Kevin DeYoung (born 1977) is an American

Reformed Reform is beneficial change Reform may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine *''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...

theologian and author. He is currently the senior pastor at Christ Covenant Church, in

Matthews Matthews may refer to: People * Matthews (surname) Places * Matthews Island, Antarctica * Matthews Range, Kenya * Mount Matthews, New Zealand United States * Matthews, Georgia * Matthews, Indiana * Matthews, Maryland * Matthews, Missouri * Mat ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. The church he previously pastored, University Reformed Church (East Lansing, Michigan), shifted to the

Presbyterian Church in America The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States. The PCA is Reformed in theology and presb ...

in March 2015 after having been a member of the

Reformed Church in America The Reformed Church in America (RCA) is a Mainline Protestant, mainline Reformed tradition, Reformed Protestant Christian denomination, denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 152,317 members. From its beginning in 1628 unti ...

. DeYoung is a member of

The Gospel Coalition The Gospel Coalition, or TGC, is a union of evangelical and Reformed churches. History It was founded in 2005 by theologian D. A. Carson and pastor Tim Keller. TGC describe their mission as being “deeply committed to renewing our faith ...

's Council. He also contributes articles to various other evangelical organizations, such as ''

World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

'', 9Marks, and Desiring God.

Early life

DeYoung was born in

South Holland, Illinois South Holland is a village and south suburb of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States, within Thornton Township. The population was 21,465 at the 2020 census. History The area currently occupied by South Holland, Illinois, was first ...

, and largely grew up in

Jenison, Michigan Jenison is a census-designated place (CDP) in Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The community is located within Georgetown Charter Township. The population of the CDP was 17,211 as of the 2000 census. The current estimated population ...

, where his parents Lee and Sheri DeYoung worked for Words of Hope - an international media ministry based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Both of his grandfathers were from

Dutch Reformed The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family an ...

backgrounds.

Education

DeYoung graduated

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

from

Hope College Hope College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Holland, Michigan. It was originally opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled. The first freshman college class matricul ...

in Michigan in 1999 and then received his

M.Div. For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and di ...

from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts in 2002. He completed a Ph.D. in Early Modern History focusing on the theology of

John Witherspoon John Witherspoon (February 5, 1723 – November 15, 1794) was a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister, educator, farmer, slaveholder, and a Founding Father of the United States. Witherspoon embraced the concepts of Scottish common sense reali ...

at the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

( John Coffey served as his adviser), successfully defending his Ph.D. thesis on January 10, 2019.

Career

DeYoung first served as a pastor at First Reformed Church in

Orange City, Iowa Orange City is a city in, and the county seat of, Sioux County, Iowa, United States. Its population was 6,267 in the 2020 census, an increase from 5,582 in 2000. Named after William of Orange, the community maintains its Dutch settler tradition ...

. From August 2004 to June 2017 he served as senior pastor at University Reformed Church in

East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County, Michigan, Clinton County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

, near

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

. DeYoung has authored or co-authored many books and articles; his book ''Why We're Not Emergent'' (co-authored with Ted Kluck) won the 2009

Christianity Today ''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "evange ...

book award. His book ''Why We Love the Church'' (also co-authored with Ted Kluck) won the 2010 Christianity Today Book Award and Leadership Journal Golden Canon Book Award. ''Crazy Busy: A (Mercifully) Short Book about a (Really) Big Problem'' was awarded the 2014 Christian Book of the Year by the

Evangelical Christian Publishers Association The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) is an international non-profit trade association whose member companies are involved in the publishing and distribution of Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to ...

(ECPA). DeYoung is a member of the

Gospel Coalition The Gospel Coalition, or TGC, is a union of evangelical and Reformed churches. History It was founded in 2005 by theologian D. A. Carson and pastor Tim Keller. TGC describe their mission as being “deeply committed to renewing our faith ...

Council with Tim Keller, John Piper, and others. He has been a keynote speaker to at conferences including

Together for the Gospel Together for the Gospel (T4G) was a biennial conference for Christian leaders. It was formed in 2006 by Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, C. J. Mahaney, and Albert Mohler. These men were all associated with the New Calvinism movement although they diffe ...

, Shepherd’s Conference, and many more. DeYoung joined the faculty at Reformed Theological Seminary Charlotte in 2017 as an Assistant Professor. On June 1, 2021, he was promoted to Associate Professor of Systematic Theology.

Written Works

*''Freedom and Boundaries: A Pastoral Primer on the Role of Women in the Church'' (2006) *''Why We're Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be,'' co-authored with Ted Kluck (2008) *''Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion,'' co-authored with Ted Kluck (2009) *''Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will'' (2009) *''The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism'' (2010) *''Why Our Church Switched to the ESV'' (2011), 31-page booklet *''What Is the Mission of the Church?: Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission,'' co-authored with Greg Gilbert (2011) *''Don't Call It a Comeback: The Old Faith for a New Day (The Gospel Coalition)'' (2011) *''The Holy Spirit (The Gospel Coalition Booklets)'' (2011) *''The Hole in Our Holiness: Filling the Gap between Gospel Passion and the Pursuit of Godliness'' (2012) *''The Gospel as Center: Renewing Our Faith and Reforming Our Ministry Practices (The Gospel Coalition)'' (2012) *''Crazy Busy: A (Mercifully) Short Book about a (Really) Big Problem'' (2013) *''Acting the Miracle: God's Work and Ours in the Mystery of Sanctification'' (contributed) (2013) *''Taking God At His Word: Why the Bible Is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What That Means for You and Me'' (April 2014) *''What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality?'' (April 2015) *''The Biggest Story: How the Snake Crusher Brings Us Back to the Garden,'' illustrated by Don Clark (August 2015) *''The Art of Turning: From Sin to Christ for a Joyfully Clear Conscience'' (June 2017) *''The Biggest Story ABC,'' illustrated by Don Clark (August 2017) *''Acts: A Visual Guide,'' illustrated by Chris Ranson (May 2018) *''The Ten Commandments: What They Mean, Why They Matter, and Why We Should Obey Them (Foundational Tools for Our Faith)'' (October 2018) *''Grace Defined and Defended: What a 400-Year-Old Confession Teaches Us about Sin, Salvation, and the Sovereignty of God'' (April, 2019) *''The Religious Formation of John Witherspoon: Calvinism, Evangelicalism, and the Scottish Enlightenment'' (February, 2020) *''Men and Women in the Church: A Short, Biblical, Practical Introduction'' (April, 2021) *''The Biggest Story Bible Storybook,'' illustrated by Don Clark (March, 2022) *''The Lord's Prayer: Learning from Jesus on What, Why, and How to Pray,'' (forthcoming: May, 2022) *''Justification and Regeneration: Practical Writings on Saving Faith,'' notes on the original John Witherspoon-authored text (forthcoming: May, 2022)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:DeYoung, Kevin 1977 births 20th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 21st-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians Alumni of the University of Leicester American Calvinist and Reformed theologians American evangelicals American Presbyterian ministers Christian bloggers Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary alumni Hope College alumni Living people People from Jenison, Michigan People from South Holland, Illinois Presbyterian Church in America ministers