission, and do so in a way that is mindful and responsive to our time and place in God’s story—such as the increasing ethnic diversity in our country and the growth of the church in the GlobalSouth and East.”
He was born in Indonesia, and later spent time in Taiwan before arriving in Central California when he was about 12 years old. The Rev. Theonugraha is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley (B.A.) and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (M.Div., Ph.D.). He is a contributor to The Wordview Study Bible (Holman) and to Faith, Learning, and Living in Christian Higher Education: Teaching and Learning in the Evangelical Tradition (Crossway). He loves to preach, according to the WTS statement. The Rev. Theonugraha and his wife Esther are active in their church, where they have co-taught adult education classes and K-5 children’s ministry.
David S. Dockery, president of Trinity International University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School says, “I join with others from across the Trinity community to offer our heartiest congratulations to Western Theological Seminary on the outstanding choice that has been made for the institution’s next president. Felix Theonugraha is prepared and ready to provide wise and capable leadership for the Western community in the days ahead. His commitment to the gospel, his many good leadership gifts, his experience in the work of theological education at Trinity, and his long-term relationship with the RCA will serve him well as he assumes this new responsibility. We are happy for Felix and Esther Theonugraha and hopeful for Western Theological Seminary in the days to come.”
The Rev. Theonugraha starts as WTS president on July 1, 2019. He follows the Rev. Timothy Brown, who retires after an 11-year presidential tenure, but will return to the classroom as the Henry Bast Professor of Preaching.
