- Position: Founder/President
God began preparing John Wagenveld for international ministry at an early age. John was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. But when John was two, his family moved to Argentina to serve with Christian Reformed World Missions. With Spanish as his heart language, John went on to become fluent in both English and French. John's postgraduate education reflects his dedication to the idea that church planting should be front and center on the missions agenda of churches.
He received a B. A. in Theology from Dordt College and an M. A. in Missions and Church Growth at Calvin Theological Seminary. Most recently he received his Doctorate in Ministry from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. John has authored the book Iglecrecimiento Integral (Wholistic Church Growth), which was published in Spanish. He led the team of 22 authors who joined together to produce the book Sembremos Iglesias Saludables (Let’s Plant Healthy Churches), and then edited the compilation. In 2014, he coauthored the book Take Your Church’s Pulse: Ten Vital Signs of a Healthy Church and was also an editor and contributor to Planting Healthy Churches with eight other authors, published in 2016.
Not only multi-lingual, John is multi-cultural. He has lived half of his life in Latin America and the other half in the United States. He and his wife were missionaries in Puerto Rico from 1994 to 2001.
John lives in Zeeland, MI with his wife and children. John loves the game of soccer and plays whenever he has the opportunity.
- Position: VP of Development & Communication
Ken Neevel became personally involved in church planting in 2015 when he and his wife felt called to help plant a church in Jamestown, MI. As Ken saw how people found their way back to the Lord, it ignited an enthusiasm in him for church planting. On a trip to India with another mission agency, he was energized again by how church planting impacts individuals, families, and communities.
Soon after, Ken asked God for the strength to let Him lead wherever the Lord was calling him. God pulled Ken away from his work as the Director of Development and Facilitation with the Reformed Church in America (RCA). Several days later, Dr. John Wagenveld, Founder and President of Multiplication Network, reached out to Ken to encourage him to apply for the position of VP of Development and Communication. Ken felt God was calling him to join the Multiplication Network team and accepted the role.
As VP of Development and Communication, Ken encourages, supports, and coaches the development and communication teams and works to expand Multiplication Network’s ministry funding base while sharing the mission and ministry of Multiplication Network with more people. Ken says, “I am particularly excited about how God is using the people and resources of Multiplication Network to reach unreached people with the Gospel. Lives are being changed at amazing rates. Multiplication Network’s global impact is significantly disproportionate to the size of the organization both in staffing and financial resources.” Ken is working from Multiplication Network’s West Michigan office in Zeeland.
Dr. John Wagenveld shares, “I am thrilled that Ken joined Multiplication Network. His gifts and talents have been put to great use not only in advancement and communication, but also serving on the executive team as we seek to train 20,000 church planters per year around the world.”
Ken grew up in New York in a family that has produced seven generations of RCA pastors, but he has lived in West Michigan since graduating from Hope College. He continues to be an avid Hope basketball fan. He served for almost 15 years as VP of Advancement & Communications at Western Theological Seminary (WTS) before working for the RCA.
Ken and his wife Jodi live in Zeeland, MI. Between them they have four daughters and 10 grandchildren. Ken enjoys singing and playing guitar, especially with the worship team at Jamestown Harbor Church (JHC). He also serves on the board of the American Mission Hospital in Bahrain, which was started by his great, great uncle Samuel Zwemer, often referred to as “the Apostle to Islam.” In his free time, Ken enjoys golf, camping, travel, and family time.
- Position: VP of Global Ministry
Rev. Ben Meyer, D.Min, is the VP of Global Ministry for Multiplication Network. Ben helped to start Multiplication Network's ministry in Mexico 2010 and served on the Multiplication Network leadership team for Mexico from 2010-2021.
Ben was born in California but grew up in Michigan, New York, and Indiana. Thanks to his parents and God’s grace, he has known and trusted in Jesus as his Savior since he was young. He met his wife Amy at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, MI, where he obtained his B.A. with honors in business and Spanish.
Upon graduation, Ben and Amy served as missionaries in Nicaragua for two years with Resonate Global Mission (formerly known as Christian Reformed World Missions) from 1997-1999. Ben then studied for his M.Div at Calvin Theological Seminary and was ordained as a Minister of the Word in the Christian Reformed Church in North America in 2003.
Ben and Amy, together with their five children, ministered in the areas of church planting and leadership development with Resonate Global Mission in Guadalajara, Mexico from 2004-2021. Their time of ministry in Mexico included directly planting two churches while also serving in a variety of leadership development ministries. In 2010, Multiplication Network President Dr. John Wagenveld and Latin America Director Dr. Juan Carlos Melo introduced Ben to Multiplication Network. They invited him to collaborate with them on a national level in Mexico as Multiplication Network's coordinator. During these 11 years, the work expanded rapidly to encompass training teams of church planter trainers with multiple national partners. In addition, the work of Multiplication Network in Mexico continued to grow exponentially.
Ben and Amy made the difficult decision to conclude their rewarding chapter of life and service in Mexico in 2021 in order to accept the invitation to serve as VP of Global Ministry with Multiplication Network. Although difficult, “passing the baton” of ministry to several gifted and capable national leaders was deeply rewarding.
John Wagenveld shares, “I am very thankful to the Lord that Ben has accepted the challenge to use his gifts and skills to bless the nations through Multiplication Network. His leadership skills will help with our saturation church planting strategy all over the world.”
Ben and his wife Amy now live in Holland, MI. Their five children range in age from high school to young adults. Ben concluded his Doctor of Ministry degree at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago in 2023 on the subject of "Healthy Church Planting in Mexico."
- Position: VP of Finance
Michael graduated from Purdue University Lafayette with a B.S. in economics and worked at the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII). He began as a research analyst and eventually became the associate editor for the AAII’s bi-monthly newsletter. Michael continued to be an account executive at Jareo·Jareo Marketing & Communication and eventually took a job closer to home at Horizon Publishing Company. In 2001, he and his wife Jane began an e-commerce business in the retail beauty industry.
Most recently, Michael was the director of Frontline Ministries for one of Faith Reformed Church’s eight multi-sites in Beecher, IL. Being involved with the Faith Beecher launch, Michael saw firsthand how God was at work in amazing ways through church planting and growth. Due to all of this, he was very excited when he met Dr. John Wagenveld at the 2014 Global Leadership Summit. Hearing what John and Multiplication Network were doing on such a grand and global scale was extraordinarily inspiring.
Michael volunteered to work with Multiplication Network on the Stronger Churches program and help lay the foundation for the Take Your Church’s Pulse website. Several months later, Michael received a phone call informing him about a full-time position with Multiplication Network. He accepted the position as the Advancement Director for the Chicago area in 2016. In September of 2022, Michael transitioned to his current role to come alongside and assist Tim Maxwell with serving leaders with trusted financial information as the Finance Manager and Assistant Controller. In October 2023, Michael stepped into the role of Director of Finance / Controller. In January 2024, he joined the International Leadership Team (ILT) to contribute in serving the international ministry. As of January 2026, Michael is the VP of Finance for Multiplication Network.
Michael and his wife Jane have four kids, two grandkids, and live in Saint John, IN.