Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Jan. 1/58

Contributor - Jacob Blaauw

Title - Churches Grow in Canada

Topic - Reformed Church in Canada

Another year has passed - a year of blessing and much activity and progress on the Canadian field. We thank God for what we have been privileged to do and for His blessing upon our efforts. The Gospel has been preached throughout our Canadian churches, and the Word has been blessed by the Holy Spirit to human hearts.

Great activity in the building program has continued during 1957. The Whitby and Dunnville, Ontario, congregations dedicated their new or rebuilt church buildings during the month of June. Abbotsford in British Columbia also had the joy of dedicating its recently purchased used church, building a few months ago,. Galt, Ontario, and Calgary, Alberta, rejoice in their recent purchases of good used church buildings, and ,dedication services are already being planned. Stoney Creek, Ontario, is busy remodeling its church building and when completed this former theater will be dedicated. Drayton, Ontario, rejoices in their new church, and the London, Ontario,, congregation has at this writing just started building.

It is of interest and a cause for much rejoicing to report that we now own 22 church buildings and 22 parsonages in Canada and that 13 churches and ten parsonages. have been built or bought during the last two years.

During the past year two more missionaries, called by the Board, have come to labour in this great field. The Rev. Henry Boekhoven was transferred from First, Edmonton, Alberta, to a new field at Abbotsford, B.C., which is about 40 miles south of Vancouver. The Rev. Eugene Heideman, after two years of postgraduate study in theology in the Netherlands, accepted our call to the First Reformed Church, Edmonton, Alberta, and is doing excellent work. The Rev. Henry Rozendaal, one of our veteran pastor's, accepted our call to Medicine Hat, Alberta.

Several new churches have been organized during the year. The town of Cooksville, Ontario, is located about ten miles west of Toronto and many Dutch immigrants have settled there. While it ' is near to the Toronto industries, living conditions, especially house rent, are more reasonable than in Metropolitan Toronto where it is extremely difficult to rent a house. In January, 1956, at their request we began to conduct services in the Cooksville High School which the local Board of Education permits them to use free of charge. The congregation, is already organized and is now busy raising funds with which to purchase a parsonage. By next spring they hope to be able to call their own pastor with a salary supplement from the Board. They also assume all other financial obligations.

The First Reformed Church of Galt, Ontario, also was organized in this past year and, as reported above, rejoices in the recent purchase of a good used church building obtained at a very moderate price from a Presbyterian congregation. They also hope to have their own pastor in the very near future.

Last May work was begun in Whally, B.C., by our two missionaries on the West Coast, but it is too early to report the possibilities there. The services are conducted alternately by the Rev. G. Tenn Zijthoff and the Rev. H. Boekhoven. This field, as well as the work on Vancouver Island, is supervised by the Hope Reformed Church of Vancouver and Classis Cascades.

Many other activities carried on today in our Canadian field are of importance and interest. Two Consistorial Unions now are active, one in Ontario and another in the Far West. Members of the consistories gather twice la year for fellowship and to discuss the many problems that a pioneer church must necessarily face.

Young People's conferences have been conducted both in Ontario and in the Far West. These have become more popular every year, for in 1957 five youth conferences were held and the attendance continues to mount, one conference having an attendance of over 240 young people.

Missionary conferences, especially for the women, also have been held this fall. We find it very necessary to stimulate missionary interest in our Canadian churches, for knowledge of and interest in missions is very meager. During October, Dr. Margaret Rottschaefer, one of our emeritus missionaries, and Mrs. Lois Peterson have been speakers at conferences in Ontario.

The third annual retreat under the leadership of Dr. Jacob Prins, our Minister of Evangelism, was held for our Ontario pastors this fall. We hold a staff conference of our Ontario pastors every month.

A recent study of consistorial reports to General Synod reveals that we now have 1450 families in our Canadian churches, divided into 33 congregations, served by 25 pastors and one lay preacher, while one church is vacant. These churches report that in the, past year 223 members were received on confession of faith, and how many were added by certificate I am unable to say at this time. Fifteen young men from our immigrant homes are now studying in our church Colleges and seminaries preparing for the ministry. Next summer the first three will graduate from our seminaries, and two years later three more. At the same time we have eight or nine young men in our colleges. All these young men expect to enter the ministry of the Reformed Church among their own people here in Canada.

Last year our Canadian churches contributed over $140.000 toward their congregational expenses, an average contribution of $98.56 per family. When we remember that many of these people are just out of the Netherlands and are having a financial struggle to get started again, and that in their religious background there was little instruction in giving to the Church, we "thank God and take courage."

For 1958,,our churches have been notified that there, will be a 10 per cent cut in their appropriation from the Board, but that the monies thus "saved" are to be used for the expansion of our work in Canada. We now have three churches which are what we term "self-supporting" in that they receive less than $2500.00 salary supplement from the Board; a fourth hopes to 'begin by the first of next year, and a fifth congregation expects to attain this financial status next year.

In closing I wish to make two observations that seem pertinent. First, after two, years of work as director of the Canadian work, I am positively convinced that this is mission work. The immigrants that come to Canada today do not come with a spiritual but a purely economic motive. Many of them have little or no church affiliation, and many are but nominal church members. Scarcely 20 per cent can be classed as active members. But they come with large families and it is not difficult to predict what will happen to them spiritually unless they come in contact with our missionaries and are invited in-to the church where they hear the Gospel and are taught the precious truths of the Christian faith. Second, we are in need of more missionaries, and as soon as possible. Several additional congregations have reached the place where they should have a full time pastor of their own. For instance, the Toronto field is so large that it is impossible for one pastor to minister to all the hundreds of families scattered over this great metropolitan city. One hundred and sixty-nine Reformed Church Immigrant units came into Toronto the first seven months of 1957. We are making plans now to obtain another full-time pastor as soon as possible. Several other cities, such as Vancouver, and Edmonton, face the same problem.

This challenging missionary enterprise deserves and requires the very best of us as individuals and of the whole Reformed Church.

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