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)
Recently I witnessed a hunger for the word of the LORD! It reminded me of the words of the prophet Amos: "Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD GOD, "When I will send a hunger over the land, not a hunger for the bread or a thirst for water, but rather a hunger for hearing the words of the LORD." (Amos 8:11) It began on a Sunday morning when I was asked to preach at the Coleridge...
From 4-7 April seventy-one CRCA pastors, ministry workers, and their spouses gathered together for Recharge 2016. It was a beautiful view! As Peter Adam reminded us, the place where we gathered was Kalorama, which in Greek means "seeing beautiful things." And it was beautiful in so many ways. We began with dinner on Monday 4 April. The conversations around the tables were lively and animated. That evening, and over the next three days, Peter Adam walked us through the Biblical...
Most everybody has heard of Amazon! Entrepreneur Jeff Bezos built Amazon from a small online bookseller to a retail giant. In a recent article in Foreign Affairs (January 4, 2015) Bezos stated: "Entrepreneurs ... benefit greatly from being willing to fail, willing to experiment. Good entrepreneurs tend to be stubborn on the vision but flexible on the details. Another quality is passion for the mission. The very best products and services are always built by missionaries. ...
Recently I went through a Cardiac Computed Tomography(CT) Scan. Sounds complicated, but really it is not! Doctors used x-rays to take a bunch of detailed pictures of my heart, just to see how healthy my heart is. Soon I will meet with a cardiologist to discuss the results of this scan. Every year I meet with many churches to discuss their health. They too have gone through a scan. In fact, over 1/3 of all CRCA churches have...
Making disciples has always been a hot topic for me. David Watson's book on world-changing discipleship, Called and Committed, changed my thinking back in the early 1980's, and in many ways, set the direction for my life's journey as a Christ-follower, a husband, father, and minister of the gospel. Since then my library shelves have filled with countless other books on discipleship. Did I really need to have one more? I couldn't resist when I came...
