A Progress Report

By now most readers of The Outlook have been informed of the meeting held in Chicago on April 21 concerning the organization of an association to establish a school for Reformed theological instruction.

By instruction of the newly formed Association, eight northwest Iowa ministers have been acting as a temporary board charged with arranging nominations for the election of the first permanent board. In spite of many questions relating to the size, representation and duties of the board, we are making haste slowly.

Since the meeting in Chicago, papers have been filed with the Secretary of the State of Iowa for incorporation and tax exempt status. We have also obtained a thirty day extension for closing a purchase agreement with the owners of the Harmony Home property located northeast of Orange City.

Part of our work which has taken more time as the weeks pass is public relations and informational meetings. One such meeting was held in Pella, IA, on April 28, attended by at least 250 persons. On May 11 the temporary board met with representatives of the Calvin Seminary faculty who had been instructed by the executive committee of the Calvin Board to request such a· meeting. The discussion was frank, candid, and to a degree, fruitful. Of greater significance, in this writer’s opinion, was the public meeting that evening in Hull, IA, attended by people from as far away as Platte, SD, and Prinsburg, MN. The purpose of this meeting, stated by Dr. John Kromminga, was not to obstruct the move for another seminary, but to answer (perceived) allegations against Calvin Seminary faculty members. More informational meetings have been scheduled, one on May 29 with ministers of six classes in the Midwest, and another on June 1 at the First CRC of Orange City for the public.

Soliciting charter memberships in the Association has been another part of our efforts. Almost daily, applications are received from various parts of the country and the denomination. Persons desiring to become charter members can apply before December 31, 1981, by writing to the undersigned for information and a membership card.

In closing this brief up–date, we wish to thank the Board of Reformed Fellowship for both moral and technical support, the former evidenced by their prayers and encouragement, the latter by their service as a channel for donations given to Mid-America Seminary Association. It is now possible to send tax–exempt donations directly to the Association.

Please continue to remember this effort in your prayers.

Nelson D. Kloosterman