Department: Author: Kristen ParkerWith medals around their necks, smiles across their faces, and hearts still pounding, Smithville (Ont.) Christian High School’s senior boys’ volleyball team proudly posed for a picture with their championship banner Nov. 23.Competing at the Ontario Federation of Sc
Department: Author: Dan VeenemanWrapping them in colorful quilts created just for them, the congregation of First Christian Reformed Church in Bellflower, Calif., honored nine of their military veteran members during their morning service Nov. 10. Those honored had served in World War II, the Vietn
Department: Author: Alissa VernonA group of Christian leaders, including Christian Reformed Church executive director Steven Timmermans, recently signed a statement by the Evangelical Immigration Table calling for an “approach to immigration policy (that) is driven by biblical principles.”The Evang
Department: Author: Anita BrinkmanThis fall in Ontario, two churches marked milestones on a journey of renewal. In September, The Junction Church in St. Thomas, Ont., hosted a service, including a ribbon cutting to mark extensive renovations on the church’s building. In November, Water Street Churc
Department: Author: Kyle HoogendoornHoping to expand the kingdom of God by equipping workers, Classis Heartland of the Christian Reformed Church is launching a residency program to help churches grow outward-focused mission workers, and to help ministry graduates get an initial placement after coll
Department: Author: Susan Vanden BergOn a recent Tuesday night seven women gathered around an oval oak kitchen table in Holland, Mich. One read aloud a passage from the book of 1 Kings, illustrating with sticks, stones, and a jar of water the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal, while the rest
Department: Author: Janet A. GreidanusJacob Kuntz thrived in congregational ministry. He loved to preach God’s grace—from the pulpit or on the Dutch radio program Zingend Geloven. He was an encourager, ending every visit, even during his final week, with a fervent hands-raised “Lift up your heart!”
Department: Author: Alissa VernonThe congregation of Naschitti (N.M.) Christian Reformed Church was able to return to worship in their sanctuary this past week after completing repairs and restoration from smoke and fire damage incurred in the summer. (See Fire Damage, Uncertainty in Days Following
Department: Author: Kyle HoogendoornAt Northwestern College, in Orange City, Iowa, about 100 people gathered Nov. 12 for a discussion on immigration presented by Northwestern, the Evangelical Immigration Table, the National Immigration Forum, and the Christian Reformed Church’s Office of Social Jus
Department: Author: Religion News ServiceFaith congregations across California are responding to the state’s housing crisis by sharing their parking lots with people living in their cars, providing mobile showers for the homeless and joining their neighbors in calling for rent control in their comm
Department: Author: Greg ChandlerA new Habitat home for a western Michigan family was a labor of love for an entire classis.Seventeen congregations of the Christian Reformed Church’s Classis Georgetown recently partnered with Lakeshore Habitat for Humanity to build a Habitat home in Jenison, Mich.
Department: Author: Janet A. GreidanusThis September in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., a group of farmers busy with bringing in their own crops continued their 17-year tradition of donating time, resources, and labor to food relief. About a dozen combines harvested 295 acres of barley on land set aside
Department: Author: Phil de Haan"PTSD," said Roger Bouma, "is a little like the national debt. Everyone realizes that it's a problem, but nobody knows what to do about it." He was standing in front of a room of 80 people at Hillside Community Church, microphone in his right hand, his left hand by h
Department: Author: Maia VanderMeerSpreading peace for students at Rehoboth (N.M.) Christian School can look like a unicorn, a waterfall, or a forest. This fall, 128 of the school’s elementary students are participating in a program developed by the Memory Project to create artwork to mail and shar
Department: Author: Janet A. GreidanusGordon Van Enk served in parish ministry for 25 years and was hoping to also serve 25 years as a hospice chaplain. That was cut short by ten months, however, when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer June 30, 2017. Van Enk received treatment that extended hi
Department: Author: Kimberly SimpsonFellowship Christian Reformed Church in Toronto, Ont., kicked off a joint venture with the Neilson Park Creative Centre in September, launching a series of open mic poetry sessions. Sponsored in part by the League of Canadian Poets and the Ontario Arts Council, t
Department: Author: Janet A. GreidanusA beloved chaplain, Russ Van Antwerpen was a humble man with an open, ready smile, who dedicated his life to serving God and God’s people. He died Oct. 3 at age 65 following a brain aneurysm.At Calvin Theological Seminary, Russ increasingly felt called to cross
Department: Author: Greg ChandlerFaith Community Christian Reformed Church in Wyoming, Mich., recently celebrated its 100th anniversary.The congregation celebrated its centennial with a Saturday-night banquet attended by about 300 people, concluding with two worship services the following day with
Department: Author: Eliza AndersonWhen a church has 150 years of history to mark, it’s hard to fit everything into one celebration. Members of East Saugatuck Christian Reformed Church in Holland, Mich., have spent most of 2019 celebrating the sesquicentennial.The church hosted special worship servi
Department: Author: Gayla R. PostmaHow and when should the Council of Delegates send comments to an annual synod in response to matters on the synod agenda?That was a question the Council wrestled with at its October 2019 meeting. (The Council acts on behalf of the Christian Reformed Church’s annua