Rev. John Kapteyn has been named the Executive
Secretary of the Regional Synod of Canada.
John and his wife, Margaret have three children
and four grandchildren. John has been a pastor
for 19 years, serving three churches in Canada,
most recently Westdale Reformed Church in
Hamilton, Ontario.
Kapteyn is a former teacher, banker, and
accountant and a 1988 graduate of Western
Theological Seminary.
He has been a member of the RCA task force on
the responsibilities and roles of regional
synods and classes, as well as a member of a
Church Herald task force. He also has served as
president of the Synod of Canada, the Classis of
Ontario, and Countryside Camp. He has created
and developed a number of websites and enjoys
hiking and traveling.
Laurie Heron, President of the Regional Synod,
said that she wanted to express the Synod’s
“gratitude and pleasure that John accepted the
call to be our Executive Secretary. We are also
excited about the Regional Synod being able to
continue to implement the RCA 10 year goal under
new leadership.”
Kapteyn, enthusiastic about his new calling and
about the future of the RCA in Canada, shares
his love for the church and His Lord:
"I have a deep heart for the Reformed Church in
Canada and for the lost. I have been an active
member from childhood, entered seminary at the
age of 37 for the purpose of ministering in
Canada and have been very active in the overall
ministry of the RCA in Canada.
Jesus gave His life for the lost. We are called
to complete His work – not that we can add
anything to what He has done, but to bring the
Gospel into the world. I believe we need to
nurture a passion for mission and ministry and
we need to be good stewards of the resources and
responsibilities God has placed upon us . "
John adds, “The greatest thrill and joy I have
is seeing God’s people working together for a
common goal”.
John stated that he has found that there are
some in the denomination who presently have a
difficult time 'buying into' the denominational
vision, goals and processes, including Church
Multiplication and Coaching”.
His immediate objective as the new Executive
Secretary of the RSC, in conjunction with the
denomination’s , as well as the regional
executive’s vision and goals, is to visit with
each classis executive, pastor and consistory,
listen to them and share their dreams and goals,
or lack thereof.
He says “I want our vision to initiate from
them. If that is the starting point and we can
show how these tools tie into, empower and
enable their dreams to become reality, I believe
we can together own a shared vision for the RCA
in Canada that comes from God. We need to have
Christ’s heart for the lost, commit ourselves to
living for eternity rather than the ‘here and
now”.
written and edited by: Rev. John Kapteyn and Mr.
Bill Zwiep
Introducing our
new
Executive Secretary |
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