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)
I never want to forget! In my years of ministry I have met many people who have lost their memories. You see this happen among many elderly people. They simply do not remember the past. They don't recognize their loved ones anymore. You might have a long chat with them on the phone, but moments later the memory of your call has faded. It is no wonder, then, that the ancient preacher warned us to "remember...
I recently replaced three sections of the fence that borders our neighbour's property. Due to the fence location, I first had to build each section and then lift each section into place. How heavy could 3 rails and 25 fence palings be? Well you can only imagine! I could not do this alone. Each section was too heavy. Thankfully the couple next door and my wife Jeannie gave me a hand. The ancient proverb is so true: "Two...
How do you measure success? How do you know whether or not you have healthy church growth? I have wondered about these questions for years, and especially during the current COVID-19 pandemic. For example, in my doctoral studies I explored the topic: "Preaching for Success". How do you know whether or not you are accomplishing your goals in preaching? And what goals/results should you be looking at? The same is with growing healthy churches. How...
When I was growing up building shelters was one of my favorite pastimes. In the summer months I would head down to the nearby creek and build forts. At our family home I built a special 'bunker' in our backyard. It was filled with my stuff and it made for a fun-filled summer. In our church's boy's club we learned how to build shelters for camping in the middle of a Canadian winter. How I enjoyed...
Every church has a context. This simply means that we have a current situation where we live and do gospel ministry. That context is different for every church. Oh, there are many similarities, but every church has its own context. When I began to serve the local church 37 years ago, I paid particular attention to my ministry context. Back then, the buzz word was that we were to be culturally relevant as a church. We...
