Recently I prayed with my eyes wide open! I have not done that for a long, long time. As a young child during family devotions I would on occasion open my eyes(just a slit or two) during prayer -- just to see if anyone else had their eyes open. Years later, there were many times carving up kilometres on pavement on my motorcycle when I would talk with God out loud. I figured no one but...
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)
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It is encouraging to know that 84% of CRCA congregational members would support the development of new initiatives in the ministry and mission of their local church. This is one of many findings in the recent NCLS (National Church Life Survey) survey conducted among CRCA churches. While not all churches participated in the NCLS survey, the results are still a good sampling of the vitality of CRCA churches. Over 1300 adult members participated, which is almost...
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Moving Your Church Through Growth Barriers (5) Christianity is not a spectator sport. Australians know what it means to be a spectator. And Australians are not unique in this. Sport is big business and attracts huge crowds to stadiums. What typically happens is that you have a few players on the field who are active participants in the sporting event, be it Cricket, Soccer, Rugby, or the like. The rest are spectators and they come in...
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Moving Your Church Through Growth Barriers (4) Balance in a church, just as it is in life, is a healthy condition! You might know of situations in life when you are pulled in opposing directions. It is not healthy. In one of the churches I served, soon after I arrived on the scene, I spoke with an elderly man who had a lifetime of history in this church. We were looking at the photos of all...
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Moving Your Church Through Growth Barriers (3) We all like to be in charge, in control of our lives and even our own destiny. Desire for control is buried deep in the DNA of human beings. We insist on being in the driver’s seat of our lives. To give up control is difficult. We all know of some people that might be called “control freaks” – they not only like to control their own lives; they...
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