Pastor Duane Tinklenberg was born on a farm in Minnesota and is the eldest of 10 children. He went to Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI, and graduated in 1964. From there he went to Calvin Seminary and graduated in 1967.

"Why I became a pastor is difficult to answer except to say that I was moved along the way by the Spirit of God," he said. "The pastoral ministry seemed to fit the interests I had as well as the gifts God had given me."

After graduation, he served in five churches including Bethel CRC, 1980-89. He retired from the Hospers CRC in 2006 and, at the invitation of the Bethel CRC council, accepted the position of Pastor of Visitation. He visits our church shut-in members on a regular basis. He retired from preaching sermons in 2024.

In his spare time, he plays golf in the summer and snooker pool at the Senior Center in the winter, does some traveling, attends grandchildren events and reads novels.