Evangelism Activities

The Reformed Witness Committee of the five Siouxland area churches recently published their May newsletter. To summarize some of their activities: 1) the Evangelism Committee of Calvary PRC in Hull, IA plans to host another Summer Bible Camp and possibly a Personal Evangelism Conference. They also made a mailing to 1,700 addresses in the nearby town of Sheldon, inviting the recipients to attend one or more of their church services. 2) The Evangelism Committee of the Doon, IA PRC is in the process of erecting signs along the roads into Doon notifying travelers of the church’s location. They also continue to publish articles by Rev. Joshua Engelsma in the Doon Press and have organized a fall lecture for November 4 in Dordt College. 3) The Evangelism Committee of the Edgerton, MN PRC held a presentation by Rev. Douglas Kuiper entitled “Signs, Wonders, and Mighty Deeds: Miracles in the Bible,” and are making plans for a fall presentation. 4) The Evangelism Committee of Heritage PRC of Sioux Falls, SD conducted a Bible study in nearby Harrisburg and plan to hold a summer workshop entitled “Witnessing in the Workplace.” 5) The Evangelism Committee of the Hull, IA PRC reported on the Young Reformers Bible Study held at Dordt College and contemplates placing the Standard Bearer, Beacon Lights, and other literature in area libraries. We are glad to note that these committees are alive, well, and working!

School Activities

If you are vacationing in Colorado, or passing through on your way to Redlands, the Loveland Protestant Reformed Christian School Fundraisers are ready to lodge you, as they are again sponsoring their Bed & Breakfast Project! This will be the 17th year of this successful and enjoyable fund raiser. Reservations can be made online at solanyk5@aol. com or by phone at (970) 669-9005. Welcome to beautiful Colorado!

Minister Activities

On June 12 Rev. Garry Eriks, pastor at Hudsonville, MI PRC was led by God to decline the call that had been issued to him from the congregation at First PRC of Holland, MI. May the King of the church grant contentment and peace with His will concerning this call. From Holland’s new trio of Revs. C. Griess, B. Huizinga, and R. Kleyn the congregation voted on July 17 to call Rev. C. Griess.

The Council at Doon, IA PRC presented to the congregation a new trio from which to call a third missionary to the Philippines. The men of Doon planned to call on July 24 from the trio of Rev. A. Brummel, Rev. C. Griess, and Rev. B. Huizinga. May God guide these proceedings for the good of His universal church.

Denominational Activities

Synod 2016 of the PRCA met June 14-17 in Hull, IA PRC. In addition to the routine work of each synod, some interesting details concerned the work of the Psalter revision committee, the approval of a concept for examining seven students in 2017, approval to call a third missionary to the Philippines, approval of a proposal from the Domestic Mission Committee to add a missionary with Byron Center PRC as the calling church, and the treatment of an appeal of recent decisions of Classis East. See the editorial in the July issue for all the details.

The evening of June 24 marked a momentous event for Pittsburgh Protestant Reformed Fellowship. That group was organized into the newest Protestant Reformed Church and welcomed into the denomination! Rev. W. Bruinsma preached the sermon from Luke 12:32, “Fear Not, Little Flock.” Rev. A. den Hartog completed the service with the reading of Classis East’s decision to proceed with institution and also read the names of the charter members. Voting and installation of officebearers also took place that night. We rejoice with the members there in this historic event and pray God’s continued blessing in the future as a sister congregation in the PRCA!

From their first trio of Revs. W. Bruinsma, C. Griess (Calvary PRC), and R. Kleyn (Covenant of Grace PRC), the newly organized Pittsburgh PRC extended a call to Missionary-pastor W. Bruinsma on Sunday, July 10.

Mission Activities

The Classis of the Protestant Reformed Churches in the Philippines met June 13 in the Maranatha PRC in Valenzuela from 9:00 a.m. until about 4:30 p.m. The main item on the agenda was the examination, of Rev. Leovy Trinidad (pastor of the Maranatha PRC), according to Article 9 of the Church Order. Rev. Trinidad preached a sermon on John 1:1, and then underwent three-plus hours of oral examination. The brother gave a very good account of his knowledge and convictions of the Reformed faith, and the Classis unanimously approved his examination. The Classis gave him a diploma and declared him to be a minister of the Word and sacraments within the PRCP. We thank the Lord for adding another pastor to the denomination there and for upholding Rev. Trinidad during his examination.

On July 1 Rev. Daniel Holstege was installed as the second missionary to the Philippines at a call to worship for the congregation in Doon, IA. Rev. J. Engelsma preached from Luke 5:4-11: “A Fisher of Men.” Afterward, the congregation had a time of refreshments and fellowship, allowing them the opportunity to greet Rev. Holstege and his wife and extend words of encouragement to them. On Sunday, July 3 Rev. Holstege preached his inaugural sermon in Doon from Matthew 28:18-20, “The Great Commission.” Rev. Holstege’s parents, his wife’s parents, and other family members were able to travel to Doon for the occasion.

Rev. Richard Smit and son Jay spent about a month in the Philippines while Rev. Daniel and Sharon Kleyn were on furlough in the USA. What follows is a response by Rev. Smit when asked how they were doing in that far-away land:

For Jay and me, life here briefly again seems routine. Nothing strikes us as out of the ordinary. The climate, stores, traffic, rainy season downpours, and food all seem the same as they were. There are some new stores in Antipolo that are really nice. There is a lot of construction around the NAIA terminals, on Marcos highway for the LRT2 extension to Masinag, near where the Berean PRC buildings are located, and along the Sumulong highway that we use to get to Bible study, catechism, and the worship services at the area churches. We’re busy with the work of preaching and teaching, but also with some house cleaning and some other odd jobs that the Kleyns arranged for Jay. So, we are being kept as busy as we need to be, and still have time to enjoy the visit as well. I do laundry and dishwashing and floor mopping in our old house. Jay takes care of the Kleyns’ house. He is powerwashing the concrete in the front of our old house. I tried to fix the gas dryer at our old house, but looks like it needs some new parts. Who does the cooking? We both do. Jay can do breakfast. I try to do supper. We like rice, and to my great delight that is very easy to make with a rice cooker. However, several times already I have absentmindedly lost track of time because of being absorbed in my reading, writing, or other preparation, and suddenly it’s time to eat! Now what?! In such situations, I have deferred to the convenience of fast food delivery on a motorbike! Of course, it’s nowhere near as healthy or tasty as the cooking of my organized and faithful wife, but it has averted hunger a time or two!  For supper devotions, we are reading through the book of Matthew….

Sister Church Activities

From the June newsletter of the Covenant Protestant Reformed Church, Ballymena, Northern Ireland we find the following:

These recent additions mean that the CPRC now consists of 16 families, 37 communicant members, 14 baptized members, and 51 total members. This is the largest we have ever been, though we are still a relatively small church. Our numerical growth has been slow but steady, with three steps forward and two (or two and a half) steps back. Our testimony is that the Lord is faithful and that Jesus Christ alone builds His church.

The BRF [British Reformed Fellowship] Conference begins exactly one month from today (16-23 July). Rev. A. Lanning from Singapore and Prof. D. Engelsma are our two main speakers on the theme “Behold I Come Quickly, the Reformed Biblical Truth of the End.” Bookings are almost finalized and a good body of believers are coming. We are expecting a blessed week with the rich exposition of the Word and the sweet communion of the saints!

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1.