Without the church there is no salvation. Hence, the church is a vital part of the life of every Christian believer. The weal and woe of the church hugely impacts the weal and woe of believers. Thus, believers show a keen interest in the wellbeing of the church. The wellbeing of the church is, for a large part, shaped by circumstances of time and place. While the church may be doing well in one time or in one place, that same church may not be doing as well in another. There are lessons to be learned by a church in one time and place from the church in other times and places.

Given our time and circumstances – and interests shown for the topics – the Reformed Bible College is providing a series of 4 lectures on the Dutch and North American churchscapes.

The schedule for these lectures is as follows:

1. Friday March 6: Dutch Reformed church history (Reformation to today).
2. Wednesday March 11: the Dutch Reformed churchscape today and what is shaping it. This lecture will consider, among others, where our former Dutch sister churches are at.
3. Friday April 24: North American Reformed and Presbyterian church history (Reformation to today)
4. Wednesday April 29: The North American Reformed and Presbyterian churchscape today and what is shaping it

The two Friday lectures will have the “flow-chart” approach: when did churches form, split, merge, and what were the issues at play. The two Wednesday lectures will seek to characterize various church groups today and consider why they are such, focussing especially on cultural circumstances.

Teachers at our schools can count these lectures towards their pro-development requirements (1 credit per hour of lecture, so 1.5 credits per evening). All lectures will take place in the Willoughby Heights Canadian Reformed Church (7949 202A street, Langley). The lecturer for this series is Rev. Dr. Karlo Janssen. All evenings begin at 8:00pm.

Those who attend the course for credit (e.g. pro development) will need to register and pay a fee. Please register separately for every evening you plan to attend.

For the rest, attendance is free of charge; donations will be taken to cover the costs of the evenings and the work of the Reformed Bible College in general.