Fall 2007 - Northwestern College

Alumniprofile
Northwestern Classic
Kevin Jansma
New
Life
Kevin Jansma finds
grace —and hope —
in the midst of grief
by Amy Scheer
Last year, a few days after Thanksgiving,
two men in their late 20s sat
together in a room of a suburban
Chicago church. One man wore an
ankle bracelet that would notify authorities
if he left the approved area; the
other wore a new wedding ring.
Kevin Jansma ’99 was meeting the
driver responsible for the death of his
first wife.
The road that led there began, you
could say, in Jansma’s senior year at
Northwestern as an elementary education
major. Smitten with Marilyn
Lupkes ’97 and headed to a semester of
student teaching in inner-city Chicago,
Jansma met with Chaplain Matt
Floding, who’d been observing the student’s
skills as a worship leader.
“You sure you want to be a
teacher?” Floding asked. He suggested
Jansma contact Mike Van Rees ’93, who
was starting an RCA church in the Des
Moines suburb of Ankeny.
In May of 1999, Jansma graduated
from Northwestern. July 1, he began
working with Van Rees at Prairie Ridge
Church. July 31, he married Marilyn.
The new church thrived and grew,
as did the young marriage. Marilyn
eventually joined the staff as director of
small groups. Lives were changing for
Kevin, Kelly and Trey Jansma enjoy family time in the Global Café, a neighborhood coffeehouse inside Prairie
Ridge Church that was built with memorial funds in honor of Kevin’s first wife, Marilyn. Run by volunteers, the
café gives all its proceeds to mission projects, celebrating Marilyn’s dedication to the service of others.
the better, and a new life was born—the
Jansmas’ son, Treyton.
In August of 2004, Marilyn’s
Northwestern roommate, Jill (Rasmussen
’97) Groezinger, also had her
first child. Jansma and Trey, now 16
months old, declared “Man Weekend”
and stayed home while Marilyn visited
Jill in Chicago.
“It was a pretty normal weekend,”
Jansma says, “until the police showed
up at the door.”
An officer appeared holding a
paper that Jansma could read faster than
the man could talk. There had been a
car accident. Severe head trauma. Call
the hospital right away. Jansma knew
immediately, he says, that Marilyn had
24 ▲ Fall 2007