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

Mission Activities

I thank Rev. C. Hanko for furnishing the following information.

For the past nine months weekly worship services and evening Bible Study, sponsored by the Protestant Reformed Churches, have been held in Venice, Florida, a city located about thirty-five miles south of Bradenton. These meetings are conducted by Rev. C. Hanko, with the assistance of ministers who are sent here by the mission committee.

It is more than a year ago that two families came from Venice to attend the services held in Bradenton, and have been attending our services ever since. In May of last year the services formerly held in Bradenton were transferred to a home in Venice.

Five couples and four children were regular attendants from this area, supported by others who have taken up or consider taking up residence in this area. Three of the local residents in Venice work with heavy earth-moving equipment, one is an accountant, and one is retired. Their background, for the most part, is in the Reformed Church, while one couple comes from the Presbyterians and another from the Nazarenes. These have been unhappy with the preaching they received, hungering for the Word of God, and now testify that their souls are being fed with the Bread of Life.

There are also others who occasionally attend these services. Time and again visitors (local residents or individuals contemplating moving into this area) inquire as to the possibility of a permanent congregation being established here.

Last September an effort was made to find a suitable hall for our meetings. This was found in the Shamrock Center on Shamrock Boulevard, where we are able to accommodate close to a hundred people. This building has been furnished with a number of chairs, a platform and pulpit, and also an organ, all of which gives a comfortable place to worship our God and search the Scriptures.

And, also with regard to Venice, Rev. C. Hanko will be returning to Michigan for six weeks. The Mission Committee meanwhile continues to arrange for ministers to labor in the area. Rev. Slopsema will be in Venice for two Sundays in April, Rev. VanOverloop for two weeks in May, and Rev. Woudenberg for four Sundays in May/June.

The Council of South Holland1 PRC in South Holland, IL also reports that the decision was made to continue the work in Fort Wayne, IN with a review of the work to be made in one year. The Council also instructed the Evangelism Committee of South Holland to expand the work if possible, and to pursue other means to extend the witness there.

The Consistory of the Covenant PRC in Wyckoff, NJ turned down a couple of requests from the Committee of Contact requesting that their pastor be released either for one or two months to labor in Larne, Northern Ireland or for one year to labor in Tasmania.

Ministerial Calls

The congregation of the Randolph, WI PRC has extended a call to Rev. J. Kortering.

And the Hope PRC in Isabel, ND has formed a new trio consisting of the Revs. M. DeVries, R. Flikkema, and T. Miersma.

Congregational Highlights

On March 22 Mr. and Mrs. Henry Brands presented a slide program on Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand for the members of the First PRC in Edgerton, MN.

At 7:00 PM on March 27, the congregation of the Grandville, MI PRC met to dedicate formally their new church sanctuary. The program included remarks from Rev Kortering and Jon Huisken, chairman of the Building Committee. Special numbers were given by both the choir and the Sunday School. The congregation was included personally with a Litany of Dedication, and with singing of Psalter numbers. Also dedicated that night was Grandville’s new organ.

Perhaps Rev. Kortering expressed it best that night when he said, “Let us go forward with courage and confidence in God’s blessing as we stand together for the great task which He has given to us as a church, the ministry of the gospel for the gathering of Christ’s church from within and without.”

The Evangelism Committee of the First PRC in Holland, MI sponsored a Spring Lecture in Zeeland, MI. Prof. H. Hanko spoke on the theme, “Is There a Need for Church Revival?”