The council has called a congregational meeting on Oct. 20 after our worship gathering with one item on the agenda. Many of you have met Dr. Zach King and Sharon Segaar-King, who just transferred their membership to our church. Zach serves as the general secretary of our denomination, the CRCNA, and Sharon works as a hospice chaplain. Because both serve in an ordained capacity, the church where they are members also typically holds their ministerial credentials, meaning the council is responsible for overseeing their doctrine and life.
In order to receive their ministerial credentials, our congregation needs to officially extend a call to them. This call would be to serve as they currently do, and it would not add them to our staff, our payroll, or our council. This is similar to what we currently do for Uri Alcivar, Wilson Cunha, and Mani Koirala.
We will feature Zach and Sharon’s story during our worship gathering on Oct. 20. Following the gathering, we will hold a brief congregational meeting, during which time you will have time to ask any questions you may have. You may also feel free to ask questions in advance by reaching out to your Care Group elder.
Below are more details about Zach and Sharon!
Zachary King
Zachary King was born in 1976 to Louis and Arlene King. Zach grew up in Columbus, OH, Birmingham, AL, and Lansing, MI (where he went to middle and high school). As a child, Zach spent many months in the hospital due to a birth defect in his left leg and several accidents. In 1994, he enrolled at Calvin University where he was introduced to the Christian Reformed Church and where met his future wife, Sharon. Sensing a call to ministry, Zach enrolled at Calvin Theological Seminary and graduated with several theological degrees in 2003 and 2005 (Master of Divinity and Master of Theological Studies). Zach further went on and got his PhD in New Testament from the Free University in Amsterdam. Zach enjoyed serving in ministries in Puerto Rico, Nigeria, and Allendale, MI, before finally being ordained in November, 2005.
Zach (and Sharon) served twelve years in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and five years as director of the CRCNA’s mission agency, Resonate Global Mission. In 2022 he began serving as general secretary of the CRCNA, a position of ecclesiastical leadership for the denomination. Zach’s biggest blessing is being husband to Sharon (married in 2000) and father to four wonderful children, Hannah, Vivian, Isaiah, and Esther. Zach has a sister and two nephews in Durham, England. He enjoys road and mountain biking, hiking and camping, reading, and spending time with Sharon and his kids.
Sharon Segaar-King
Sharon Segaar-King was raised in the Christian Reformed Church in North America. In terms of education, Sharon has a BS in biology, BA in Psychology and was pre-med while at Calvin University. Sharon then changed course and became a children’s choir director and worship song leader so then began taking courses at Calvin Theological Seminary. Sharon received a Master in Missions and then a Master in Divinity. Sharon further went on to take Clinical Pastoral Education and became an endorsed chaplain.
Sharon has had various roles in ministry from being a director of education, church planting intern in Puerto Rico, Veenstra seminary professor in Nigeria, intern pastor at Waterloo CRC in Ontario, and church and leadership developer in Haiti. Sharon currently provides spiritual and emotional support as a Heartland Hospice chaplain and bereavement coordinator. In terms of extra-curricular activities, Sharon sings with the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus, enjoys exercising at a local gym, and takes care of her bichon frise dog. In terms of why I am wanting to be a part of Cascade Fellowship, it is simple in that this is a place where the focus is worshiping God and I also can worship God here.
In terms of our children, Hannah, Vivian and Isaiah King all currently attend Calvin University. Hannah is a senior pursuing a double major in chemistry and French. She is in the process of applying for chemistry graduate programs. In her spare time, she explores coffee shops, works out at the gym and works as both an organic chemistry tutor and teacher’s assistant. Vivian and Isaiah are twins who are college freshmen. Vivian is pursuing nursing and Spanish while Isaiah is pursuing engineering. Esther is a Grand Rapids Christian High School sophomore and plans to be on both the basketball and lacrosse teams this year. Esther works as a lifeguard at Goldfish Swim School. We are looking forward to all being a part of Cascade Fellowship.