Mr. Wigger is a member of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan.

Congregation Activities 

All the members of the Hope PRC in Redlands, CA were invited and encouraged to remain after their evening worship service on January 8 to hear a Christmas concert presented by their church choir.

Members of the Ladies Tuesday Morning Bible Study at the Georgetown PRC in Hudsonville, MI were invited to a special meeting on January 17 to hear one of their own, Mrs. Laura Miedema, speak to them on “The Abortion Industry in our Backyard.” Laura planned to speak of how abortion affects us right now in our Christian environment. Laura also hoped to inform the ladies of ways they could help address this issue.

After Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, a group of Presbyterian churches in that area familiar with our churches contacted several of our ministers and congregations for help. Since then members in the PRC have donated about $50,000 through Rev. Eugene Case, pastor of their Woodville congregation and administrative treasurer. He thanks God “for the absolutely wonderful generosity of the PRC people” and says, “every cent has been and will be applied to the needs of their people.” Through the council of Georgetown PRC, they have now asked for help with general reconstruction of homes and church buildings. They are able to feed and lodge 90 people at a time. If anyone is interested, contact Tom Schimmel at 616-437-6671, or e-mail tom@ blshomes.com.

The Adult Bible Study of the South Holland, IL PRC invited members from their congregation, as well as others from our nearby churches, to join them on January 10 for a presentation and discussion on the subject of the “Federal Vision.” Prof. H. Hanko presented an introduction to this movement and then entertained questions and chaired a discussion of this recent threat to the Reformed faith.

At a congregational meeting in mid January, the members of First PRC in Grand Rapids, MI approved the purchasing of a piano for the lower level of their building. The congregation also approved a proposal to buy a house, for a parsonage, on the property adjacent to their church.

The consistory of the Grace PRC in Standale, MI called a special congregational meeting for January 12. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss and vote on a proposal to have a 4:00 P.M. second service each Sunday instead of their present 7 P.M./6 P.M. arrangement. After some discussion it was decided to change the time of their second Sunday worship service to 4:00 P.M. This change will begin on February 5 and will be for a trial period of one year.

The council of the Emmanuel PRC in Lacombe, Alberta, Canada approved a proposal to purchase an outdoor storage unit for the storage of their church and parsonage yard maintenance equipment.

Rev. R. Miersma, newly installed pastor of the Loveland, CO PRC, delivered his inaugural sermon as Loveland’s undershepherd on Sunday morning, January 8. Rev. Miersma chose to preach from the Word of God found inRomans 1:16 under the theme, “Boldness to Preach the Gospel.”

Evangelism Activities 

As promised in our last “News,” we now include more information regarding the radio broadcast of worship services from the Georgetown PRC. These hour broadcasts began on Sunday, January 1, on WFUR, 1570 AM from 3:00 to 4:00 P.M. under the general program theme of “Sitting at the Feet of Jesus,” taken from Luke 10:39and the example of Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. Georgetown’s goals in airing their services are: 1. The spread of and increased understanding in the wondrous gospel of grace. 2. The strengthening of believers in the solid and peace-giving Reformed faith. 3. The building of the church by the call of the gospel. Pray for the Lord’s blessing upon this means of magnifying Him through His Word.

“Christianity on Campus,” the outreach work at Grand Valley State University, under the combined direction of Grace PRC in Standale, MI and PR university students at Grand Valley, began its meetings for the spring semester in mid January. Plans called for the study of the entire New Testament this semester. Rev. C. Haak, pastor at Georgetown, led the first week and leads every other meeting, with Rev. M. Dick, pastor at Grace, leading the other meetings.

Mission Activities

The Lord continues to bless the work our churches are doing in the Philippines, so that the Berean Fellowship is to the point that they are eager and ready for organization as a congregation, having made the request to the Doon, IA PRC and the Foreign Mission Committee. Rev. A. Spriensma, missionary pastor, writes, “The saints are growing in their understanding and appreciation of the Reformed faith. We continue to see visitors in our worship services. This morning (Jan. 1) we celebrate God’s goodness to us by hearing God’s Word in Psalm 37:5. ‘Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass.'” A word we should all remember.

We also include a recent quote from a bulletin from the Covenant Reformed Fellowship in Northern Ireland: “I’ve learned so much from your website and grown so much in faith and knowledge that I yesterday for the first time in a very long time enjoyed the Sunday. The past year I hated Sundays—they reminded me in an awful painful way of my loneliness and churchlessness…. But yesterday for the first time I’ve enjoyed the Sunday and considered the day to be too short to read and hear all that I’d like to listen to and read. For the first time I see clearly what a blessing it is that God has revealed the truth to me!!—Sweden

Minister Activities 

Rev. M. Dick declined the call he had been extended by the congregation of the Edgerton, MN PRC to serve as their next pastor.

Rev. A. Brummel declined the call he had been considering to serve as pastor of the Kalamazoo, MI PRC.