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)
Moving Your Church Through Growth Barriers (2) We are creatures of habit and we all tend to gravitate to the comfortable pew in church. At least this has been my tendency. When I was a student at university I always sat in the same general area or desk in the classroom. It was familiar, and most often the same people would sit next to me or around me. The same is in church. It is usually...
Moving Your Church Through Growth Barriers (1) You probably heard it said, “Starting the job is half done.” Some might take issue with this maxim arguing that it takes a whole lot more that simply starting something to get it done. That might be true. But there is much truth in this saying. I am writing this article whilst in one of the largest aircrafts in the world, an Airbus A380-800. Engineers will tell you that...
Moving Your Church Through Growth Barriers - An Introduction There are many times in life when we come to a fork in the road and we have to make a choice. Do we turn to left or to the right? Or do we turn around? We need to make a choice. Which road do we take? In the words of Robert Frost, do we take the road less travelled? This is what Frost calls the road...
Driving along one day to my next destination I heard these words over the radio: I am strong when I am on your shoulders, you raise me up to more than I can be. Immediately I began to think of the many times my wife or I have taken one of our children or grandchildren and put them on our shoulders, carried them on our backs, or in our arms. They might have become weary from a walk, or...
As the pages of a new year are turned on the calendar lots of people resolve to do something in the year ahead. Many make the resolution to loose some weight. The holiday season has packed on a few extra kilos and so people turn up at the gym and begin a routine of working out. For others it might be to get out of debt. Or attend church more often. ...
