A Church Reforming to Reach the Lost for Christ

Christian Reformed Churches of Australia

The CRCA

A Church Reforming to Reach the Lost for Christ
Church Health Network

Church Health Network

Healthy churches are growing churches. The CRCA is committed to assist churches so that local initiatives are leveraged for gospel and kingdom growth.

CRCA Ministry Formation will assist churches in their respective state to maximise church health in areas such as: the marks of the true church as identified in the Belgic Confession; CRCA...

Healthy churches are growing churches. The CRCA is committed to assist churches so that local initiatives are leveraged for gospel and kingdom growth.

CRCA Ministry Formation will assist churches in their respective state to maximise church health in areas such as: the marks of the true church as identified in the Belgic Confession; CRCA Church Order distinctives: worship, faith nurture, pastoral care and oversight, and missions; the eight characteristics of a healthy church as identified by NCD; and other church health issues raised by individual congregations. Contact: Jack De Vries e. mtc@crca.org.au m. 0437 339 008 p. 07 3285 3678. Is your Church healthy? What are the signs of a healthy church? Do you need a church health check up?

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Series in this category:

Ministry Formation, Local Church Outreach
Jack De Vries

Climate Change

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The climate is changing.  According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, 2019 was Australia's warmest year on record, with the annual national mean temperature 1.52 °C above average.   There have been significant heatwaves in January and in December.   This was Australia's driest year on record, with rainfall below average for most of Australia.   Yet rainfall was above average for parts of Queensland's northwest and northern tropics.  Much of Australia is affected by drought, which was especially severe in New South Wales and southern Queensland.   All of this to say, the climate is changing.  And it has been...
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Jack De Vries

Billions

Bushfire animals
Over a billion of animals and "hundreds of billions" of insects have been killed in bushfires throughout New South Wales this season, according to leading wildlife experts.  In an ABC news report we are told that Australian wildlife has had to deal with four things: the incredibly fragile overheated periods before fires, the fire itself, the lack of habitat and food after the fire, and the invasion of foxes and cats in these burnt out areas.  A billion or more animals faced death due these forest fires.There is a human tragedy that parallels the loss of billions of animals and insects. ...
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Jack De Vries

Creativity

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For as long as I remember I love to be creative!  I love building things.  I think it started with popsicle sticks.  One time while visiting my aunt in Holland she showed me a jewellery box I had made for her from these craft sticks more than 20 years earlier.  I eventually used larger pieces of wood to craft furniture.  I have dabbled in pottery and painting.  In highschool I had aspirations to become an architect.  I love creativity.   Years later I came to realise that the bent toward creativity is not unique to me.  Creativity is part of what it...
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Jack De Vries

Power Tap

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Many people have the idea that prayer has power!  Perhaps you have heard it said that prayer can move mountains!   Did not the Biblical writer James tell us that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective? (James 5:16)   To illustrate this James goes on to tell us a story about a prophet in Israel's history:  "Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced...
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Jack De Vries

First Steps

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I usually take the stairs.  I might be at a train station, the local mall, or the airport, if I have the option between taking an escalator or the stairs, I take the stairs.  I might even take the stairs up several stories of a hotel where I am staying for the night.  Why? Well I am told that taking the stairs can prolong your life, reduces your risk for heart disease, and is easy on the wallet (significantly cheaper than going to a gym).   Since I have a 'desk job', I make the most of the opportunities I get...
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Jack De Vries

Hand-Off

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I never was really good at running!  I had long enough legs, but as a youth, other than ice hockey, I did not do sports.  And in hockey, I was the goalie, which meant I had to stay in the net.  That was fine by me.  My exercise equipment of choice is a cross-trainer otherwise known as an elliptical trainer.  This is a stationary exercise machine used to simulate stair climbing, walking, or running.  Again I can stay put!The Christian life, however, is a race.  We are urged to "run with perseverance the race marked out for us." (Hebrews 12:1)  We...
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Jack De Vries

Soul Market

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I love going to the markets.  Whether it is the Southbank markets on the Brisbane River, the Lawnton or Petrie Village markets near our home, or the iconic Eumundi markets on the Sunshine Coast, these markets are a wonderful way to spend a day, get a good bargain, buy some fresh produce, and mingle with crowds of people.  If you are in Melbourne you can also visit the Soul Market.  There you will find more than 140 stalls where you can enjoy detox juices, warm broths, indulge in some vegan & gluten free tasty treats, sample yummy healthy whole food, browse...
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Jack De Vries

The Gap

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There are a lot of people who are concerned about gaps.   Gaps in employment when people are suddenly laid off or lose their job.  Gaps in wages, especially between men and women, where there is not equal pay for equal work.   Gaps in education when you compare the standardized tests between students in one school or the next, one state or the next.  In my woodworking days when I glued two pieces of timber together I made sure there were no gaps in the joints.  Many people spend a lot of time in the dentist's chair, as well as...
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Jack De Vries

2020 Vision

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Unlike many in my family, I don't need eye glasses to see well.   For years, when we lived in Canada, every time you went to renew your driver's license you had to get your eyes tested.   The results always came back positive.   20/20 vision is considered normal vision and the benchmark I always reached.   Perhaps you know what I am talking about.   You've been to the doctor and she sits you about 6 meters from an eye chart.  You are asked to read a series of letters on a chart.  The lower you can read on...
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Jack De Vries

N.E.W.S.

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I love listening to the news!   I want to know what is happening in the world.   But more and more I question whether or not we can trust the news.   There is so much talk about 'fake news'.   Every newspaper, radio, and/or TV program have their own slant to the news.   Is there news you can trust?  What is news?Some people claim that the English word NEWS is derived from an acronym formed from the words north, east, west, and south.  Hence the word NEWS.   Most likely, however, the orginal sense of the word 'news'...
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Jack De Vries

Dinner Out

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How can we reach the lost for Christ?   The unchurched people in our neighbourhoods.  Our missional vision asks that each congregation consider how they can reach out to unchurched groups in their community.   Is your church thinking about this?   Suggestions are given of the kinds of people we could be reaching:  "unbelieving spouses of church members and the unchurched among single people, professional people, high rise or gated communities, ethnic communities, sports clubs, young people in shopping centres, workers in the hospitality industries, shift workers, the illiterate, young mothers, retired people, and the like;"  So how do we...
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Jack De Vries

Be Holy!

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Be holy!  The Bible calls us to be holy as God is holy.The Apostle Peter commanded us to be “like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior” (1 Pet 1:15).  This might sound far fetched.   But think about it!   God wouldn’t command us to do something if it were not possible.   On that basis, it must be possible to become holy as God is holy.I grew up in a religious home.   We attended church every Sunday.   We prayed and read the Bible at meal times.   But yet I...
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Jack De Vries

Family First

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Our biggest opportunity for growth in the CRCA is "equipping parents to disciple their own children."   This is what a recent survey* among CRCA youth ministries revealed.   While "Bible teaching" scored as our greatest strength, the priority of family scored lowest.   Most churches do not teach or train parents how to disciple their own children.As churches we have agreed that our key task is "to equip our church members to be disciples of Christ."   We are also committed to align everything we do as a denomination and as churches to "encourage and enable the fulfillment of the...
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Jack De Vries

Seeds

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Every mighty oak tree was once a little nut!   Every time I see an oak tree with its massive trunk and thick limbs I am amazed how all of this came from a single acorn seed.  Some years ago a farmer told me I could have the four metre long trunk of an oak tree that had been cut down in the middle of his grain field.  It was over two metres in diameter.  Together with a friend we cut up that tree trunk into furniture grade lumber.   My office desk is one of many pieces of furniture that...
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Jack De Vries

Stand in Their Shoes

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Where you stand determines what you see!   This was the challenge given at the recent Church Summit I attended hosted by McCrindle Research and NCLS (National Church Life Survey).   Both these organizations have done extensive research on church life and culture in Australia, and by listening to them one has lots to learn.  This challenge is really asking you and I to stand in the shoes of the typical Australian.   When we stand in their shoes we begin to see the Christian church from their perspective.   And they have lots to tell us how we can best...
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Jack De Vries

Crock-Pots

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I love using crock-pots!  These slow-cookers are ingenious.  In the morning you pile it full of whatever you want to have for dinner at night.  And slowly but surely after many hours the dinner is ready to be enjoyed.  The food is always delicious, tender, and full of flavour.  But that is not all.  Throughout the entire day the kitchen and surrounds are full of the aroma of the pending meal.I mention crock-pots to highlight a principle about prayer.  One of our goals in the CRCA is to develop a culture of prayer in our churches. In the book City of...
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Joshua Hartog

Is Your Church Multicultural?

25 Is Your Church Multicultural
I was listening to a Geneva Push podcast earlier this week from their recent Multiply conference. It was a brief interview with Andrew Reid and his wife about their experiences in church planting. Andrew and his wife moved from WA to Melbourne to plant a church many years ago. He shared two challenges he and his wife have experienced in church planting.Firstly, while Melbourne is the fastest growing city in Australia, particular through Chinese immigration, the church is ‘thoroughly unprepared.’ He says, ‘[the church] has not touched the sub-cultures of Melbourne very well for the gospel at all. The challenge is related...
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Tags:
geneva push andrew reid ethnicity multicultural local church outreach
Jack De Vries

Training Hubs

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Vision never really becomes a reality until there is alignment.   And the key to alignment is the hub.   I know that from the number of motorcycle rebuilds I have done.  We all know about the importance of the rubber tyres.  When the rubber hits the road we are moving along.  And the rim to which the rubber is attached keeps the tyre inflated.  But inflated tyres do not get a pedal bike, motorcycle, or vehicle rolling along!   You need the hub, the centre piece of the wheel.  When the hub functions properly, the entire wheel begins to get...
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Jack De Vries

Let's Rethink!

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Sometimes in life you just got to do a rethink!  I did a rethink when I was studied for the ordained ministry.   My course of training was headed toward a study steeped in biblical exegesis.   My goal was set!  I wanted to know the Bible inside and out so I could teach people in the churches I would serve.   It was a great goal.   But midway through my studies I came to understand the gospel in a rich new way!   What it meant to be forgiven.  What it meant to be a disciple of Jesus.  ...
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John Westendorp

Ministry Beyond Retirement

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I was pleased to read recently that a retired colleague and his wife have just finished three months of ministry in a ‘vacant’ church in New Zealand. From all reports they enjoyed their time in Kiwi-land and their ministry there was a blessing. Opportunities for ongoing ministry are there not only for those of us who are ordained pastors. When my father retired from his trade work he and Mum led a Bible study for many years and virtually became pastoral carers for the group they led.Here in Narrabri where I now live with my family there have also arisen a...
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Tags:
Radio Ministry Retirement
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