Mission Activities

On March 29, the 3rd Annual Combined Church Outing was held in the Philippines. This year 100-plus members of the First Re­formed Church of Bulacan, the Be­rean Protestant Reformed Church in Manila, and the Maranatha Reformed Church in Valenzuela attended.

Our missionaries there write that “they are thankful to God for the opportunity to further the unity and communion of saints between these groups. The outing was held at the Grotto Vista Resort in Bulacan, where there were good amenities for fellowship, games, swimming, and (of course) eating.” The outing began with singing and prayer, followed by a medita­tion given by Rev. Kleyn on Psalm 127:1, “Except the Lord build the house….” Rev. Kleyn applied this verse to the Christian home as well as to the on-going work of building Reformed churches and a denomi­nation in the Philippines.

Looking at the pictures sent by our missionaries, one is somewhat envious of the warm weather, the sunshine, and the pool the group of saints in the Philippines are enjoying, when many of us are still watching snow piles melt. Rev. Smit did the closing devotions for this day on the first few verses of Psalm 118…being thankful for all God’s mercies.

Congregation Activities

The Men’s Society of Hope PRC in Redlands, CA met April 10 to begin a discussion on “What the Book of Proverbs Teaches Fathers,” led by their pastor, Rev. Huizinga. Due to the amount of material in the book of Proverbs, and the em­phasis of the opening chapters on a father speaking to his son, the men of Hope will limit their discussion to the first five chapters, which af­ford plenty of material.

If you read the “News” on a regular basis, then you already know that the Edgerton, MN PRC celebrated their anniversary as an organized congregation on April 11. What you may not know is that April 11, 2013 marked their 75th anniversary. We cannot let that occasion pass without extend­ing to them our congratulations as well. Our brothers and sisters in Edgerton celebrated God’s faith­fulness to them on Sunday, April 14 with a special worship service that evening when their pastor, Rev. Kuiper, preached from Revelation 2:10, under the theme, “Faithful unto Death.” This was followed by a program in their sanctuary and then lunch and fellowship. Edger­ton also invited friends and family from the neighboring churches to join them on Saturday, April 20, for an evening of fun, food, and fel­lowship at the Edgerton Christian Elementary School. Plans called for a potluck supper, followed by a Bean Bag Tournament.

Sunday evening, April 14, the Hope PRC in Walker, MI installed their new pastor, Rev. David Over­way. Rev. Overway becomes the 12th pastor in their 97-year history. Prof. H. Hanko led the installation service, preaching on II Timothy 4:1-2, under the theme, “Preach the Word.” We should also add here that on that Sunday morning Hope’s congregation was invited to stay for coffee and cookies and a time of fellowship to mark the end of Prof. Cammenga’s and Prof. Hanko’s weekly preaching for them. These two servants of the church led services for some two and a half years during Hope’s vacancy.

Evangelism Activities

The Evangelism Committee of the Peace PRC in Lansing, IL encour­aged their congregation to promote actively their up-coming lecture on April 12 on “Bringing up Covenant Youth,” by inviting neighbors, friends, acquaintances, and coworkers on a personal basis. The subject was relevant in today’s age and needed by those in the world who are struggling to find ways to deal with their chil­dren. Rev. Spronk, pastor at Peace, was the speaker.

The Evangelism Committee of First PRC in Holland, MI spon­sored a six-week Bible Study at the Holland Rescue Mission. This study began on Monday, April 15, with Mr. Rich Moore leading.

The Evangelism Committee of the Georgetown PRC in Hudson­ville, MI encouraged their congrega­tion to check out the Sermonaudio.com website they are using to air 237 sermons. Since November 2011, sermons have been downloaded 9,387 times, about 500 a month. In March, sermons were downloaded to 34 different states and 17 differ­ent countries. This has proved to be a very useful tool for Georgetown. It is free and safe to download as many sermons as you want. There is a link on Georgetown’s website: just click, “Sermon Archive.”

School Activities

Recent bulletins in our Iowa churches included this announce­ment, “Our schools, as we have them today, are dear to us. Yet they are not unique to the current genera­tion. Rather, we stand in the heri­tage of reformers who have empha­sized Reformed, Christian schools for many generations. Prof. Dykstra has completed extensive research of the history of Christian schools and will be presenting a special chapel entitled, ‘The Reformed Churches’ Zeal for Christian Schools’ at Trin­ity High School on Monday, April 8. We enthusiastically welcome every­one to join us as we learn about and delight in a history that we claim as our own.” College students, grand­parents, parents, and supporters were all invited.

All parents, alumni, and friends of Covenant Christian School in Lynden, WA were invited to come to school on Wednesday, April 10 (and the Wednesdays following), at 2:00 p.m. for a softball game against the Junior High students.

The Loveland, CO PR Chris­tian School invited their supporters to join them on April 12 for two lectures, one presented by Dr. Nate Lanning, entitled “Understanding Evolution: Reformed Consensus, Scientific Concepts and Physical Proof,” and the other by Dr. Bren­dan Looyenga, titled “Teaching About Evolution and Evolutionists Within a Biblical Framework.”

Minister Activities  

The Randolph, WI PRC ex­tended a call to Rev. R. Van Over­loop to serve as their next pastor. Along with Rev. Van Overloop on the trio were the Revs. Bruinsma and Bleyenberg.