Dave Siemens is a successful businessman who continues to use his Counselling education from Providence Theological Seminary to help his company, Kleefeld Construction, thrive. A hard worker with a heart for ministry, he has served as both a worship leader and voluntary elder at Kleefeld Christian Community since the mid-1990s and will continue to be involved in his church as his son, Chris, eventually assumes more of Kleefeld Construction’s day-to-day operations.
It was at Providence, Siemens points out, that he learned to better appreciate God’s love, relate to others and understand himself.
“I expect that the growth of our construction business has less to do with my abilities as an entrepreneur than with how I relate to people and how they feel they have been treated by me through our business transactions,” he says.
Siemens was born and raised in Kola, Manitoba and attended a small, country school house for Grades 1 through 8 before transitioning to high school in nearby Virden. From there he worked in a construction business with his brother before pursuing his Bachelor of Biblical Studies at Peace River Bible Institute in Sexsmith, Alberta a few years later.
Shortly before he attained his degree, Siemens was invited to apply for an associate pastor position in the northern Alberta town of La Crete. He got the job, and it was during his four-and-a-half years there that he learned of the Counselling program at Providence. He enrolled in a summer module and eventually moved to southeastern Manitoba for full-time study. He graduated with a Master of Arts in Counselling in 1994 and completed his internship in 1995.
While looking for full-time pastoral or counselling work he took on temporary employment as a health care aide and maintenance person at a nursing home, but the needs of a growing family meant the need for additional income to pay the bills. No positions had come up that would specifically fit his counselling training, so he had to make a decision.
“I decided to put an ad in local mailboxes announcing I was a carpenter for hire for small projects,” he explains. “I got a call the next morning, and since that very day there has never been a time without work. As more calls came in for construction projects I began to hire workers to help me.”
Twenty years later Kleefeld Construction employs 10 people and builds large, custom homes. It was Providence, says Siemens, that equipped him with the interpersonal skills he’s drawn on over a successful career in business.
“My education at Providence gave me a better insight into the human mind from a biblical perspective and helped shape me into a person who cares about what others are dealing with in their lives and how I can help them, without just seeing others as a means to achieving my own goals,” he says.
Siemens is looking forward to continued involvement in his local church in the coming years, particularly in a relational style of ministry. He is also relishing time spent with his children and grandchildren.
“Through my training at Providence,” he says, “I became very aware of the depth of God’s love for me and how fortunate I am to be called one of his own and to belong to his family. My vision is to spread that Good News to everyone I am involved with, whether at work, in church, in the community or in my family.”
