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Foreign Missions
Before the Lord
Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave His church the charge to proclaim
the gospel to the ends of the earth: "Therefore go and make disciples
of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the
age." (Matthew 28:19-20).
From the early years of
our establishment in North America (1950), the Canadian and American
Reformed churches have made efforts to obey this commandment. Mission
work is understood to be the responsibility of the local church which
neighbouring sister churches then support. By God's grace and abundant
blessing, over the half-century of our existence in Canada and the US,
several foreign mission posts have been established on two continents
and numerous churches have been planted.
The current mission posts
are as follows:
Brazilian Mission - From Surrey, BC  [
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Maranatha Canadian Reformed Church (Surrey) has sent several missionaries
over the years to the mission field in Brazil. This work is supported
by most of the churches in Regional Synod West of the Canadian and American
Reformed Churches. Specifically, the field is in the Northeast of Brazil,
centred around the states of Alagoas and Pernambuco. It was started
in 1972 in the village of São José da Coroa Grande. The
first missionary was Rev. C. VanSpronsen. After he repatriated in 1978,
the work was carried on by Revs. R.F. Boersema and P.K. Meijer. At that
time, the work was expanded to the village of Maragogi (1980) and Barra
Grande (1983).
In 1988, Rev. Boersema began work some distance away in a suburb of
Recife named Camaragibe. In 1994, Rev. E. Venema arrived on the mission
field to replace Rev. Meijer. In 1995, a Church (Igreja Reformada do
Brasil) was instituted in São José/Maragogi and the Meijer
family moved back to the Netherlands. In July 1997, Rev. Boersema was
forced to retire due to his deteriorating eyesight. At the end of 1997,
Rev. Venema began work in the nearby village of Japaratinga. In the
fall of 1999, Rev. K. Wieske accepted the call to the mission field
and so replaced Rev. Boersema. Besides the work of preaching, Rev. Wieske
is also involved in training Brazilian seminary students.
The LORD has certainly blessed the work. There are roughly 100 communicant
and 100 non-communicant members in the above-mentioned locations. There
are 2 instituted churches, and two young Brazilians have recently completed
enough study to enter the ministry. As well, Mission Aid activities,
currently under the direction of Mission Aid worker Br. Jake Kuik in
Brazil, and a Mission Aid Board run by Cloverdale Canadian Reformed
Church, have improved the social conditions in the area of São
José / Maragogi / Barra Grande.
For further information
see Igreja Reformada
do Brasil
Brazilian Mission - From Hamilton, ON [
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The Cornerstone Canadian Reformed Church (Hamilton), aided by her neighbouring
sister churches, presently has one missionary working in Maceió,
Brazil (the north-eastern part). Rev. Abram de Graaf, supported by his
wife Celia and one child, took over the work of Rev. John Kroeze who
was repatriated to Australia in 1999 after some twelve years of service.
Rev. Kroeze now serves the Free Reformed Church of Legana, Australia
as minister of the Word.
With much thanks to God, Rev. de Graaf could take over from a very fruitful
ministry. The Lord so blessed the work of Rev. Kroeze that before he
left the mission field, five Brazilian Reformed Churches were instituted
and could unite together in their own federation. In the meantime, two
other mission churches are actively seeking to become full members of
this federation. Rev. de Graaf carries on the work of spreading the
gospel in the village of Maceio, where there is an active congregation.
He also teaches native Brazilian seminary students in preparation for
their work in the churches. This latter work is done in partnership
with the missionaries from the church at Surrey, who also work in North-Eastern
Brazil.
For further information
see Igreja Reformada
do Brasil
Papua New Guinea - From Toronto, ON[
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Bethel Canadian Reformed Church (Toronto), also supported by neighbouring
sister churches, has sent one missionary to work in a small village
in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Rev. Stephen 't Hart, supported by his wife
Dorinda and their children, preaches and teaches the gospel in the house
congregation of Ekoro, some 60 km distance from the (so far) only Reformed
Church of PNG, Port Moresby. Although Rev. 't Hart is working there
under the auspices of the Toronto Mission, he is also working in partnership
with the church of Port Moresby. He thus fills a dual role, serving
both as the counsellor for all spiritual matters pertaining to the church
of Port Moresby, and as the missionary/church-planter in the Ekoro region.
The church of Port Moresby was instituted in the early 90's as a result
of the work of mission undertaken by the Free Reformed Churches of Australia.
When they abandoned the work in 1995, the church of Port Moresby made
an appeal to the church of Toronto to continue the work in PNG.
At that time the Toronto Mission had come to the end of its work in
neighbouring Irian Jaya. For twenty years, Rev. H. Versteeg had laboured
in Irian Jaya, and under the blessing of the Lord a number of local
churches could be established. The increasing stability of the churches
made it possible for Rev. Versteeg to be repatriated to Canada, where
he now serves as minister of the Word in the Canadian Reformed Church
at Chatham, ON. At present he continues to maintain contact with the
churches in Irian and advises them in various matters as needed.
With Rev. Versteeg's repatriation, the door was open for Toronto to
give aid to the Australian churches. Since the work in PNG was very
much in line with the many years of mission work in Irian Jaya, where
it was also conducted among mostly Papuas, Bethel Church heeded the
appeal and called the Rev. 't Hart for this mission. In August 1997
he accepted the call, and in May 1998 he left for the mission field
in PNG.
As far as cooperation with other organisations is concerned, the Board
of Foreign Mission of the Reformed Churches of New Zealand has agreed
to a partnership in the same area of Port Moresby. They are looking
into ways and means available to them to enter the field and implement
such partnership in a practical way. The Free Reformed Church of Australia
at Armadale, together with its supporting churches, also has a presence
in PNG, namely in the city of Lae. Here they have a mission worker in
active service, br. Justin Bolhuis together with his wife Karen.
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