Grace Lutheran's Staff
Below is a listing of the Grace staff. Please feel free to contact us with your questions or requests.
Joel Hoyer
Pastor
Joel Hoyer is the founding pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Coopersville, MI, where he has served since 1994. He is, by God’s amazing grace, married to Joni and father to their three children. He enjoys home improvement, reading and carving an occasional walking stick or cane. With Rev. Erv Kostizen, Joel has developed the spiritual fitness course, “Fit for Life in Christ”, a 21st century course in Christian education that provides a lively and relevant apologetic to the post-modern thinking so prevalent in our age.
Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10 NIV). Pastor J invites you to take Him up on the offer.
Luke Esselman, DCE
Director of Youth and Family Life
Dir. of Youth and Family Life, Luke Esselman, was certified as a Director of Christian Education from Concordia University Chicago (in River Forest, IL) in May 2010. He finished his undergrad degree with a year-long internship at Grace from July 2009-July 2010; after which, he accepted Grace’s call to stay on as a fulltime member of Grace’s staff. He has served at Grace ever since.
Luke is very passionate about seeing children and teens grow up knowing Jesus Christ as their Savior and the ultimate truth of the Bible. Luke believes that the faith development of children starts at home, and as such, the faith of the FAMILY is just as important (if not more so) than the faith of the individual.
Luke grew up in Springfield, IL and comes from an extremely loving and service centered, Christian family of Dennis (father), Becki (mother), and Hannah (little sister). Luke’s father has since passed away and moved on to his heavenly reward, but his mother still resides in Springfield, and Hannah lives and works the Columbus, OH area.
Luke and his family (wife-Amanda, and kids Hannah, Jackson, & Willow) love playing board games, seeing movies, and spending time outdoors. Some of Luke’s favorite outdoor activities are kayaking, walking his pups, “you-pick” seasonal fruits, and playing/coaching soccer.
A guiding passage Luke has taken for his life is:
2 Timothy 1:7-12
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.
So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.”
Codi Pearson
Church Secretary
Codi Pearson grew up in Coopersville and is a life-long member of Ottawa Center Chapel. In fact, a help wanted ad for a secretary in the Chapel’s bulletin is what brought her to Grace. She has been happily printing bulletins and putting cat clip art wherever she can since then.
Codi lives with her husband, Brian, and her cats in Grand Rapids. Brian and Codi met while working at the Grand Valley State University Zumberge Library. They thought it would be a good idea to get married and contribute to each other’s literary nerdiness. The conversations on grammar and plot development are only interrupted by feeding the cats. Codi enjoys cats so much that she volunteers at the Humane Society of West Michigan. This is a grueling two-hour shift of petting cats, but somebody has got to do it! At times, she can combine her love of reading while petting the cats.