Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Feb/85

Contributor - Rev. Murray Moerman

Title - Can a "Reformed" Church Be a "Community" Church?

Topic - Church Growth

This month I would like to introduce Mr. Herman Jonker, a former member of the Hope Reformed Church (Vancouver), and a founding elder of New Life Community Church (Burnaby). Those of you who know him know that he is Dutch, speaking with an accent, and is a committed member of the Reformed Church in America and of the Council of the Reformed Church in Canada. At a recent meeting of the C.R.C.C., Mr. Jonker was asked about his views on church growth, and this month I am giving him this forum to respond. He deals with the touchy subject of being a "community" church and/or a "Dutch Reformed" church. I hope his perspective, as a committed "Dutch Reformed" elder who desires to reach out for Jesus Christ above all, will be helpful. Here's Herman:

"During the November meeting of the Council of the Reformed Church in Canada (C.R.C.C.), I was asked what the factors are that have contributed to our growth of an average weekly attendance of 111 persons in 1981, our average weekly attendance for 1984 is 208, or a growth of 87% over 3 years.

"Is it really important to have a name like ours, New Life Community Church, therefore not mentioning the fact that we are of the Reformed Denomination? I believe it is. Reformed in Canada, more so than in the United States, is immediately associated with Dutch. This is a negative association in that it restrains people of another background, and even some of a Dutch background from coming. Of course, the name alone is not sufficient. If newcomers would find that 90% of the people attending are strongly ethnic, they might come once or twice but then stay away. So from the very beginning, we made a concerted effort to make our Dutch background as subdued as possible, mainly by working with young people who were born here.

"What is wrong with being Dutch?

Nothing, but if we really are serious about reaching out and touching the lives of the great variety of people who populate this country of ours, then we had better be realistic. it is not only speaking Dutch during or after the service, though that is certainly the thing that makes non-Dutch people feel very uneasy and not welcome; it is also a feeling that only 'the way we always did it' is right. And ignoring newcomers after the service, not because we are not compassionate or friendly, but because we feel awkward approaching strangers.

"Yes, but we at least want to keep our traditional way of worshipping. Maybe so, again there is basically nothing wrong with it. Our liturgy is beautiful and so are our hymns, but what if newcomers feel awkward about it because they do not understand, or are fumbling around with the hymn book and yet a few other song books? it has been our goal at New Life, right from the start, to make newcomers feel welcome. We do that by greeting all people who enter, but especially those who are there for the first time. Greeting is more than just handing them the bulletin and shaking their hand. We introduce ourselves, ask, for instance, where they are from, and show our appreciation that they came and wish them a good worship experience. We make them feel at ease by having an informal liturgy and projecting all our songs on a screen with the overhead projector; and we sing a lot of songs!

"Other contributing factors of friendliness and a 'family"atmosphere are.-being seated n a semi-circle so that worshippers can see lots of faces and not only backs, and having refreshments after the service every Sunday in real cups (no styrofoam). People stay a longtime, there is very little cliquing, and newcomers are not left alone. We have a very large lobby especially for that purpose. The lobby i s also suitable for mothers with young children who can sit there during the service, observing and participating through the glass and hearing through the speakers in the lobby, yet not bothering the other people. in addition, we have two nurseries: one for babies, and one for small children.

"What if people find out after all that you are a Reformed church? Once they have integrated into your church, this is not a problem anymore, and we do not hide it either. Every person who wants to become a member has to go through a membership class. Our way of church government and what it means to be Reformed is clearly taught there. As a matter of fact, one of our committed member families (Canadian-American background) moved to Regina and wrote a long letter to our Reformed Head Office in New York enquiring about the possibility of starting a Reformed church in Regina!

"Finally, I would like to ask you the question.- 'What is more important: creating an atmosphere and environment where it is possible to help people to come to an ever-deepening relationship with Jesus Christ, or emphasizing our Reformed heritage almost to the point of barring all those who are not of that persuasion?'

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