Rev. Benjamin (Ben) P. Snoek

The Rev. Benjamin P. Snoek—or Pastor Ben, as he is more commonly known around campus—is honored to serve as the Campus Pastor at Trinity Christian College. Pastor Ben experiences the joy of his vocation in his role as a chaplain, and he considers it an amazing privilege to share life with students on a Christian college campus.

What draws him to campus ministry:
Pastor Ben works in campus ministry because Christian colleges are sites of life transformation—including spiritual growth. Central to his task as campus pastor is to create and optimize campus-wide systems for spiritual formation. Snoek’s philosophy of campus ministry is anchored in a Reformed vision of cultural engagement and participation. “It is not our job to create new things for God to do,” Snoek says. “Instead, we join God in the places where the Holy Spirit is already working. It’s remarkable that God chooses to shape us in the residence halls and on the athletic fields, in laboratories and in lecture halls, around meeting tables and across cups of coffee. I’m honored to be part of that.”

Snoek arrived at Trinity in 2021 as Interim Campus Pastor before his appointment to this permanent role. Prior to working in higher education administration, he served rural parishes and suburban megachurches in Michigan and Indiana as a pastor, worship leader, and musician. Pastor Ben is ordained in the Christian Reformed Church in North America, one of the denominations associated with Trinity’s founding. Snoek has ministered in the Christian Reformed Church and the Reformed Church in America, including the Calvary CRC (Holland, Mich.), Kibbie CRC (South Haven, Mich.), and Fair Haven RCA (Hudsonville, Mich.). He also served Wesleyan and Methodist congregations in Indiana and Kentucky.

What he does:
“The calling of a campus pastor is, in many ways, to be all things to all people,” Snoek says. He is responsible for nurturing the spiritual life of the College and leads its campus ministries department. His areas of oversight include twice-weekly Chapel services, spiritual formation programming, pastoral care, and church relations. Pastor Ben also teaches as a part-time faculty member in the Theology Department.

Snoek ministers to an ethnically and denominationally diverse student body, with each major global Christian tradition—Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox—represented in Trinity’s community. “I want every student at Trinity to find a place to belong and be shaped by the Spirit to reflect the image of Jesus Christ for the good of the world that God so loves.”

Research interests:
Pastor Ben is a Ph.D. candidate in systematic and liturgical theology, where his research explores liturgical formation through chapel worship. As a scholar of evangelical theology and worship, Snoek is fascinated by the ways in which community worship practices reflect and shape our faith commitments. He is also an active string orchestra composer with award-winning music published internationally. His music has won national awards and composition contests and has been performed around the world, from Bolivia to Spain to the Philippines to Australia.

Get in touch:
Pastor Ben believes that the most vibrant campus ministry work comes from deep participation in campus life—you might find him enjoying an Aztec Bowl at the Bootsma Bookstore Café, working out in the Fitness Center, or cheering on the Trolls athletics teams in the DeVos Gymnasium.

Learn more by visiting Pastor Ben’s website at www.bensnoek.com. Follow him on Instagram @pastorben.tcc [link: https://www.instagram.com/pastorben.tcc/]. Reach out at any time by emailing pastorben@trnty.edu.

Courses Taught

THEO 132: The Body of Christ and Its Traditions
MIN 203: Spiritual Formation 

Publications

Articles:

• “Back to Basics: Why Worship Leading Takes Skill,” in Reformed Worship, June 2022.
• “‘I’ll Bring You More than a Song’: Right Worship in Evangelical Perspective,” in Journal of Church Music and Worship 10, 2022.
• “Intercession to the Exalted Christ: Ascension Song Reflections,” in Reformed Worship 143, March 2022.
• “Christmas Carols?! During Advent?!: Pastoral Reflections on Liturgical Time in Campus Ministry,” in Reformed Worship, December 2021.
• “Arise, Shine: A Mission-Focused Service of Scripture and Song for the Season of Epiphany,” in Reformed Worship 137 (40-45), September 2020.

Book reviews:

• Eric L. Mathis, Worship with Teenagers: Adolescent Spirituality and Congregational Practice, in Doxology,
• James K. Wellman, et al., High on God: How Megachurches Won the Heart of America, in Worship, forthcoming.
• Don Thorsen, An Exploration of Christian Theology, 2^nd, in Asbury Theological Journal 76 (1), April 2021.
• Christopher N. Phillips, The Hymnal: A Reading History, in Reading Religion (American Academy of Religion), April 2020.
• John Frederick, Worship in Way of Cross: Leading Worship for the Sake of Others, in Global Forum on Arts and Christian Faith 8 (International Council of Ethnodoxologists), February 2020.

Ordination
The Christian Reformed Church in North America, Classis Holland

Affiliations

• North American Academy of Liturgy
• Association for Christians in Student Development
• American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers
• Theta Alpha Kappa