MISSION TIDINGS

GIFTS RECEIVED FOR MISSIONS IN MARCH 1980

CLASSIS EAST SOURCE AMOUNT

Franklin Lakes Sunday

School Collection $ 490.00

CLASSIS MID WEST

Plymouth Chr. School (Mission week) 106.00

Friend in Ontario Gift 10.00

In Grand Rapids Col. Gift 345.00

Friend in Michigan Gift 145.00

Friend in Illinois Gift 125.00

Plymouth Chr. School Misc. 20.00

Friend in So. Holland Gift 20.00

CLASSIS WEST

Friend in Stickney Gift 10.00

Friend in Corsica Gift 25.00

Friend in Pella Gift 25.00

Corsica Mission sale 25.00

Corsica Rebecca Juniors Sale 250.00

CLASSIS FAR WEST

Timothy Chr. School Mission week 250.00

TOTAL $4321.00 Dear friends,

The month of March has again flown by as upon eagles’ wings. We want to thank you all for your generous contributions for the mission. May the Lord bless you and your gifts.

We especially thank the Christian schools with all the children, principals, and teachers for the instructions given by them on what is called mission week, which is a time to enlighten the children about the mission work of our congregations. This year the opportunity was given to each Christian school to have a mission week. We especially want to thank all the children who brought their donations. May the Lord raise up some of the children to be true missionaries and also some of them as future office bearers of the church. Above all children, we wish for you that the Lord will give true conversion in your youth.

Rev. Rijksen, the chairman of the Holland mission board, has been ill with a slight heart attack. May the Lord remember him for body and soul.

Rev. Huisman has been very sick with a ruptured appendix. The Lord so far has made all things well.

On our mission meeting last week it was decided to send one member of the mission board to the Netherlands instead of two on account of the high cost of traveling. It was decided that Rev. Verhoef will go this year. May the Lord give him a safe trip.

The Lord remember all our mission workers. We include a letter of one of our evangelists working in the Netherlands.

American General Mission Fund Netherland Reformed Churches of United States & Canada

John Spaans, Treasurer

R. R. 3-Box 17

Plankinton, S. Dak. 57368

Phone 1-605-732-4539

A LETTER FROM EVANGELIST J. KWANTES

“Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the City!” Luke 14:21

Ten years ago we started with the work of Evangelism in the Netherlands. Next to the work among our unchurched neighbors the charge sounded: AT THE SAME TIME STIMULATE THE WORK OF EVANGELISM IN THE CONGREGATIONS! Gatherings were held, committees appointed, and after 10 years 51 congregations have more or less begun doing evangelism.

The work of the committees consists in making contact with outsiders, to animate church members and to incite them to evangelization. But from many conversations with church members of Reformed persuasion it was obvious that the “spiritual conversations” with unchurched neighbors in general did not amount to much. One has no liberty and another thinks it is all of no use. What can be the cause?

Every church member is a traditionalist in his heart and life. More or less anxiously he clings to the form, habit and dogma. We read the Bible, Christian weekly papers, and are members of the church and societies. We look for a decent walk of life, for faith and conversion. This all has value, but still it may be based only on tradition.

Your unchurched neighbor stands completely outside of this. Tradition and dogma can prevent us from making contact with outsiders. Our speaking is for them as a strange sound out of another world. We must not forget that in the Lord Jesus Christ the gospel has become incarnate. The Lord brings His message in the language of today.

We can understand the Pharisees and Scribes very well. They wanted to save the heritage of their fathers from the masses and from the influence of the Greeks. The tradition, the law inherited of their fathers, the form and the use of this all was holy unto them. They stood firm in this. These they saw as the marks of the people of God, the Jews.

We understand quite well that when the Lord speaks, “THOU KNOWEST WHAT WAS SAID BY THEM OF OLD TIME-, BUT I SAY UNTO YOU!”…. Then the sparks fall as if in gunpowder. The Lord stood outside of their tradition.

Notice what happened during His suffering and death. They do not go into the court of justice, so that they will not defile themselves. We have a law, according to our law He must die. No blood money may be placed in the treasury. For the day of the Sabbath was great. And it was all true.

All these matters were good, but were not based upon love and mercy.

You can see how deep the gulf is which separates the man in the church from the unchurched man. We must understand something of the life of the unchurched people. Else how can we bridge this wide and deep gulf? With the Word of God. Talk with the people. Listen to the people. Answer their questions. Have a dialogue. The Lord Jesus also did this.

No matter how hatefully and craftily they asked their questions, the Lord answered them in a perfectly honest manner. The Apostles did this too. Paul had disputations with them. He was in conversation with the Jews and Greeks. This is the evangelistic method that is greatly needed today.

Modern man is filled to the brim with questions. Oh, could I only set our whole denomination to work! To speak with our neighbors, with our colleagues, and with the people all around us. That is evangelization. That the church must send out evangelists reveals the poverty of the present day Christendom. If each of us would know our duties and fulfill them, then the worldly people would not be so at ease. Our congregations must become missionary congregations. This is also their charge.

The congregations must not receive this charge anymore—they already have it. “Go out and bring in” is the charge. There is not a single excuse for those who want to encase the message of the gospel between four walls.

What a great privilege we have above those who lived in the centuries before us! How rich we are in possibilities!

But do we make use of these gifts? Or do we just leave everything in the hands of “the prince of darkness.” Satan makes use of everything he can to do his work. He leaves no means unused to spread his corrupt doctrine.

How many there are among us who do not see the necessity of evangelistic work. They are blind for thousands that live round about them, who go unwarned into outer darkness. What else is the great mass of people than “the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind?” Luke 14:21b.

Are they not called this by Him Who is “The mouth of truth?” However the great misery of most people is that they do not know their misery. Therefore, this message of the gospel must be spread abroad.

We must remember not only this but also that just such people are invited. Those who were invited officially, had excused themselves. They thought temporal things were more important.

Today you need not look very long for such poor wretches. They live round about us in great numbers. Just start with yourself, with your children, family, and neighbors, etc.

Will you join us? “Go out and bring them in”!!

This article translated out of “Paulus” our Dutch mission paper.

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen