Governing Board
The Malawi Reformation Board is responsible for raising, receiving, managing, and distributing all the resources entrusted to it for the propagation of the work in Malawi.
Evan Vanderwey
Chairman of the Board
Evan Vanderwey is President of Cornerstone Wealth Partners and the Branch Manager of Churchill Mortgage in Okemos, MI. Evan is a graduate of Calvin College with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting.
He has served as a deacon, an elder, and the chair of the Pastoral Search Committee during his membership at University Reformed Church, a PCA congregation in East Lansing, MI.
Evan grew up in West Michigan. He and his wife Jenny now live in Mason, Michigan with their twelve children.
Confex Makhalira
Founder and Board Member
Confex Makhalira is a Christian who was born and raised in Malawi. He is married to Mwai and they have two daughters. He is an ordained teaching elder (pastor) in the Presbyterian Church in America.
Confex’s latest ministry experience includes being a church plant intern with Holy Trinity Presbyterian Church (ARP) in Grand Rapids, Michigan from 2014-2017. He served as a Pastoral Fellow at University Reformed Church (PCA) in East Lansing, Michigan. He recently returned to Malawi to plant Christ Presbyterian Church.
He holds a Master of Divinity from Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Previously, he graduated from African Bible College, Lilongwe, Malawi, with a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies where he also had an opportunity to serve with and be mentored by Dr. O. Palmer Robertson in preaching ministry for a year.
Lee DeYoung
Board Member
Lee DeYoung is retired from Words of Hope, an International media ministry based in Grand Rapids, MI, where he served for 33 years as the Vice President for International Ministries. Lee earned his B.A. from Hope College and his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.
He has served as an Elder and Vice President of the Consistory at Hager Park Reformed Church in Jenison, MI where he also participates in worship, IT, and occasional preaching. In the Reformed Church in America (RCA), Lee has served as the President of the General Synod, Moderator of the General Synod Council, Commission on Nominations, and President of the Great Lakes City Classis.
Lee grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago. He and his wife Sheri currently live in Jenison, MI where they moved to in 1985. They have 4 adult children and 28 grandchildren.
Pastor Jason Helopoulos
Board Member
Pastor Jason Helopoulos is the Senior Pastor of University Reformed Church, a PCA congregation in East Lansing, MI. He first pastored in North Carolina before moving to Michigan to plant a PCA church. Jason is a council member of the Gospel Reformation Network. He serves on the board of Twin Lakes Fellowship and has contributed to various magazines and journals. He is also a regular blogger on The Gospel Coalition and Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals websites.
Jason has written several books, including A Neglected Grace: Family Worship in the Christian Home (Christian Focus, 2014), The New Pastor’s Handbook (Baker Books, 2015), Let the Children Worship (Christian Focus, 2016), and These Truths Alone: Why the Reformation Solas are Essential for Our Faith Today (Good Book Company, 2017).
He resides in Michigan with his wife, Leah, and their two children.
Richard Jones
Board Member
Richard Jones is Transportation Director for Davidson County Transportation System in Lexington, NC. The majority of Richard’s career was spent in the Hotel and Restaurant Industry after graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration from James Madison University’s Hotel/Restaurant College in 1986.
Richard has served as an elder at Meadowview Reformed Presbyterian Church, as The Stated Clerk of the Session, as Treasurer on the Host Committee for the General Assembly in Greensboro, NC, and is currently serving on the Piedmont Triad Presbytery’s Leadership Development Team.
Richard and his wife, Jennifer, live in Lexington, NC. They have 4 adult children and 2 grandchildren that they love to spoil.
Barry Peterson
Board Member
Barry Peterson is a Security Controls Analyst at Jackson National Life, a provider of annuities in Okemos, MI. Barry is a graduate of Central Washington School of Business with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.
He has served as a deacon and is a present member of the Executive Committee at University Reformed Church, a PCA congregation in East Lansing, MI.
Barry grew up in the Seattle area. He and his wife Sarah now live in Lansing, Michigan with their three children.
William VanDoodewaard
Board Member
Dr. Bill VanDoodewaard is Professor of Church History at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. He has held appointments as a Visiting Research Fellow at Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, Visiting Scholar at Princeton Theological Seminary, and has served as a Visiting Professor at Mukhanyo Theological College in South Africa.
Bill has written for Books & Culture, Themelios, Puritan Reformed Journal,Westminster Theological Journal, and is the author of three books: 1 & 2 Peter: Feed My Sheep (Welwyn Commentary Series), The Quest for the Historical Adam, and The Marrow Controversy and Seceder Tradition.
A former church planter, he is actively involved in church life and ministry alongside his calling as a seminary professor.
Bill, his wife, Rebecca, and their children, live in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Phil Williams
Board Member
Phil Williams is retired from working in the Apparel/Textile industry for over 30 years. Phil attended Randolph Community College, Maynard Engineering, and various trade schools, where he earned an Associate in Business, certification in methods Engineering and Statistical Process Management.
Phil has served as a Church Elder and adult Sunday School teacher at Covenant of Grace Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem, NC and as past Moderator of the 212th Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church Synod (ARPC).
Phil grew up in Asheboro, NC. He and his wife Janie of over 40 years have one daughter, Karen, and live in Winston-Salem, NC.