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Alethea "Lee" De Groot has been working with youth for over 34 years in one capacity or another. She is in her 16th year as Youth Coordinator for Minn-I-Kota Youth Network and enjoys every minute of it. She has also been involved in youth ministry by being a Champion (10 years for Minnkota, Iakota, and Heartland Classis) for the Christian Reformed Faith Formations Youth Ministry and also by serving on their Executive Team (8 years) in Youth Ministry for the CRCNA. In January 2025 Minnikota Youth (A.K.A. MIK Youth) started a sister ministry under Lee (& Pastor Doug's) leadership. This new ministry is called MIK+ Young Single Adults. MIK+ is governed by the same Board Members and is also supported by the same three Classis as MIK Youth. Youth & young adult ministry is a big part of Lee's life and who she is. However, she says her first and most important calling is being a wife, mom to her 4 sons+ 1 daughter + 4 daughters-in-law + 1 son-in-law, and grandma to her 15 grandchildren. Lee is married to Pastor Doug De Groot. Doug and Lee were both born and raised in/outside of Hull, IA but have lived in Rock Rapids IA for the past 5 ½ years. They will be moving back “home” to Hull in the fall of 2026 when they are finished building their “retirement (?)” home. Doug and Lee's 5+5 children are... Chase (39) is a RN and is currently a traveling NR/Nurse Manager. He is married to Beth, who is also an RN at the Rock Rapids, IA Clinic. They live on an acreage near Doon, IA and have 6 children: 3 daughters and 3 sons: Lauren (14), Faye (13), Jude (9), Eve (7), Graham (5) and Miles (4). Dodge (35), together with his wife Jordan, live in Kennewick, WA and are the founders and operators of Jordan Edens De Groot Photography. Dodge does all the IT work for her photography business and Jordan also works for a real estate company in the Tri-Cities of Washington where they live. They have one son, Bodin (5) and one daughter, Wells (2). Dash (33) is a Data Scientist at MetaBank out of Sioux Falls, SD. He is married to Amber, who is a stay-at-home mom. They live in Hull, IA with their 5 children: two daughters, Lilly (8) and Ella (6) and their 3 sons, Dallas (4), Callum (2), and Willem (born in April 2025). Cruise (28) lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife, Makayla. Cruise is a Staff Sergeant in the US Army and is continuing his college education through Grand Canyon University online. Cruise and Makayla both work in Marketing at P&G headquarters. AyshaLynn (26) lives in David City, NE with her husband, Isaac Cook. Aysha is a stay-at-home mom to their two daughters, Piper (3) and Caroline (2). Isaac is in his 4th year of teaching History at Schuyler, NE High School.
Doug is a “retired” Christian Reformed Church Pastor (March 2025). He is currently serving as a full-time Contract Pastor at Calvin Christian Reformed Church in Rock Valley IA. He retired after serving as the full-time Pastor at the Christian Reformed Church in Rock Rapids, Iowa. Before taking his call to Rock Rapids he was the Pastor of Cornerstone Prison Church, which is a Christian Reformed Church behind the walls of the South Dakota Men's State Penitentiary. This Church was the very 1st CRC behind the walls of a prison in the United States. Before becoming ordained, Doug also spent time working with youth. He was a Head Cadet Counselor for 16 years and helped out with his church's youth group. In September 2022 the MIK Youth Board saw a need and hired Pastor Doug as a part-time Coordinator to work alongside his wife, Lee.
When Pastor Doug and Lee find free time, they enjoy flipping houses, gardening, spending one-on-one time with the Grands and going to their many activities , and traveling to their distant children/grandchildren. However, they say their most precious moments are spent with family eating a home-cooked meal gathered around a (very big) table.