Carol Lynne (Van Dyke) Befus, born December 16, 1953, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, passed through the thin veil between this world and the next to her eternal home on April 13, 2026, in the springtime of her seventy-third year—the season she looked forward to the most.

A lifelong, devoted follower of Jesus Christ, Carol walked through her life with the confidence of this promise, "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you" (Isaiah 26:3).

She is survived by her husband, Ray Befus, Jr., the love of her life for over fifty-five years. Together they aspired to fulfill Psalm 34:3: "Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together." Carol lived out that calling through a life of risk and adventure by partnering with Ray and their children to plant Vineyard North Church in Grand Rapids and by giving more than 25 years to Christian mission work in Zimbabwe.

Carol and Ray took delight in their four married children and spouses, Michael and Lauren Befus, Laura and Matt Gravelle, Heather and Adam Tichelaar, Kristin and Matt Scheider, along with their fourteen grandchildren, Jack, Evelyn, Ella and Henry Befus; Lily, Calvin, and Isla Gravelle; Hans, Heath, Huxley, Hadley Tichelaar and Julia Yeo; and Michael and Graham Scheider. Carol was so grateful to have all of her family living in the Grand Rapids area.

Carol is also survived by her mother, Anne Marie Van Dyke; and her siblings, Barb Watson, David Van Dyke, Tim Van Dyke, and Jan VanBruggen.

A memorial service and reception in Carol's honor will be held at Vineyard Church (4700 East Beltline NE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49525) on Sunday, May 17 at 4 p.m. EST, with Rev. Dr. Jackie Roese of Austin, Texas presiding. The service will be live-streamed at vineyardnorth.com.

Guests are invited to bring a potted flower to help turn the church into a garden (one of Carol's favorite places) and to take it home afterward to plant in her honor. Carpooling and ride-sharing are encouraged. Donations may be made to Vineyard Church in honor of Carol and her family.

What is Alpha? 

• Alpha a 10-week dinner party & discussion group focused on spirituality, Jesus, and faith.
• It’s an introduction to Jesus for non-churchgoers and skeptics.
• It’s without a doubt, the single best way to help your friends and neighbors discover new life with Jesus.
• Alpha is worldwide (160 countries, hundreds of denominations, 30 million attendees to date)

Who could I invite to Alpha? 
All of meet people who would be miraculously transformed by an experience at the Alpha Course: the neighbor who’s new to the area, the co-worker who is battling a bad diagnosis, the lonely cashier we chat with.

Will non-churchgoers really show up? 
Here’s what our Alpha teams have discovered about inviting others to Alpha…

• Despite the fear that people won’t be interested, most people are rather curious about event that combines food, beer & wine with ‘anything-goes’ conversation about life’s big questions—even if it is at a church.
• Despite the concern that people won’t be interested in talking about Jesus and Christianity, most are open to sincere conversation—as long as no one crams it down their throat.
• Despite the worry that people will suspect of of false motives, most appreciate that someone cared enough to invite them—including others is kindness not weirdness!
• Despite the anxiety that people who show up will find it weird, almost everyone that attends Alpha loves it—yes, LOVES IT!

Even those that decide Christianity isn’t for them report that Alpha is one of the most enjoyable and invigorating events they’ve ever attended. Where else can you enjoy good food and drink, positive and supportive new friendships, and completely safe conversations about deeply personal life convictions? Most are pleasantly surprised to find there is no hard sales pitch with Alpha, no catch, no strings-attached, no requests for money, no pressure to respond in any way at all. Just welcome, hospitality, and fun.

Believe it or not, in that environment, many people do discover that Jesus is good news, that God is already at work in their life, and that they’d love to take the next steps toward life with Jesus.

OK, I'm ready to invite someone...how do I break the ice?
The best place to start is with a low-pressure text message (or facebook message if you don’t have their phone #). Text messages are non-intrusive and non-awkward. If people do respond with interest, you can always follow up with a conversation, but you can break the ice with a text message.

You can also send along the link to info & signup, vineyardnorth.com/alpha 

Here are some of my actual invitation texts (feel free to copy & paste them)
To a neighbor I regularly see, but have never talked with about faith or church

Hey _____, what are you up to on Sundays? I’m going to this event at my church called the Alpha Course and I thought you might be interested. It’s a weekly dinner party event with anything-goes discussions about faith, Jesus, and spirituality. Not sure if you’re into that sort of thing, but if you are, let’s chat! It Sunday evenings starting Sunday, January 19, 5 pm and you can drop in just to check it out once if you like.

To someone I haven’t seen in awhile
Hey _____, what’s up!? Been way too long! I was just thinking about you because I’m attending an event called Alpha and I think it would your sort of thing. It’s basically a dinner party conversation group about spirituality, Jesus, and life’s biggest questions. Sounds religious, but it’s actually a group for the curious, the skeptic, and those with doubts to explore questions of faith in an anything-goes environment—all over dinner and dessert. It's Sunday evenings starting Sunday, January 19, 5 pm if you're interested.

To a neighbor that has expressed an interest in going to church
Hey ______, I’m helping out with this event this winter I thought you might be interested in. It’s called the Alpha Course and it’s a dinner party conversation group focused on spirituality & Jesus. It’s hosted by my church, but it’s specifically created for people that don’t really go to church but have an interest in talking about life’s deep questions, God, etc. You mentioned you wondering about checking out church, and if you haven’t yet, Alpha is a really fun way to explore the topic, but over dinner and dessert! If you’re at all interested, it happens Sunday evenings starting Sunday, January 19, 5:00 pm.

So, if you’ve ever thought to yourself…”gee, I really should invite so-and-so to Alpha” don’t delay! Shoot out a couple texts RIGHT NOW. Before you second guess yourself. At worst, you may not get a response—not the worst thing in the world. At very least, it might turn into an interesting conversation next time you see them. Or, it might turn into the best thing that happens to you this fall! Give it a go!

Need more inspiration…check out this video from the Alpha International.

Want to see what an entire Alpha presentation is like? Here’s the video from week 1, which is followed by small group discussion.

Vineyard is launching a new mobile app with an all new feature—group chat! Stay in touch with your groups and ministry teams, share prayer requests, and more. The app also includes church announcements, video livestream and replay of past services, giving, signups, calendar, and a number of free media resources.
Download it in the Apple or Android app store by searching for Vineyard Grand Rapids.

Every month, we serve several hundred local families by supplying them with frozen, canned, and fresh food. This is part of how we LIVE JESUS’ LIFE TOGETHER—working like Jesus.

You can join us for preparation on Friday (2pm-4pm for unloading the truck, and 5pm-6pm for organizing) and/or Saturday for distribution (times needed from 7:30-11:30).

Here are the specific service opportunities

• FRIDAY, 2-4 pm – Assemble boxes, unload trailer, set up tables, set up and prep items on tables.
• FRIDAY, 6-7 pm – Fill boxes with dry goods/staples and stage them by the front doors. Reset tables in the multi-purpose room for meat packing. We moved this forward because the Rise Up: Hearing From God event starts at 6:30pm.
• SATURDAY, 7:30am - 10:30am – Food Prep/Clean Up – Bag frozen meat, prep produce, reset/clean church.
• SATURDAY, 9:00am to 11:30 am – Distribution/Clean Up* – Unload truck (produce and perishables). Stage items for distribution. Reset/clean church.
• SATURDAY, 8:00 am – 10:00 am – Prayer*
• *The distribution and prayer teams will be outside. Please dress for the weather.