INTRODUCTION Significant amounts of time, sweat, thought, finances, and patient work has been and continues to be expended by many Protestant and evangelical churches in foreign missions. Much effort is devoted, for example, to the area of Bible translations throughout the world into many languages that still do not have faithful translations. Along with that, much work is done to bring the Word to those who have not heard the gospel in their recent generations and who dwell in the bondage of idolatry, a cult, the occult, or a world religion. What is of concern in this article are the...
Results 1 to 10 of 93
Previous article in this series: October 1, 2025, p. 24 REFOCUS A phrase that molds our consideration of the last stage of re-entry from a field of mission labor and into a new and different field of labor is found in “The Form for the Ordination (Or Installation) of Missionaries.” The phrase is worded thus: “…until it pleases the Lord to lead [the missionary] along a lawful way to a different field of labor.”1 This phrase helps the minister of the Word, released from his mission labor and going back to his home churches, with an edifying reminder about...
Previous article in this series: January 2025, p. 148. RENEWAL As we continue a consideration of the main parts of re-entry from a field of mission labor and move now into the phase of renewal, it becomes evident that the phases of the re-entry process can be divided into two main groups. The first group of phases in the re-entry process involves looking back. For example, when the apostle Paul was released from his labors in Ephesus and needed to bid the elders farewell (Acts 20), the perspective was clearly on what was being left behind in the Lord’s hands....
pastor of Randolph PRC in Randolph, Wisconsin In thankful commemoration of Jehovah’s goodness and mercy to our Protestant Reformed Churches in America through the past century, this article takes a bird’s-eye view of the living organism of our doctrinal heritage that Jehovah graciously has preserved among us. Since this article can only be an overview, a complete exposition of the Reformed doctrines that the PRCA has sought to maintain as our living biblical confession can be found in the many writings of Protestant Reformed theologians. This exposition of Reformed doctrines may be found in their books published by the...
pastor of Randolph PRC in Randolph, Wisconsin In addition to the steps of release, return, and refreshment, another significant step for a foreign missionary’s departure from his field of labor and going back to his passport country and sending churches is the step of rehearsal. While the activity of rehearsal should be a part of a missionary’s lengthy furlough from his field of labor, it also should be part of a missionary’s permanent release from his field of labor and return to his passport country and sending churches. REHEARSAL Rehearsal was an activity that the apostles had been trained...
pastor of Randolph PRC in Randolph, Wisconsin Previous article in this series: June 2024, p 427. RETURN (CONTINUED) The hearty farewells have faded, and the foreign missionary and family have begun their journey out of and away from the field of labor in which they lived for some time and from which the Lord has released them. They are returning, but to where? Responding to the return of the missionary family, members of calling and supporting churches in the region or country to which the family is returning might normally think that their return is in a direction toward “home.”...
Rev. Richard Smit, pastor of Randolph PRC in Randolph, Wisconsin Previous article in this series: April 1, 2024, p. 324. In this article, we conclude our observations from the book of Acts that the early New Testament churches, established by means of the mission labors of the apostles, manifested in their institutional life the threefold Christian character of being self-governing, self-propagating, and self-supporting. In particular, we consider now that these churches were self-propagating and self-supporting. After the history of the Jerusalem church at the end of Acts 2, newly established churches were self-propagating. Although this would be true of all...
Rev. Richard Smit, pastor of Randolph PRC in Randolph, Wisconsin Previous article in this series: April 15, 2023, p. 327. It is important and encouraging to know that there are examples of the three-self formula in the early New Testament church according to the book of Acts. There is evidence that the church did manifest aspects of the three-self formula in its early, developing institutional life. This is true not just in the later years of the history of Acts, but even in the early history soon after Pentecost. Already then, the church manifested the threefold Christian character of...
Previous article in this series: October 1, 2022, p. 16. That the missionary should strive to establish an indigenous church which is self-supporting, selfgoverning (in the biblical sense), and self-propagating is certainly correct, biblical methodology. With this no one ought [to] have any quarrel.1 Previous articles in this series have shown that we may certainly agree with Prof. Decker’s statement that there ought to be no quarrel against this correct, biblical methodology regarding the goal of foreign mission work. We have shown in previous articles by an overview of some historical examples that this biblical methodology has been widely received...
Greetings in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of the harvest, from the City of Antipolo in the province of Rizal of the Philippines. Here is an update regarding our labors in the past several months. 2022 furloughs My family enjoyed our furlough from May 31 to July 28, our first since being called back to labor here in December 2017. Rev. and Mrs. Daniel Kleyn enjoyed their furlough from July 11 to August 30. When thinking about our respective furloughs in June to August 2022, now seemingly long passed already, I was reminded of a comment about furloughs in...
