KALAMAZOO, Mich. (RNS) A church-planting expert has been nominated to be the eighth president of Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Mich.

The Rev. Julius Medenblik, 49, will succeed the Rev. Cornelius Plantinga Jr. at the end of the 2010-11 school year if his appointment is approved by the Christian Reformed Church Synod in June. Medenblik is currently chairman of the seminary’s board of trustees.

Medenblik is senior pastor of New Life Christian Reformed Church in New Lenox, Ill., which has grown from four members to more than 700. He also leads the church-planting efforts for the CRC.

Mendenblik’s work in starting new churches impressed the Rev. Denise Posie,one of 11 members of the presidential nominating committee.

“He’s a church planter, and I think he’s coming with some new ideas,” said Posie, an ordained Baptist minister and pastor of Immanuel Christian Reformed Church in Kalamazoo. “He has proven he has good leadership skills based on how his church has progressed.”

Mendenblik’s ability to reach out across denominational lines is important because of the seminary’s diverse student body, Posie said. While the seminary is owned and operated by the CRC, it has more than 300 students from more than 40 denominations. Medenblik said he hopes to double the number of seminary students in the next 10 years.

“The seminary has made a fresh and bold choice of its next president,” outgoing seminary president Plantinga said in a comment posted on the seminary Web site. “Julius Medenblik is an ecclesiastical entrepreneur — a Christian leader of proven accomplishment in the church. … I look forward to working closely with Jul during the transition from one president to the next, and I will do so with joy.”