Craig's Calling

It’s 3:50 a.m., and while the blazing California sun has not yet risen, Lieutenant Craig Kootstra’s alarm is ringing. After a morning workout at his local gym, Kootstra begins his 30-minute commute to the Tracy Police Department. Although heavy San Franscisco traffic slows him down, he values this quiet time as his devotions play on the Bible App, and he resets his mind for another day.

Kootstra, a 2002 Dordt alumnus, is encouraged each morning by the truth that Christ is Lord over every square inch of creation—including the justice system. “This truth gives me clarity and confidence every day in my role as a police officer. Whether I am responding to an emergency, mentoring other officers, or making decisions that may carry with them the weight of life or death, I do so with the understanding that I am ultimately accountable to God. That sense of calling keeps me grounded and humble,” Kootstra says.

He arrives at the office at 7 a.m., and he hits the ground running. “First, I go through our call logs from the day before to see if there is anything I might have to review, like a pursuit or use of force cases. Then, it’s emails, checking policies that might need updating, reviewing evaluations of police officers that are currently going through our field training program, and then meetings with our executive team, labor unions, and other city departments.”

As the Divisional Commander of Professional Standards and Training, Kootstra also administers a large officer training budget and is currently overseeing the construction of a multi-million-dollar law enforcement training facility. While Kootstra jokes, “My biggest threat these days is death by paper cut,” it wasn’t always like this. Throughout Kootstra’s 21-year career in law enforcement, his plans have been uprooted. He has encountered the brokenness of the world every day; nonetheless, he has found a deep calling in seeking justice, serving others, and walking humbly with God.

From a young age, Kootstra’s sights were set on the FBI. “I think what interested me about law enforcement was the opportunity to help those who are victimized and hold those accountable who take advantage of the less fortunate,” recalls Kootstra. “And I liked the idea of never knowing what a day might look like. Each day would be filled with surprises."

While the FBI was the plan, Dordt wasn’t: Kootstra enrolled at California State University his freshman year. But, the large class sizes, the anonymity, and the lack of community he experienced led him to reconsider Dordt as an option. The following year Kootstra became a Defender. “I think the way Dordt integrates faith in all the coursework and showed us how to live a life of service helped to instill a sense of purpose and calling both in my personal and professional life,” says Kootstra. “The professors are not just there to educate, but they helped shape our worldview and prepared us for life after Dordt.”

After graduating from Dordt with a degree in Business Administration, Kootstra worked at an accounting firm before choosing to attend the police academy. In February 2004, he started working at the Tracy Police Department in Tracy, California.

Kootstra served as a Patrol Officer and member of the SWAT team for the next three and a half years. He attributes his success during this time to ideals and skills he honed at Dordt. “The strong Christian education Dordt provided me helped to instill in me a sense of moral responsibility and service to others, both essential in law enforcement,” says Kootstra.

He was quickly given the opportunity to pursue what he had dreamed of: investigation. “Investigation always interested me because I like problem-solving. It was like trying to put a puzzle together and all the clues were pieces. Once we had all the pieces, we could begin to tell the story of what really happened,” Kootstra says.

Because of his background in accounting and business, Kootstra’s first placement was in financial crimes. It wasn’t long, though, before Kootstra began checking the boxes to become a detective.

But, becoming a detective takes time—years of service and a number of interviews from high-ranking law enforcement both locally and from other police agencies before finally joining a randomized waitlist. After two years in investigation, Kootstra earned his title and was given the opportunity to shift to the Crimes Against Persons Unit. He worked violent crimes for three years.

“During this time period, I worked numerous homicide investigations, child torture cases and other death cases like Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), suspicious death, and accidental deaths,” says Kootstra. “It was a very busy time for me. We would regularly get called out in the middle of the night to work these cases. We constantly had to have our phones with us because we were on call pretty much all the time.” And busyness wasn’t the only thing weighing on Kootstra. “Working child death cases is tough. Working any death case gets to you after a while, but the ones involving children still stick out in my mind.”

Although Kootstra found this season to be fulfilling, he also recalls that it was a time that tested him deeply—emotionally, morally, and spiritually. But, he says, “It has been in these moments that my faith has become most real. I have been sustained by prayer, shaped by diving into Scripture, and reassured by the unwavering presence of the Holy Spirit in my life.”

During the next 9 years, now as a sergeant, Kootstra continued to serve the Tracy community. He became chief of staff during his tenure and also supervised a motor unit for several years. Kootstra recalls this season fondly. “It was a great assignment. I got paid to ride a motorcycle at work every day.” In addition to traffic enforcement, Kootstra also used previous investigative experience to examine all fatal traffic collisions.

Kootstra’s drive and his deep dedication to police work helped him get promoted to lieutenant rank in 2022. With the support of the police chief, police captain, and seven other lieutenants, Kootstra helps oversee approximately 110 officers and nearly 175 total personnel in the Tracy Police Department. Each day Kootstra is reminded of his guiding principle found in Micah 6:8 which sets the standard for how he wears his uniform with integrity and strives to live each day. “I believe that every person I encounter in this job, regardless of their situation, is made in the image of God,” says Kootstra. “That belief changes how I lead, how I serve, and how I seek justice. It reminds me that authority must always be exercised with compassion and humility.”

And Kootstra isn’t finished yet. This summer, he began working toward a Master’s Degree in Public Administration at Dordt. “I’m excited to be a student again after graduating 23 years ago!”

While Kootstra has seen considerable success in law enforcement, he credits much of what he has been able to accomplish to his support system. His wife and four children as well as his parents and his in-laws have all helped him accomplish his goals. Kootstra also serves as an elder and a volunteer middle school youth leader at Immanuel Christian Reformed Church in Ripon. All these activities, along with his kids’ sports schedules, waterskiing and wakeboarding at his family’s lake house, and his continued Dordt involvement give him life and identity outside of work.

“I tend to compartmentalize my work life from my home life,” reflects Kootstra. “I try to turn off my police brain and not think about the cases I am working on while I’m at home. It’s definitely a hard balance, and there are times when I am not good at it. But being involved in so many activities helps me to try to disengage from work life.”

For Kootstra, growing up in the church and graduating from Dordt has helped him understand his work in law enforcement not only as a profession but a calling. “In my 21 years of being in law enforcement, I have encountered the brokenness of our world every day—through violence, tragedy, and moments of deep human need. But even in these difficult places, I am reminded that God is present, and that He has called me here with a purpose.” And, Kootstra continues, “I can look back on my life and know that had I not attended Dordt and been challenged to look at the world differently and to think more critically, I would not be the person I am today.”

It is with gratitude for the influence Dordt had on Kootstra over two decades ago that has now led him to join the Dordt Alumni Council. “I am just finishing my second year, and I have loved serving on the council,” says Kootstra. “I enjoy promoting Dordt here in California and telling everyone all the good things that are taking place right now at Dordt. I have seen how Dordt impacted my life, and I want potential students to experience the same thing. And every time I come back to Sioux Center it truly feels like a part of me is returning home.”

Kootstra’s route to serving in law enforcement didn’t always go as planned. He has experienced deep joy in humble service and the administering of justice. He has experienced pain as he has witnessed and responded to the deprivation and brokenness of the world in which we live. He has also experienced the support, love, and influence of Christian community through his family, his church, and Dordt. Lieutenant Craig Kootstra has found, not just a career, but a profound calling in seeking justice, mercifully serving others, and walking humbly with God through 21 years in law enforcement.