Nathaniel Al-Attas Bradford
Associate Chaplain for Residence Life
Commons Annex 1142
(616)526-7719
nbradf34@calvin.edu

Nathaniel  Al-Attas Bradford began working for Calvin in the summer of 2008 when he and his wife, Aminah, were hired to share the new position of Associate Chaplain for Residence Life.  Nate grew up in Grand Rapids and graduated from Calvin College in 2000. 

He credits a year of working for Americorps in Boston before starting college and several off-campus courses at Calvin as the experiences that gave him a love for cross-cultural environments.  This love motivated him to move to Jackson, Mississippi after Calvin to work at the John M. Perkins Foundation in order to see if ministry was the path that God was pointing him towards.  While there he worked with young children from the neighborhood, college and church groups from around the country and prisoners in the Mississippi Department of Corrections.  The work amidst these diverse people groups—while under the supervision of John Perkins and family—taught him about Christian community development, racial reconciliation, and the need for all people in all walks of life to develop a loving relationship with Jesus Christ.  It also confirmed that his passions could find a purpose in a full-time ministry position. 

He left Jackson after two and half years to start seminary at Regent College in Vancouver, BC.  He left Regent in 2007 with more than a MDiv for he also met and married Aminah there.  They suffered through the winter and spring of 2008 as chaplains at Virgin Islands National Park then moved to Grand Rapids to complete ordination requirements for the Christian Reformed Church.

Nate is particularly excited to be back in Grand Rapids after eight years away.  He loves his Eastown/East Hills neighborhood and feels blessed beyond measure to have the chance to give back to the community that raised him (both neighborhood and church/school).  He usually gets along well with his co-workers even though he’s been known to disagree about the layout of laundry rooms, of all things, with one particular co-worker. In a completely unrelated matter, he cherishes the opportunity to work alongside his wife as they focus on first and second year students.