All Articles For News From Our Churches

Our newly organized congregation in Houston, Texas has published the following trio: Rev. George Lubbers, Rev. Ronald VanOverloop, and Rev. David Engelsma. 

Mr. Wigger is a member of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan. Mission Activities For the past several months our denomination’s Domestic Mission Committee has been corresponding with a group of four families in Tucson, AZ who are interested in our churches’ starting a work in their city. These families, through personal study, have become very familiar with the PRC and are also giving a good witness in their community on a personal level and through the Internet (www.tucsonprotestantreformed.org). The DMC sent a delegation of Rev. Ronald Van Overloop, Missionary Rev. Allen Brummel, and Elder Dave Rau to visit...

Rev. Van Overloop, pastor of our Hope Church in Walker, Michigan, returned to his congregation early in April after spending some time in Houston, Texas, working there with our missionary, Rev. R. Harbach. Rev. Van Overloop gave the following report to his congregation in his April 11 bulletin: “Your pastor gives thanks to God for being safely brought back to your midst after working with Rev. Harbach for two full weeks.

There are no less than four calls being considered at the time of the writing of the news for this issue. It’s been quite some time, I dare say, since this column carried that many at one time. Not only are there three churches currently vacant (Edgerton, Kalamazoo, and Prospect Park), but also, in accordance with a decision of the 1974 Synod, Hudsonville has called a second missionary (whose initial field of labor will be in the state of Maine). 

Rev. David Engelsma, pastor of our church in South Holland, Illinois, has received a call from our new congregation in Houston, Texas, to be their first pastor. 

A special event occurred recently—a piece of news was received from our church in Prospect Park, New Jersey. A special event took place there recently. Rev. den Hartog’s family increased in size by one, Jonathan Craig, on April 18. In all fairness to Classis West we should also note that family expansions took place this spring in the parsonages in South Holland, Illinois, and Randolph, Wisconsin. 

Seeing our two seminary candidates receive and accept calls from our churches has been encouraging to our seminary professors, who have begun teaching five seminary students this fall. To honor this new year of instruction, Prof. H. Hoeksema spoke at the seminary convocation on “The Seminary and the Preacher,” emphasizing the purpose of the seminary to train ministers to preach God’s Word.

Now that candidates Tom Miersma and Jon Smith have passed their examinations at Classis, Jon will be heading to Edgerton immediately but Tom will have to wait awhile. When candidate d Tom Miersma received and accepted the call from our Edmonton, Alberta, Canada congregation, he had at least three months to wait before he could move up north. By the time this news is printed, he will have one and a half more months to wait. 

First Church in Grand Rapids has scheduled the installation of their new pastor, Rev. Meindert Joostens, for Sunday, April 16. Prof. Robert Decker will conduct the installation during the morning worship service. Rev. Joostens plans to preach his inaugural sermon that evening. Rev. and Mrs. Joostens recently received a precious gift in the form of a baby girl—born on a Sunday morning. The congregation of our Faith Church has been invited to extend their farewells to Rev. Joostens and his family at an open house on April 12. The congregation of First.

Rev. David Engelsma, lectured to a full church on April 21 in our new Hudsonville church auditorium. Rev. Engelsma’s topic was “Reprobation—Is it Reformed?” This lecture as well as many others. was tape-recorded. For information on obtaining one of these recordings, you may write to the Standard Bearer Business Office.