Evangelism and Home Mission
ne of the
offices with which members of the church are clad is the
prophetic. It means that they are expected to be both
knowledgeable in the Word, as well as witnesses to others
about Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word. This witness is a
matter of both conversation and conduct.
In order to stimulate the members in their prophetic calling, many of our churches have an evangelism or home mission committee. Such a committee is not meant to do the work for the members but to help them become active and effective in this area.
A sample of activities being promoted by certain committees includes: radio messages, literature distribution, Bible courses, Vacation Bible school, Sunday school, child and women programs, prison outreach, neighbourhood Bible study groups, etc.
An organization called the Reformed Evangelism Taskforce is busy developing and providing materials used by the various committees. It publishes a quarterly evangelistic magazine call Evangel, a number of Bible courses including A Gift From Heaven, and various brochures. It also sponsors seminars and training sessions.
A missionary is working among the Chinese community in Vancouver, British Columbia. A home mission project called Streetlight Ministries is underway in Hamilton, with a full time home mission worker and a home missionary.
Radio Mission
any churches
also support the radio program called The Voice of the
Church. It broadcasts fifteen minute messages that
can be heard in different parts of Canada.
Native Mission
number of years ago, the church at Smithers,
BC began a program of outreach among the native people living
in the Bulkley Valley region of northern British Columbia.
Local outreach to First Nations people by members of the Smithers
congregation continues through the work of the local outreach
committee, through Sunday schools, teen activities, and Bible camps.
Smithers Home Mission has sent a missionary to work in Prince George, B.C., the largest urban centre in Northern British Columbia. The work in Prince George is primarily focused on bringing the gospel to the First Nations population of the Prince George area. Many other churches in our federation support this work with their prayers and offerings.
Foreign Mission
ll of the
churches are also involved, either directly or
indirectly, in the work of foreign mission. The Church of
Hamilton, Ontario, currently has a missionary working in
northern Brazil. The Church of Surrey, British Columbia, has two missionaries working in northern Brazil, under
the Maranatha
Mission Board. The Church at Toronto, Ontario, has a
missionary in Papua New Guinea.
The missionaries are often assisted by others called mission aid workers. Such workers are currently active in Brazil and in Indonesia. Their tasks include medical assistance, poverty relief, and other forms of help. This work is often coordinated by mission aid boards, such as Mission Aid Brazil, of the Church of Cloverdale, British Columbia.
The Canadian Reformed World Relief Fund
hen it comes to
contributing to the work of Christian charity on a
world-wide scale, many local churches support the efforts
of the Canadian Reformed World Relief Fund. It supports
various relief efforts on a continuous basis and also
solicits special contributions from the churches whenever
disasters strike in different parts of the world. The
monies collected are channeled through international
agencies known for their reliability and effectiveness.
