Our Shared Ministry

“The Holy Spirit is so active that it can offer people what you as a preacher would never in a million years think would come out of that sermon.”

One man’s story of discovering the hope of salvation through Back to God Ministries International’s outreach team in Russia.

An increasing number of Christian Reformed Church pastors are bivocational, earning income from both pastoring and a different job. 

Calvin College Rehabilitation Services, in partnership with local organizations, is providing screenings and classes to improve balance and reduce the risk of falls for people older than 60.

The three-hour seminar opened with Halstead’s evangelistic conversion: at 17 years old, a Fellowship of Christian Athletes coach shared the gospel with him, and he became a Christian. 

On the Tour of Hope they took in April 2018, members of the Rehoboth (N. Mex.) High School Choir volunteered to help rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Harvey in Texas.

Back in 1980, Lori Persenaire lay in the hospital where she would soon pass away. 

Huan coordinates ministry for a network of Chinese pastors who are also blind. In fact, she’s made it her mission to minister to other people who are blind in China—currently over 17 million.

The Emyedus are one of the local couples who have turned their relationship around through World Renew’s Stepping Stones program.

Set for Aug. 1-3 in Windsor, Ont., at the St. Clair Centre for the Arts, Inspire 2019 will be a great time of worship and fellowship as well as a chance to learn about ways in which the Christian Reformed Church is offering the gospel message to people around the world.

It’s common for people to believe it can’t happen in their congregation. As we’ve seen in these other instances, though, it can and it does happen even among “our” churches. Here are a few key things to keep in mind if your congregation finds itself navigating similar situations.

“We live in a culture that promotes a Hollywood fantasy that if you’re with your soulmate, everything will be hunky dory—you’ll live happily ever after—and there will be no issues,” said Rev. Deb Koster, producer of Family Fire. “The reality is that we’re all broken, and we’re trying to find ways to live together in fellowship, sharp edges and all.”

With Nicaragua’s rainy season fast approaching, Luis and Alba Lopez knew their family was in a dire situation—their roof wouldn’t be able to withstand the rainstorms.

Begun as a three-year pilot project in 12 classes (U.S. Upper Midwest, California, and Southern Ontario), the goal of Connections is to bring denominational resources to Christian Reformed churches in ways that are responsive and easily accessed. 

Much of the conversation between Gibson and Jennings centered around the topic of theological education and how many scholars today are wrestling with one big question for themselves. As for Jennings, he pursues “the question of God and race.”

Synod 2016 recognized the financial gap in the ministry shares system and asked that the program be reconsidered. It instructed staff to prioritize and evaluate existing programs and to develop a proposal for reimagining ministry shares. This proposal will be brought to Synod 2019 for discussion and decision. 

In the heart of the newly renovated Christian Reformed Church in North America offices in Burlington, Ont. a quilt hangs prominently. It includes blocks from 65 different Christian Reformed people from across North America.

“Depression stole my life in every way imaginable,” said Leenza Thompson, a student at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont. “[I felt] completely empty at some points, like I was just a shell of a human. . . . I really felt like I was a waste of space on earth. I felt that no one could ever love me.”

Every week, Victor (not his real name) tunes in to one of his favorite television programs from his home in Chile. One day, the message felt a little too close to home. “I was tempted to change the channel,” recalled Victor. “But I decided to keep listening.”