Friday, October 25 is past and another Annual Meeting of the Reformed Fellowship has become history. Members and friends who were privileged in God’s Providence to be in attendance have returned to their homes keenly aware that the day was beneficial for those who love the Reformed Faith. Timely thoughts on what should be the present aims of the Reformational program were planted in our minds in the afternoon by the Rev. Louis Tamminga from Sioux Center, Iowa, who challenged us to think and act as citizens of God’s Kingdom.
The crowd was excellent as we enjoyed fellowship and nourishment at the evening banquet. The speaker, the Rev. John Hellinga of Grand Rapids, stirred us and brought us comfort as he spoke on “Our Reformational Program: Its Assured Victory.”
The morning; was spent in a business session. As usual, new members had to be chosen for the Board since four seats were being vacated by terms which were expiring. Re-elected were the Revs. William Kok, Rein Leestma and Henry Vanden Heuvel. Also elected after an absence of a few years from the Board was the Rev. Henry Venema.
Those who were there to hear the reports of the committees learned that there is much for which we can be thankful and also much for which we need to be in prayer.
The editors, the Revs. H. Vanden Heuvel and J. Hulst, gave an account of their work during the preceding year. This being their first year serving as editors, they could look back through the year and see that their initial fear and apprehensiveness was unfounded and that there were many reasons to praise God. Due to a decision of the Board, the contributors to our pages now receive payment for their labors. The editors feel that this policy has greatly helped them to receive material “that is forceful and to the point.” Also, they have been encouraged by the growing awareness of the crucial issues facing the Church and the increasing use of the pages of TORCH AND TRUMPET to speak to them.
Those not present to hear the reports will be interested to know that though we sent the magazine free of charge along with an invitation to subscribe at a reduced rate to a sizeable portion of the Christian School teachers listed in the directory of the National Union of Christian Schools, this mailing had to stop due to a lack of funds. In the future we hope to be able to do this again with the hope that it will increase our readership and generate interest in the Reformational program. Further, a free copy of our pre-synodical issue was received by every delegate to Synod.
The Rev. John B. Hulst made this observation: “We have tried to make clear that the defense of the faith, while basic and fundamental, is not an end in itself. And therefore, we have included articles which were concerned with the promotion of the Kingdom, covenantal, Reformation life among God’s people. This has been in an attempt to give positive leadership so that we may avoid the pitfalls of a dead orthodoxy and promote the Calvinistic world-and-life-view.”
Very important changes in the publishing of our magazine are forth-coming, the Lord willing. Next year our plan is to publish twelve issues, rather than ten. The following year (1970), our plans call for a semi-monthly magazine (twenty-four issues per year) with sixteen pages each. This will enable our magazine to speak even more currently to the issues at hand.
Of course, such a program as this will take money and our Business Committee, chaired by Wilbur Zylstra, made this clear. Projecting into the future, the Fellowship will need to come up with about $16,000 next year and $21,500 in 1970. At present we are working with a budget of approximately $14,500 a year. It was pointed out that Business-men’s Luncheons have been instituted in an effort to get funds from interested business men. In a recent luncheon $1500 was pledged and more was promised.
Of much interest to our readers is the decision made at the annual meeting to raise the subscription rates as of January, 1969 to $5.00 for one year, $9.00 for two years and $12.50 for three years. This was deemed necessary since the present subscription rates do not cover the cost of publishing any longer. Further, it was decided to raise the membership fee from $10 to $15 per year. Even with these increases there will not be enough funds to cover the needs of the Fellowship’s expanding program. In order to meet our needs, our Business Committee is busily engaged seeking ways to get the necessary funds.
Truly, God has blessed us, but now we must go forward in faith. We pray that our Covenant God will grant strength and wisdom according to his will. As one report was concluded, so we conclude this report to you: “We pray that we are, and will continue to be, a focal point around which the concerned may rally and in which they hear their concerns expressed. But whatever the case, we move forward, holding the torch high, sounding the trumpet clearly, looking forward to the day when the trumpet shall sound and he shall be all in all.”
Rev. Jerome Julien is pastor of the Faith Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The crowd was excellent as we enjoyed fellowship and nourishment at the evening banquet. The speaker, the Rev. John Hellinga of Grand Rapids, stirred us and brought us comfort as he spoke on “Our Reformational Program: Its Assured Victory.”
The morning; was spent in a business session. As usual, new members had to be chosen for the Board since four seats were being vacated by terms which were expiring. Re-elected were the Revs. William Kok, Rein Leestma and Henry Vanden Heuvel. Also elected after an absence of a few years from the Board was the Rev. Henry Venema.
Those who were there to hear the reports of the committees learned that there is much for which we can be thankful and also much for which we need to be in prayer.
The editors, the Revs. H. Vanden Heuvel and J. Hulst, gave an account of their work during the preceding year. This being their first year serving as editors, they could look back through the year and see that their initial fear and apprehensiveness was unfounded and that there were many reasons to praise God. Due to a decision of the Board, the contributors to our pages now receive payment for their labors. The editors feel that this policy has greatly helped them to receive material “that is forceful and to the point.” Also, they have been encouraged by the growing awareness of the crucial issues facing the Church and the increasing use of the pages of TORCH AND TRUMPET to speak to them.
Those not present to hear the reports will be interested to know that though we sent the magazine free of charge along with an invitation to subscribe at a reduced rate to a sizeable portion of the Christian School teachers listed in the directory of the National Union of Christian Schools, this mailing had to stop due to a lack of funds. In the future we hope to be able to do this again with the hope that it will increase our readership and generate interest in the Reformational program. Further, a free copy of our pre-synodical issue was received by every delegate to Synod.
The Rev. John B. Hulst made this observation: “We have tried to make clear that the defense of the faith, while basic and fundamental, is not an end in itself. And therefore, we have included articles which were concerned with the promotion of the Kingdom, covenantal, Reformation life among God’s people. This has been in an attempt to give positive leadership so that we may avoid the pitfalls of a dead orthodoxy and promote the Calvinistic world-and-life-view.”
Very important changes in the publishing of our magazine are forth-coming, the Lord willing. Next year our plan is to publish twelve issues, rather than ten. The following year (1970), our plans call for a semi-monthly magazine (twenty-four issues per year) with sixteen pages each. This will enable our magazine to speak even more currently to the issues at hand.
Of course, such a program as this will take money and our Business Committee, chaired by Wilbur Zylstra, made this clear. Projecting into the future, the Fellowship will need to come up with about $16,000 next year and $21,500 in 1970. At present we are working with a budget of approximately $14,500 a year. It was pointed out that Business-men’s Luncheons have been instituted in an effort to get funds from interested business men. In a recent luncheon $1500 was pledged and more was promised.
Of much interest to our readers is the decision made at the annual meeting to raise the subscription rates as of January, 1969 to $5.00 for one year, $9.00 for two years and $12.50 for three years. This was deemed necessary since the present subscription rates do not cover the cost of publishing any longer. Further, it was decided to raise the membership fee from $10 to $15 per year. Even with these increases there will not be enough funds to cover the needs of the Fellowship’s expanding program. In order to meet our needs, our Business Committee is busily engaged seeking ways to get the necessary funds.
Truly, God has blessed us, but now we must go forward in faith. We pray that our Covenant God will grant strength and wisdom according to his will. As one report was concluded, so we conclude this report to you: “We pray that we are, and will continue to be, a focal point around which the concerned may rally and in which they hear their concerns expressed. But whatever the case, we move forward, holding the torch high, sounding the trumpet clearly, looking forward to the day when the trumpet shall sound and he shall be all in all.”
Rev. Jerome Julien is pastor of the Faith Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan.