Hi and thank you for checking out our Website.My name is Rodney Haveman and I have been the pastor of Parkside Community Church since August, 2001.
My wife Jennifer (we call her Jen) and I moved here from Grand Rapids, Michigan shortly after I graduated from Western Theological Seminary. We have since had two children, Ethan and Grace. Since coming to New Jersey, I have been active in the Westwood Clergy Council, and am currently serving as Co-President for the Ketler Elementary School PTO.
Anyone who knows me will attest to the fact that I am a huge sports fan and that I am especially passionate about baseball (Go Tigers)!I also love reading, writing and seeing great movies that stimulate great conversation.Jen and I are huge Harry Potterfans and I could converse for hours on the theology of Harry Potter just for fun.
I believe that faith is a journey.It is a pilgrimage with God and the people of God to our Home.Our Home is with God, in the Kingdom of God.As pilgrims we are gathered and cared for by God, united on that journey, always looking with the eyes of faith for Home, the Kingdom of God.As such, our faith, that journey, may call us within the walls of the church, but that is not Home.The church is not the goal.Home is.And Home is the Kingdom of God. So, what is the Kingdom of God?A simple answer: “the Kingdom of God is the Holy Spirit breaking into the world with the grace and love of God through Jesus Christ.”We see this happening in church, and that is why the journey takes us there, but we also see it in our homes, and our neighborhoods, our places of employment and our schools.And our faith journey takes us to all these places looking for glimpses of Home, serving and loving so that our Home with God may flourish in the world.
I invite you to come to our church, not to “find God” but draw closer to the Kingdom through a profound relationship with Jesus Christ.
