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Volume 70,
Issue 16
Guest Article Domestic Mission Committee Report Mr. Doezema is secretary of the Domestic Mission Committee. Northern Ireland Reflecting on his first year as missionary in Northern Ireland, Rev. Ronald Hanko noted that "things have gone so well that it is difficult at times to see anything negative."What was Rev. Hanko talking about? About his work as missionary, surely - for he wrote the above in connection with his observation that the Word had been eagerly received, and that the Lord had opened many doors for him and for the Covenant Reformed Fellowship (CRF). But we think he intended more. In fact, from the monthly reports which Rev. Hanko submitted conscientiously throughout the year, we would dare say that he intended the statement to be all-inclusive. In every aspect of their life and work in Northern Ireland, things are going well for the Hankos. That must have come as a great relief to them. For there would have been, by way of anticipation, not only excitement for what lay ahead, but also certain apprehensions. What about schooling? How would they get along with the members of the CRF? What about the IRA? Would they ever get used to driving on the wrong side of the road, and get accustomed to hearing Irish English? In every respect the Hankos have been able to "see the gracious hand of God" in their life. The warmth of the welcome extended to them by the CRF on their arrival turned out to be a good barometer of the affection shown them consistently thereafter. The children have settled well into the school situation and have made a good adjustment to life in another country. (In fact, according to their father, they "have been a great help in the work, witnessing to others, and being in general an asset to the group.") And the Hankos have found very gratifying the support from back home., Noteworthy in that regard was, Hudsonville's decision to send, at their congregation's own expense, a committee of two elders to Northern Ireland, to encourage the Hankos and to assess; personally, the work being done there. And they came bearing gifts -one for each member of the Hanko family, "in appreciation for their labors in N. Ireland." Tangible evidence, that was, of the continued care and concern for the missionary and his family, on the part of the congregation which had called and sent them. The work to which Rev. Hanko was called was in part to minister to the CRF itself. But hardly was that all. And a perusal of Rev. Hanko's monthly reports gives clear indication that he has taken his other responsibilities seriously. A bi-weekly newsletter, much of it written by Rev. Hanko, is sent now to more than 400 addresses in the UK. Bi-monthly articles were prepared for two Ulster newspapers. Special meetings, at the rate of about one per month, were held in various places in Northern Ireland. Rev. Hanko spoke also at several conferences in England, and, while he was there, he would conduct Sunday services as well. At one point last fall, a week of "Gospel Meetings" in Ballymena was followed by a conference sponsored by the British Reformed Fellowship in Morley, England. Looking back, Rev. Hanko counted 14 times that he preached or gave a speech in that 15-day period. He returned home, he said, exhausted . . . but looking forward to the next conference in Belfast the following week - a conference, incidentally, which was not very well attended, probably partly because a large bomb had exploded in the city the evening before, and parts of the city were still closed off at the time of the conference. There are also, of course, catechism classes to teach, Bible Study to lead, chapel speeches to give at a local Christian school, and sermons to prepare - to say nothing of Rev. Hanko's family responsibilities. (Just the transporting of his children to and from various schools every day can take precious hours out of the workweek.) But, so far from complaining, Rev. Hanko views the very busyness of his life as evidence of the Lord's prospering his work in Northern Ireland. A good part of the reason for his ability to cope, Rev. Hanko is quick to say, is that the members of the CRF are actively involved in the work. One man has taken charge of taping sermons, another of the book store, while still another attends to the finances, and someone else takes care of the distribution of the Standard Bearer and Beacon Lights, while another distributes tapes and pamphlets. And that's just a beginning. Work which can be done by others in the group is done by others. The members of the CRF insist on that - so that the missionary can devote his time to writing and teaching and preaching. Rev. Hanko notes too, with appreciation, that the members of the CRF faithfully attend all of the special meetings - even when those meetings are held in Portadown, a town about 60 miles distant from Ballymena. "Their entire life," according to the two elders who visited the CRF last fall, "seems to be the Fellowship and its members. They do not appear to be wealthy, nor are they poor, just average families who are dedicated to bringing up their children in the fear of the Lord. Family and the church are their whole life." The elders found additional evidence of that in their visiting a couple of catechism classes. They were much impressed by how well the students knew their lessons when they came to class. It was obvious that there had been diligent preparation in the homes. Hardly surprising, is it, that Rev. Hanko is so full of enthusiasm about the work! The Covenant Reformed Fellowship is small, numbering only 14 adults, three young people, and 13 children (not counting the Hanko tribe). Regular and irregular visitors, however, can swell that number to the point where there can be as many as 50 in attendance at a worship service. And that's stretching the capacity of their little rented meeting place. If there is one important "negative" in the work of the CRF, it is probably this, that their efforts to find a better place in which to worship have thus far come to nothing. Last September they made an offer to buy the Salvation Army Hall in Ballymena and were optimistic that "before too long" they would have a building of their own. (They even had assurance from their bank that they could obtain a 7% loan!) The Salvation Army however ran into a snag in their own plans to purchase another facility, so they had to put the negotiations to sell their building on hold. Convinced that they need a different meeting place, both because it is inadequate for their current use and because it is an impediment to external growth, the CRF is looking into several other possibilities, while maintaining periodic contact also with the Salvation Army. Finding suitable, and affordable, facilities for worship in Ballymena is not easy, for a little group; so, this remains a somewhat troublesome aspect of the work of the CRF. Overall, however, we echo Rev. Hanko's sentiments that things are going well. The Mission Committee is very pleased with Hudsonville's oversight of the field and with the work of their missionary during the past year. Further, as we said in our report to Synod, "the relationship among the four parties involved (the CRF, the missionary, the calling church, and the Mission Committee) has been marked by harmony and cordiality beyond that for which we would have dared hope. This part of our labors has therefore been a great pleasure, and we thank the Lord for it." (The British Reformed Fellowship, incidentally, is sponsoring another "Family Holiday Conference" this summer in Scotland, with Profs. Engelsma and Hanko being again the speakers. All of you who are planning to attend do well to try to persuade your friends to do the same.) Jamaica The work of our churches in Jamaica began before any of the current members of the Mission Committee had ever served on a synodical committee. We can well imagine, however, that there must have been a good deal of excitement that a door of opportunity was opening for the churches in a foreign country, with a people of a different race and culture. It soon became apparent, however, that Jamaica was an ambitious undertaking, for a small denomination of churches whose mission labors had before been pretty much limited to the U.S. and Canada. We had to learn as it were by trial and error - and of the latter there were probably not a few. One thing we did learn was that no real progress could be made in the work without a missionary in the field. And then that one missionary was simply not enough. In recognition of that, Synod authorized the calling church to call two missionaries. To First Church's great dismay, however, it became apparent, in the years following the return of Rev. Bruinsma, that getting even one missionary to labor in the field was proving to be impossible. It is of course the Lord who calls His servants, through His church, to labor where He pleases in His vineyard. Synod 1993 therefore concluded that God Himself, in His wise providence, had not "enabled us to work the vast and difficult field in Jamaica as this kind of field requires." Synod then instructed the calling church and the Mission Committee to fl do whatever is necessary to close the field in an orderly and brotherly manner."That was the sad task of the two bodies this past year. First Church wrestled long and hard with the question of how best to implement Synod's instruction. They decided at length, in consultation with the Mission Committee, to send Rev. Joostens (pastor of First Church) and Rev. Gritters (member of the Mission Committee) to visit Jamaica for a ten-day period, in order 1) to visit each congregation to explain the decisions of Synod and to encourage the saints in their faith; 2) to ask for a meeting of the Jamaica Classis in order to provide spiritual encouragement for the leaders of the various congregations; and 3) to review all legal documents with the officers of the Classis, and update them if necessary. From the report of the emissaries we conclude that they carried out their mandate well. They met with as many individuals as possible; but the majority of time was spent with the pastors, in order to encourage them to continue the work of the ministry in their churches. The emissaries testified that it was "a most difficult task to convey the decision of our churches." With respect both to leaders, and parishioners, individuals and groups, the response was great discouragement. They simply cannot imagine continued existence without the help of the Protestant Reformed Churches in America. Rev. Joostens preached from church to church from Acts 20, the passage in which Paul speaks to the elders of the church of Ephesus, reminding them of his labors among them, warning them of the dangers that they would face in the future, and commending them to the care of the Lord. Rev. Joostens' message was received well. And in every instance, they "parted with tears." Thus ended a long chapter in the work of the Mission Committee. First Church of Grand Rapids, we think, deserves the gratitude of the churches for their conscientious labors, on behalf of the denomination. Those most closely connected with the work understand well that it was a privilege to be involved in it. To labor for and among the dear saints of God in Jamaica was a delightful experience and spiritually rewarding. At the same time, the work did demand a great deal of time and energy, was often frustrating . . . and has now ended in sad disappointment. For that labor we sincerely thank the calling church, its pastor, and its Jamaica Mission Committee. San Luis Valley The Mission Committee meanwhile began to cooperate with Loveland PRC in an exciting work in southern Colorado. Back in May of last year Loveland followed up some written correspondence with various individuals in the San Luis Valley by sending their pastor, then Rev. Ronald Cammenga, along with a couple of elders, to meet with a group of people in Alamosa, one of the two main towns in the valley. Of the five families (and two individuals) represented at that meeting, most were members of another Reformed church in the area but were dissatisfied with recent developments in it - especially, they said, the many changes that had been introduced into the worship services by those who were determined to be "progressive." Some of them had been listening to sermon tapes sent them by Loveland, and the older members of the group noted with appreciation that that kind of preaching was like what they used to hear. And all wanted to hear more.On the basis of the report of their delegation to Alamosa, the consistory of Loveland decided to respond to the call for help by arranging preaching services there as soon as possible, supplying the group for at least two Sundays per month for an initial period of six months, to give the consistory sufficient time to evaluate the work. Loveland decided, too, to communicate at once with the Mission Committee, in order to make the work from the very outset a cooperative endeavor. They realized also that, though they intended to involve their own congregation in the support of the work, they needed some financial assistance in order to conduct the work they had in mind. It did seem to the Mission Committee that Loveland would be better advised to begin more slowly - by, for example, holding mid-week meetings for the purpose of Bible Study, or to give instruction in various points of Reformed doctrine. Loveland was however convinced that the circumstances called for more. They saw an "open door" in Alamosa, and reasoned that, since the preaching is what makes us distinctive and is the chief means of grace, it ought to be started as soon as possible. Content to let the local consistory take the lead in such activity, the Mission Committee agreed to assist in the work as outlined by Loveland. And, after having read the reports of those who have labored there (ministers both from Classis West and Classis East, including several members of the Mission Committee), we are fully persuaded that things are going well. In addition to making all the arrangements for a preaching schedule, Loveland has seen to it that, on a regular basis, a member of the Council is in attendance at the worship service in Alamosa. This interest and involvement on the part of Loveland is much appreciated by the group -as is also the preaching. The people there speak often of the great difference between what they had been receiving in their former churches and what they are receiving from the ministers of the PRC. One of the elderly ladies, in fact, asked a visitor from our churches, "Are you, after having heard this kind of preaching all your life, as touched and moved as we are when we hear it?" Ah, yes - as an elder- from Loveland put it, "We have so much to be thankful for!" The group, according to one of the ministers who preached for them, is "an interesting mixture of relatively new converts to the Reformed faith, and those established in the Reformed faith." Taken together, he continued, they have both enthusiasm and stability. Another of our ministers noted that he saw in the core group evidence of a solid base for a future congregation. He was impressed, he said, "by the potential officebearer material, by the great appreciation for the preaching and reading sermons of the PRC, by the earnestness of their faith, and by their teachability." (We would be remiss were we not to mention that, during their spring vacation this year, three members of our churches who attend Dordt College traveled to the San Luis Valley to be of assistance, if they could, in the work. This was motivated, apparently, by the fact that a number of Dordt students regularly take advantage of spring break to go to missions of their own denomination to help in various ways. So, with the approval of Loveland Consistory, and to the delight of Rev. Terpstra, the three (Julie Bekkering, Jennifer Buys, and Gary Eriks) traveled by car to Colorado to help out on our "field." Members of the mission group enjoyed their presence, Rev. Terpstra was able to make very good use of their help in [among other things] making preparations for a lecture, and the students themselves benefited from the experience. Rev. Terpstra was moved to write, "I believe that there is a proper place for this kind of practical assistance in our mission work and hope that their contribution begins a new tradition for the use of our college students' spring break.") Already last fall the members of the "core group" voted unanimously to have as their ultimate goal that they be established as a Protestant Reformed Church. They wished to have that goal as a matter of record, so that they would be better able to tell visitors to their worship services who and what they are. They understand well, however, that, given their current numbers, much work must be done before -they would be able to realize that goal. They therefore followed that decision with a formal request that the work in the San Luis Valley "gain official mission status by the PRC." Home-missionary Though the work of Loveland in Alamosa is being done as best it can be done at present, a labor of this sort demands the presence of a missionary, to live with the members of the group - to minister to their needs and to help them work the field. The Mission Committee has advised that that kind of provision be made by Synod 1994for the San Luis Valley - howbeit, not by "declaring it a field." We have decided, rather, to ask Synod to approve Loveland PRC as the calling church for a home-missionary, whose labors would begin in the San Luis Valley.The idea here is that such a missionary will labor in the San Luis Valley until the will of the Lord is accomplished there, but be available also for short periods of time to investigate other areas of interest as they arise. And when mission work in this particular area is terminated (either because a church is organized or the work is unfruitful) the missionary will move elsewhere, still under the oversight of Loveland's consistory. This is different from our recent practice of calling a man only to an officially declared field. But, at the same time, the calling of a home missionary for the work as we have envisioned it, has abundant and solid precedent in the history of missions in our churches. Surely, as it seems to us, it will help the Mission Committee to fulfill its mandate to find fields and recommend them to the churches. And it will alleviate the problems attendant upon declaring an area a field too soon . . . or too late; or declaring an area a field and being unable to secure a man to work it; or having to "prove" viability before a man can be sent to an area to discover by working in it whether or not it is "viable"; or, after working a declared field for a time, and seeing little growth, having to decide when and on what grounds it can be "closed." The Mission Committee is excited about this one. As is also. Loveland, and the brothers and sisters with whom we are laboring in the San Luis, Valley. We look, of course, to Synod for instruction in this matter - and surely also to the King of the church to incline the heart of a man to accept a call to serve, in whatever way Synod under the guidance of the Spirit deems wise, as missionary on the homefront. |
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