Evangelism Activities

The Evangelism Committee of the Hope PRC in Redlands, CA is now a broadcasting member of Sermonaudio.com. You can easily visit sermonaudio.com/evangelism-hopeprc to listen to Rev. Huizinga’s sermons on your personal computer, tablet pc, or Smart phone.

The Evangelism Committee of the Georgetown PRC in Hudsonville, MI informed their congrega­tion that they recently completed their Bible study series at the Men’s Shelter of the Holland Rescue Mis­sion in Holland, MI. Meetings were held in the cafeteria with an average of about 20 men from every background, ranging in age from 19 to nearly 70. The Evangelism Committee appreciated the help, visits, and involvement of their congregation. The study of the Beatitudes was well received and resulted in several of the clients visiting Georgetown for a worship service. The Georgetown congre­gation trusts that our Lord will use their efforts to build up the faith of His children there.

Although this is probably not usually seen as an evangelism ac­tivity, we include here a note con­cerning our denomination’s Psalm Choir. You might be interested to know that our Psalm Choir has loaded at least four of their songs to YouTube. I found them simply by going to YouTube and typing in pr psalm choir. A member of the choir also informed me that they have been viewed in sixteen differ­ent countries.

Congregation Activities

The Activities Committee of Calvary PRC in Hull, IA made plans for an outing at the All Sea­sons Center on March 10. Pizza was served at 5:30 p.m., and then the congregation had their choice between swimming or ice skating until around 9:00 that evening.

On the Tuesday evenings of March, Prof. Dykstra held a four week class at the Grandville, MI PRC on the history and doctrinal controversy of 1953. Reading ma­terial for the class included a section from Prof. W. Heyns’ Manual of Reformed Doctrine, a book con­taining Dr. K. Schilders reaction to the Declaration of Principles, and Rev. H. Hoeksemas Believers and Their Seed. Each week Prof. Dykstra intended to look at one particular aspect of the covenant and the controversy surrounding it.

Following an announcement in the Faith and Fellowship Newslet­ter of the Faith PRC in Jenison, MI, their Council recently reminded the congregation that they had accepted oversight of donations to the Akademie fur Reformatorische Theologie (ART) in Hannover, Germany and its journal Bekennende Kirche (The Confessing Church). The German saints involved in running this seminary and its parent congregation, the Bekennende Evangelisch-Reformierte Gemeinde (BERG), have faced significant trials for their Reformed faith and their insistence on the inerrancy of Scripture. In an effort to help these saints main­tain a faithful witness in Europe, Faith’s Council has approved three collections to support the ongoing operation of ART and Bekennende Kirche. A brief presentation on ART and BERG was held Sunday, March 18, where Faith’s congrega­tion could find out more about the history of the seminary, its two pro­fessors and nine current students, and the BERG congregation in Giessen. Members of Faith’s Coun­cil and the Contact Committee of our denomination were present to answer any questions.

Many thanks to our Byron Cen­ter, MI PRC for the efforts they put forth in sponsoring what we hope was the first but not last “Men’s Conference,” on March 8 and 9 at their church. The conference fea­tured speeches by Rev. Spriensma and Rev. Haak on “The Godly Man,” based on Titus 2:11-14. Rev. Spriensma spoke on “Living soberly, righteously, and godly in this pres­ent world” on Thursday evening, and on Friday evening the men heard Rev. Haak speak on “Look­ing for the glorious appearing of our Savior” These speeches were followed by eight sectionals featur­ing 30 men from our denomina­tion, sharing their experiences and wisdom with the 200 conference attendees on such topics as: Practi­cal ideas for family devotions, Ap­plying loving discipline, Balancing life’s priorities, the Role of a godly grandfather, Battling temptations men face, God created men and women differently, Cultivating the desire to serve, Gaining others to Christ by our godly conversation, etc. We thank Byron Center for giving us men the opportunity to be able to open God’s Word and encourage each other in our various callings and to enjoy good Christian fellowship together.

Young Adult Activities

The Young Adults of the Love­land, CO PRC hosted their an­nual Young Adults’ Spring Retreat March 12-15 at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, CO. In addition to the usual events sur­rounding a Young Adults Retreat, Pastors Key and Spronk spoke on the theme, “Are You Healthy?”

Denomination Activities

The last regularly scheduled meeting of Classis West was held on March 7 at the Hope PRC in Redlands, CA. Prior to the meeting on Tuesday, March 6, Classis West hosted an officebearers’ conference on the subject of “Herman Bavinck: The Theologian” Speeches were given by Prof. Engelsma, Rev. Laning, and Rev. Hanko.