Pastor Wayne Sneller and his wife Tammy are retiring to Minnesota to live closer to family after serving the Sully community for 12 of the 42 years they have been in ministry.
It was a day of celebration and some sadness as Sully First Reformed Church Pastor Wayne Sneller preached his final sermon in Sully on Sunday, Sept. 26. Sneller and his wife Tammy have been part of the Sully community for 12 years. They are retiring to Luverne, MN, where one of their daughters lives with her family. They will also be within 45 miles of their other daughters and their families who live in Sioux Falls, SD, and Sioux Center. Sneller has accepted the role of Senior Retiree Chaplain for retired Reformed Church ministers and missionaries living in South Dakota and southwest Minnesota. And of course those of you who have heard some of Sneller’s stories from the pulpit know he also plans to get back to woodworking and more fishing, hopefully with some big catches!
On Sunday, a farewell luncheon was held after Sneller preached his final message “The Church That Goes the Distance.” The final Sunday in Sully for the Snellers, surrounded by their family and a full sanctuary of well-wishers, included a baptism of twin babies, a surprise special love offering gift, Pastor Wayne’s jokes, and a combined effort of praise teams and the children of the church in a final song “The Blessing.” Classis Pastor Carl Boersma was in attendance and thanked Sneller and his family for their many years in ministry. “Well done, good and faithful servant,” concluded Boersma.
Sneller was first introduced to the Sully area when he did an internship in 1979 at Sully FRC. “I came in the late spring and left in the early fall to return to Western Theological Seminary in Holland, MI,” shared Sneller. “My wife, Tammy, joined me in mid-summer as she was a secretary at Zeeland Public Schools in Zeeland, MI, and they got out of school in mid-June. Rev. Hakken had come in 1978, and he took an extended leave in the summer of 1979 to return to Grand Rapids, MI. My supervisory elder team consisted of Dick Bandstra, Marvin Swank, and Harlan Terpstra. My job responsibilities were to preach morning and evening, Senior High Youth, calling, and Vacation Bible School.” God’s timing brought Sneller to Sully as a young intern in his first church and now he’s retired from the same church, ending his tenure in full-time ministry.
During his career in ministry that spanned four decades, Sneller served as an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America.
“I served Zion Reformed Church in rural Sheffield for 10 years, Faith Reformed Church in Lynden, WA, for three years, First Reformed Church in Maurice for 16 years, and First Reformed Church in Sully for 12 years,” said Sneller. “I did internships while in seminary at Fourth Reformed Church in Holland, MI, for three years 1978-1981, First Reformed Church in Sully in 1979, and First Reformed Church, Baldwin, WI, in 1980.”
When the Snellers came to Sully, the area and community were just coming off the housing crisis and the closing of Maytag in Newton. “I have enjoyed seeing the community of Sully come together and grow through the tough times and be a place people want to move to. If I would have had kids who would have lived here, I would have bought a house on the dollar lots that were offered by the City of Sully for development!” smiled Sneller. Some favorite memories of their time in Sully include the Fourth of July parade and the Christmas parade. The Snellers were also avid supporters of the youth in the local schools and active in the community events.
The Snellers will miss the Coffee Cup Café with good conversations with friendly people and good food, the delightful desserts and sweets of the La Rose Marie Bakery, and the great conversations Pastor Wayne had with people picking up their mail at the local post office.
As senior pastor, Sneller’s first message in Sully 12 years ago was entitled “The Church that Makes the Difference” from Isaiah 61:1-3. “Sully First Reformed has transformed itself into a people and a facility that learned what it means to serve and love in the community where God has planted it. Dream big and develop the purpose God has developed for you and your gifts in Christ,” challenged Sneller in his parting words. As it says in 2 Timothy 4:2, “Be faithful in season and out of season.”
In conclusion, Sneller shared, “I have loved this church and its people with all my heart! I am so glad God led my wife and I here 12 years ago. It has gone fast, and I have enjoyed the challenge that matched my gifts and the needs of the church.”
On behalf of the Sully FRC Consistory, vice president Bryan De Jong closed the service in prayer with a blessing from the book of Matthew and concluded, “Thankful for what has been, and grateful for what is yet to be in Pastor Wayne and Tammy’s journey ahead.”
Rev. Tom Vandeberg, who was also in attendance at the farewell, has been hired as an interim pastor beginning with Sully FRC on Oct. 1, while a search committee searches for the next senior pastor to answer the call to Sully.
