Spring Valley Reformed Church welcomes new pastor

Sep. 22—A new pastor has begun leading services at Spring Valley Reformed Church in Fulton, Illinois.

Pastor Paul Wissink and wife Nancy Wissink arrived in Fulton on Aug. 15 to, Paul says, "a wonderful reception of helpful hands to help us move into the spacious parsonage."

"It is like we are coming home," he says. "It could not have gone any better as we begin our ministry here at Spring Valley Church."

Paul and Nancy are originally from Ankeny where they met in high school, she a junior and he a sophomore. They went on to attend Northwestern College in Orange City together and Nancy earned her Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Special Education.

They married during their senior year, then went to Holland, Michigan, to attend Western Theological Seminary and Paul earned his Master of Divinity degree. They've worked in ministry together ever since.

"Our last church was Calvin Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Kentucky," Paul says, "where I served as Senior Pastor for 13 years and Nancy served as Director of Senior Ministries for the final six years."

Paul and Nancy are parents to two daughters. Jenna, the eldest, is an ordained minister currently working as a Procurement Specialist for LifeCenter Organ Donor Network in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Lindsay is a Nurse Practitioner living in Marion. Each have two young children of their own.

"We came looking for a church we could love which was willing to love us back," Paul says. "One challenge is that so many communities are represented in this congregation. It will be fun to try to get involved with them all. We are up for that adventure."

Spring Valley Reformed Church, established 1909, is located at 10960 Spring Valley Rd, in Fulton, Illinois. Services begin each Sunday at 9:30 a.m.