Jack De Vries was hired on by the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia and began his work as Ministry Training Coordinator in January 2008. In 2012 this role shifted to that of Ministry Development Coach.
Jack came from Canada where he pastored three Christian Reformed churches: Alliston CRC, Alliston, Ontario(1983-87), a church plant:...
Jack De Vries was hired on by the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia and began his work as Ministry Training Coordinator in January 2008. In 2012 this role shifted to that of Ministry Development Coach.
Jack came from Canada where he pastored three Christian Reformed churches: Alliston CRC, Alliston, Ontario(1983-87), a church plant: New Life Community Church, Pickering, Ontario(1987-95), and Bethel CRC, Listowel, Ontario (1995-2007). Jack is a graduate of Calvin Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity - 1983) and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Doctor of Ministry - 2003) Jack and his wife Jeannie currently live in Petrie, a northern suburb of Brisbane in Queensland. They attend and are members of Bray Park Community Church. They have four adult children and seven grandchildren living in the USA and Canada.
In Isaiah 58:11 we read: "The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." Australia has seen times of drought and floods. There is another type of drought in Australia; there is a spiritual drought. But God promises to provide refreshing rain, a never ending supply of refreshing water. The water he provides will satisfy the needs of all Australians. As we take up the missional vision God has given us we extend the life changing invitation of Jesus: "Come! Whoever is thirsty, come, and take the free gift of the water of life!" (Revelation 22:17)
Sometimes you just have think outside of the box! I had to do this with my last motorcycle rebuild. I had taken this Kawasaki W650, and with some cosmetic fixes, this motorcycle took on the persona of a cafe racer. But after my son had a serious run-in with a car which hit it head-on, I had to think outside the box. My son was thankfully spared any serious injury, but the motorcycle was a disaster. ...
Every time I do my workout I take my pulse! In fact, my pulse is taken automatically. The cross-trainer I use at home registers my heart rate as well as the amount of calories I am burning. There are goals I set for both. It is recommended that I exercise within 55 to 85 percent of my maximum heart rate (MHR) for at least 20 to 30 minutes to get the best results from aerobic exercise. ...
I recall a time, not long ago, when I just had to sit down. I did not have any strength to stand. It was a very humid hot day. I was especially busy that day doing yard work. After several hours of pruning, cleaning, moving dirt, my strength, in the words of the Psalmist, was "dried up like a broken piece of pottery." (Psalm 22:15) I just did not have the strength to stand, let alone...
So much in life and ministry has changed with the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic. A preacher of long ago reminded us that “there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) This preacher identified many of our currents realities. For too many this is a time to die and a time to weep. There is a time for togetherness and there is a time to remain apart. For all...
The walls in Berlin came a tumbling down in 1989. Twenty-seven years earlier a barbed wire and concrete wall was built to seperate East and West Berlin. But that all changed 9 November 1989. That night, ecstatic crowds swarmed the wall, all the while crying out: "Open the gates!" Some crossed freely into West Berlin, while others brought hammers and picks and began to chip away at the wall itself. Then cranes and bulldozers pulled down section after...
