Staff & Leaders

Pastor Austin Vondracek joined the Rosewood team in 2018 with an excitement to carry on Jesus’ work to reach those who are far from Jesus. Austin, his wife Leah, son Ford, daughter Helen and twins sons, Alden and Thatcher, love getting outside and soaking up West Michigan summers as a family. As Lead Pastor, Austin preaches most Sundays, serves with the greater Rosewood staff and leaders, and guides us in our mission: Empowered by Christ to reveal his love and reach…

Pastor Lindsey Burkey joined the Rosewood staff in 2017 and served as Director of Worship before becoming Pastor of Worship and Congregational Life. Lindsey has a Bachelor of Music in Worship Arts from Grace Christian University and completed her Commissioned Pastor training through Coram Deo Association of Churches. She was commissioned by the Great Lakes City Classis of the RCA in June 2024. As Pastor of Worship and Congregational Life, Lindsey leads worship regularly, oversees the worship team and choir,…

Pastor Howard Moths joined the church staff as our associate minister in 1985 after serving a church in Bradenton, FL. His work focused on Christian discipleship and pastoral care. He is a graduate of Northwestern College in NW Iowa and Western Theological Seminary. Pastor Howard and his wife, Pam, were married in 1978 and have 3 adult children. Howard enjoys the arts and technology and tries to keep up with his active family. Pastor Howard officially retired from staff on…

Tyla joined staff at Rosewood in late 2013.  As the office and business administrator and creative director, she does everything from financial and business matters to website, event coordination, tech, and more. She is married to Brian, they have 2 children, an adult son, Blake, and a daughter, Jalyssa, who passed away October 2013 at age 18. When she’s not working she enjoys time with her family, road cycling, distance cycling tours, gardening and walking their dog, Hudson.

Hi, my name is Kaitlyn Peterson and I’m the First Step Director. In this position I get to welcome visitors, plan outreach and service opportunities for Rosewood and our community, ACTS, lead programs like Gamers Guild, church events, and community outreach gatherings. I also lead our Hand 2 Hand ministry. The program provides food on the weekends for students in need who attend Rosewood Elementary in Jenison and Hope Academy of West Michigan in Grand Rapids. This program is fully…

Alisha joined our staff January 2021 and has a degree in early childhood and elementary education form Northwestern College. She also has extensive experience in Christ centered childcare and educational settings.  Alisha has also volunteered at Rosewood in many of our programs from Youth Group to Little Kids and is heavily involved in our Mom’s activities making her a familiar face to many of Rosewood’s families.  

Hey! My name is Jay Schipper and I’m the guy that has the awesome opportunity to be the Student and Young Adult Ministries Director here at Rosewood! I graduated from Grand Valley State University in 2011 with a degree in Nursing.  During my time at Grand Valley I met my wife, Britni. I later graduated from Huntington University with a Master’s degree in Ministry with an emphasis in youth ministry.  My wife and I have 5 children (4 boys and…

Shawn Szafarski joined the team in October of 2022. Over the past decade, Shawn has been involved with and served with a worship team in varying capacities. He loves reaching people through music, and over the past few years has grown in to the tech aspect of the worship team. Always happy to learn and try new things, getting in to the tech side of things has been an experience he enjoys. Coming all the way from southern California, Shawn…

Elizabeth became Rosewood staff in 2025, serving as the Accessibility and Deaf Ministry leader, though has been interpreting at Rosewood since 2015. She has a Bachelor’s of Science from Central Michigan University in Recreation, Parks and Leisure Services Administration with a concentration in Therapeutic Recreation. Her first career was working as a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation. She then earned an Associates of Arts from Lansing Community College’s Sign Language Interpreter Program after meeting Roman (Deaf) who…

Graham is our Supervisor of Building and Grounds. He joined staff December 2019. He is married to Kristin and they have two children, Brianna and Logan. Their family have been members since Summer of 2019. Graham maintains our facilities and assists in all events that take place on the property.