In this second article on “Church Growth,” Neal Hegeman, a graduate of Calvin Theological Seminary, with a Canadian background and missionary interest and some experience in Latin America, surveys the CR churches’ growth in Canada. I. Introduction In the first article of this series on church growth in the CRC I suggested that we should […]
Definition Church growth is the gracious action of God and the response of man in the formation of a Church community. The Church is the called community of God’s people whom God predestined from eternity to belong to him. The members of the Church are saved through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and […]
Neal Hegeman is a senior at Calvin Theological Seminary. He has coached and taught physical education at Reformed Bible College and himself been extensively involved in college athletics. He minored in P.E. at Wilfrid Laurier University at Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. He hopes to enter missionary service under the Christian Reformed Board of World Missions in […]
If and when spiritual Christian revival occurs, what will it look like? Scriptures gives us a sure answer. The inspired Psalmist writes: “Revive us, oh Lord, according to your Word” (Ps. 119:107). Revival will be an awesome and unexpected fulfillment of the holy teachings and gracious promises of God as contained in the Scriptures. The […]
Biblical revival comes from God. It is recognized through the standards which God uses to communicate to us about how He works. When God works, He works according to His Word. The Spirit of God convinces us of the necessity for revival and opens our eyes to recognize revival if it pleases God to bring […]
Does Christianity in Canada lead to better morals? The Canadian society will have a difficult time answering that question, for Canada has lost sight of what is moral. What Christians consider to be moral, our society is identifying as being unmoral. It used to be that the Ten Commandments were respected by Canadian law. Now […]
The previous article sought to lay down the theological foundation to show the need for spiritual revival in the area of communal and personal morality. Let us take a closer look at the second table of the Law, commandments 5–10. THE SANCTITY OF FAMILY HONOR The 5th commandment says: “Honor your father and your mother…” […]
The Holy Scriptures are the authority on the work of the Holy Spirit. All Scripture is inspired by God. The focal point of Scripture is the LordJesus Christ. So, what better source to goto than to the four Gospels, in which we see the Spirit’s work in preparing Jesus and preparing us to know Him? […]
If God is gracious in giving His Church revival. the manifestation of such will be according to His Word. In the ministry of Jesus, the Scripture describes how the Holy Spirit works. By way of implication, we can discern principles for spiritual revival. THE OUTWARD SIGN OF BAPTISM WITH WATER IS FULFILLED BY THE SPIRIT […]
Knowing the Spirit of revival has to do with the personal reception of the Holy Spirit. It is a matter of the mind, first of all, and then of the heart. The mind is confronted by the Word of God and the heart believes. You may ask why the mind is placed before the heart? […]