Christina Tazelaar Appointed Chief Operating Officer of the RCA

Formerly the chief communications officer, Christina Tazelaar is now the chief operating officer (COO) for the Reformed Church in America, effective September 1. Tazelaar picks up the reins from Sung Kim, who has served as COO and associate general secretary for the last two years.

Effective August 15, 2023, Kim shifted his focus toward enabling growth and strategy within the Center for Church Multiplication and Ministry to help fulfill other organizational needs. Tazelaar stepped in as interim COO at that time while the position was posted. After receiving applications and conducting interviews, general secretary Eddy Alemán appointed Tazelaar for the position.

“Christina is the right person for this job because of her faithful commitment to Jesus and to the vision and mission of the RCA. She connects well with the GSC staff and with churches and leaders throughout the denomination,” says Alemán. “During her almost two decades as a GSC staff member, she has grown as a leader and has a proven track record of organizing and managing teams well.

“Christina’s leadership skills will serve her well in her new role,” adds Alemán. “She has great interpersonal skills, effective communication, and strategic thinking.”

As COO, Tazelaar oversees much of the General Synod Council (GSC) staff’s operational teams: communications and marketing, data, IT, and legal. She will continue to oversee the Office of General Synod and the Archives, and adds supervision of the supervisor for RCA chaplains to her purview.

“We have really awesome, skilled operations staff who are passionate about supporting RCA churches and leaders in mission and ministry,” says Tazelaar. “I am eager to work more closely with these teams to continue to support our churches and constituencies.”

In 2005, after graduating from Calvin College (now Calvin University) with a bachelor’s degree in English, Tazelaar was hired by the RCA as an editorial assistant. She has been with the GSC staff ever since, serving in a variety of communications roles and taking on increased leadership and responsibility. 

Past roles include associate editor, managing editor of RCA Today (the denominational magazine that concluded publication in 2021), manager of communication, and director of communication. Through the years, she has worked with a number of committees and task forces, as well. Tazelaar’s work in communications culminated in early 2022 with her appointment as chief communications officer. She joined the GSC staff’s strategic leadership team (SLT) at that time.

“Working in communications for such a long time, you get to know so many aspects of the denomination and its workings,” says Tazelaar. “It feels like a pretty natural shift into the role of chief operating officer.”

According to Alemán, part of Tazelaar’s role as COO will be “helping the rest of the GSC staff live out the staff values—Christ-centeredness, collaboration, diversity, adaptability, and trust—that guide the organization and inspire teams to stay focused on their callings and help them thrive.”

“Our denomination has undergone significant change in the last few years, which has raised a lot of questions about how GSC staff provides support,” says Tazelaar. “I want to encourage the staff in their work during this time with a lot of transition. My hope is that we will take the opportunity to adapt and focus our work to best support our churches, now and going forward.

“Even as the RCA looks different, and as we become more beautifully diverse, I’m confident that we, the RCA, will keep following Christ in mission, in a lost and broken world so loved by God. I’m really eager to be part of that and to see how that unfolds in the next season.”