Staff Snapshot: Will Groenendyk

Will Groenendyk has been with Hymnary as both a full-time employee (four years now) and as a student intern (a little over a year). A 2014 Calvin graduate with a degree in computer science, he's one of the site's many unsung heroes, providing technical input and leadership for the development team. He says that what that means in practice varies from day to day, but typically involves reviewing code for quality purposes, helping developers brainstorm ways to address obstacles or bugs and ensuring that new features and fixes are rolled out in a timely manner.

But it's the higher purpose of Hymnary that gives his work meaning he says: "My favorite aspect of this job is being part of a team that impacts the spiritual lives of so many different people from so many different backgrounds. It is extremely gratifying to hear how much our users appreciate the site; for example, frequently when I am talking with someone involved in church music, the person lights up when they hear where I work and cannot say enough about how helpful Hymnary is to them."

The Spring Lake, Michigan, native also likes being part of a small team that gets a lot done, noting that the success of Hynmnary owes a huge debt of gratitude to its users, many of whom, he says, donate financial resources to Hymnary.org or pray for us and our mission. And, he adds, none of it would be possible without a very capable team of volunteers, all of whom donate their time in order to continuously expand the Hymnary database.