About Me
CRC global mission enthusiasts will find lots of information to chew on and lots of opportunity to connect with each other as well as with denominational mission resource people in these pages. I'm excited to be your guide in this process, but I certainly can't do this on my own. I'll be accessing the experience and expertise of many people who know a lot about the many forms of mission that our denomination is engaged in. This will include people who serve under denominational boards but also people who have been leading their congregations into the changing world of global mission.
You may want to know a bit about me. I am a CRC "lifer" who has made a deliberate effort to connect to the broader evangelical and Christian community in order to bring back the richnes of other traditions into our own. I grew up in Bethany CRC, Bellflower California, and attended Calvin College. In between I had a profound experience of grace and professed my faith in Christ. While there I not only loved the teaching on Christian worldview, but also was deeply involved in the InterVarsity group which was characterized by a strong commitment to mission.
After study at Calvin Seminary, Gordon-Conwell (M.Div.), Calvin Seminary again (Th.M.) and New College Edinburgh, we spent six years in pastoral ministry in Raymond, Minnesota. The next six years we were missionaries in Romania and Lithuania. Since our return from Eastern Europe I have served World Missions from the denominational building. I helped new missionaries to communicate their ministry to potential partner churches and individuals, as well as overseeing church relations and missionary home service for the agency. The best part of that job and my focus now is providing information and inspiration to churches on the cause of missions and the work that we are privileged to do. I preach and teach on missions 25 or more times per year. This work has brought me to most of the U.S. states where there are many CRCs present as well as several Canadian provinces.
My wife, Chris, works at Calvin College, where our oldest is a freshman. Our other two children are in high school, so we are preparing ourselves for an empty nest.
May you find these pages inspiring as you seek to lead your church in global mission.
My Topics
| Type | Date | |
|---|---|---|
| Blog post |
Partnership and Unreached People January 10, 2012 |
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| Blog post |
Transformational Hope January 3, 2012 |
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| Blog post |
Dropping the "BIG" from Big Brother December 22, 2011 |
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| Blog post |
Fewer But Deeper Relationships December 7, 2011 |
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| Blog post |
Mission according to Stott October 25, 2011 |
My Comments
Hi Lou,
Just a clarification that the writer is Rick De Graaf. I agree with your concern about the use of terms. Steve
The character's representation of the CRC's position is certainly one sided. She rightly emphasizes a strong view of Biblical authority and the continuing relevance even of Old...
I should have added a seventh point. As part of the process of paring down the number of relationships, deepen the financial commitment to each of the remaining missionaries. That way...
Another sizeable denomination that emphasizes historic Reformed theology is the Presbyterian Church in America. You can find their churches using this...
Thanks Al. what I mean by doing missions through others rather than with is seeing those we are working with as a means to accomplish our priorities rather than really engaging with...