All Articles For Go Ye Into All the World

Previous article in this series: December 1, 2010, p. 115. In the last several articles we have raised the idea of whether some families of established churches of a denomination ought to consider moving to a mission field. We studied the biblical and historical precedent that reveals that families of the church did this in the past. It was, in fact, a powerful means Christ used to build His church in the world. The suggestion of families or individuals moving to and becoming a part of the life of a mission does not mean that every family ought to make...

Mission work is done by us in obedience to the command of Christ. He calls us to preach and teach His gospel of truth to all the nations of the world. This must be done tirelessly and unceasingly until the day of His return. The truth that Christ has given us to proclaim in our mission work is not something bland, for we have in our possession as a Reformed church the rich and precious heritage of the Reformed faith. Christ has entrusted that to us. We are privileged and blessed to have it. And thus we are able to...

Rev. Kortering is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. Previous article: April 15, 2008, p. 322. John Nevius suggested that an indigenous church ought to have three distinctive characteristics: self-governing, self-propagating, and self-supporting. In this article we focus on the second characteristic, self-propagating. We will do this from the point of view of the missionary’s role in this effort. If a mission church is truly going to stand on its own and be able to free itself from dependency upon the sending church, it has to have the desire and ability to grow in numbers. Self-propagating refers to...

Previous article in this series: March 1, 2010, p. 254. It has been some time now since our last article on this subject. We asked the question in the last article whether or not it is proper for families or confessing individuals in existing churches to move to a place of an established mission field? Our answer to this question is: yes. We recognize, however, that there are objections to this position. There are legitimate questions that arise in this connection. It is for that reason we are trying to examine the issue a little more closely. Before extolling the...

Rev. Bruinsma is Eastern Home MIssionary of the Protestant Reformed Churches, stationed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. God is pleased to gather His church and to save a people unto Himself by means of the mission work of the church. The church institute officially calls a missionary to go out and preach the gospel. He performs the work of missions. God by His grace and Spirit uses the preaching of the gospel to save those lost in their sin. But does this mean that mission work belongs to the church only through her offices? Does this preclude the members of the church...

Rev. Bruinsma is Eastern Home Missionary of the Protestant Reformed Churches, stationed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In our last article (vol. 84, number 18, p. 424) we examined parachurch missions in light of God’s Word. Most of the article was spent defining what parachurch organizations are. They are organizations that take on work related to the church but refuse to be under the authority of any particular church institute. Most often they involve members of church institutes, but they maintain their own autonomy. They are para (alongside of) church organizations. We also found in the last article that many organizations that...

Rev. Kortering is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. Previous article in this series: October 1, 2008, p. 16. Money and missions is like mixing water and oil; they just don’t seem to work together. More problems arise from this need than from any other. Notice, I said “need” because that is what it is. You cannot do mission work without money, and the need to spend money in the mission field is only too obvious. God made man dependent upon the earth for his daily bread. All through history the tension between those who have and those...

Previous article in this series: January 15, 2010, p. 182. For our topic of the place of laity in missions we are going to study whether it is proper for families of existing churches to move to a place where a mission group has been established. This topic may take several articles because this is a serious matter. Long has been the plea of smaller congregations outside the locales where a nucleus of our churches exist for families to move to their congregations and help them grow internally. A godly, well-grounded husband and wife who know what they believe and...

Rev. Bruinsma is Eastern Home Missionary of the Protestant Reformed Churches, stationed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Previous article in this series: March 1, 2009, p. 255. Work-groups Visiting a mission field is beneficial both for the saints on the mission field and for those who visit the work. It gives the visitor a broader perspective of the church of Christ in this world. It also rekindles an appreciation for the precious truths God has graciously entrusted into our care and safekeeping. If a visit to a mission work accomplishes this, then volunteer labor on a mission field does so even more....

Rev. Bruinsma is Eastern Home Missionary of the Protestant Reformed Churches, stationed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Previous article in this series: March 1, 2009, p. 255. Having now laid the groundwork for the place of the members of Christ’s church in missions, we move along to various legitimate ways members can become involved in missions. To be sure, the place of the laity in missions begins at home. We must live a godly life in our families, in our schools, in our places of employment, and in our recreation. This has a direct impact on the work of missions. But in...