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)
At times I get overwhelmed by the simple volume of tasks I have to achieve. And I am not alone. Every pastor and church leader has a keen sense that there are just not enough hours to do all that needs to be done. When I served the local church as their minister, there was always another sermon to write, another visit to make, an email to respond to, some planning to organise, a meeting to...
Speaking with the pastor I immediately realised what he was struggling with. The heart of his struggle was the complacency in his church. In spite of the ongoing decline in the church and the lack of conversions, most of the people in his church stood for nothing more than more of the same. People were not interested in doing a church analysis, and even less interested in implementing any change. People in the church readily admitted...
When was the last time you followed a plan? You planned to do something, like make a birthday cake for someone. You wrote up a list of ingredients and headed down to your local shops to pick up the flour, baking powder, sugar, and everything else you needed. You mixed all the elements in a dish and put it in the oven to bake. What a joy later on when you saw the smile on people's...
The COVID pandemic has forced many of us into isolation for a long, long time. The reality of our current situation has strictly limited the contact we have with others. We make contactless payments at the shops. We can pick up supplies at stores without making any contact with anyone. Even McDonalds will drop off your burger and fries at your front door - all contactless. But we are not meant to do life alone. This...
The real push again this year is for you and I to join the frenzy! The frenzy seems to begin earlier every year. The main event was last week with a long list of retailers and brands offering discounts across technology, fashion, homewares, beauty and more. There were 4,000 deals from more than 800 Australian and international brands. This homegrown retail event is one of the biggest sales events of the year - Click Frenzy! So...
