Summer is over and life in Europe returns to...well, it returns. Everything shuts down here from July through September as folks try to recharge their vitamin D batteries.
I must confess that my two favourite seasons here are Spring and Autumn. This past summer was hot and, if Austria and the Czech Republic are any indications of what lies ahead, this winter is going to be cold.
But there is a lot to look forward to as we plan ahead with our amazing team at Christ Church, Heiloo.
We have hosted a number of visitors through the summer, including pastors who needed a break but couldn't afford exorbitant B&B costs. Christian families on vacation from other European countries also attended several of our services.
Johann had several opportunities to help at other chaplaincies as their pastors were either on vacation or on sabbatical. He even conducted a funeral in Dutch!
Our Men's and Women's Bible Studies (there are three) and a Care Group have started up again and are excited to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the Word once more.
Our children's ministry continues to grow and flourish. Parishioners got together and hosted our very first VBS this year as well! We now have more kids in the church than adults! Organic church growth! Every six weeks or so, we hold a Family Service in which the children are active participants. Please pray for our children as they are often the only believers in their classes. Peer pressure is always a difficult thing to deal with. Please pray for our Sunday School teachers and our parents!
Johann will attend a Church Leaders Meeting on October 16. This is a time when Christian pastors and lay-leaders in the area get together to share events, ideas, prayer requests and to discuss how we may better work together for the kingdom in North Holland. Work in this particular province is tough and we need to stand together as believers.
Do pray for us as we reach out to other churches in the area and try to plan events together.
On November 16, Dr Caroline Crocker (https://ramblingruminations.com/) and her mum will be stopping with us to talk about her book "Unforgivable". The book is about her half-Jewish father who was placed in a Dutch orphanage during the Second Great War. We hope to host a brunch event and are in the process of inviting believers and nonbelievers to the event. The topic will be on forgiveness.
December will be full of various Christmas themed events and services including 9 Lessons and Carols and a Christmas Pageant.
Then on January 11-12 Brad Smith and his team from Men of Valour (https://www.menofvalor.org/) will be challenging our men to be disciple makers. We hope to make this an open event for believers and unbelievers alike.Thankfully folks are open and curious and will attend events if invited.
Our annual Men’s Day will be held on April 5-6 with Phil Knox as our main speaker. Click on these links for more information. (https://www.eauk.org/author/phil-knox) and (https://philknox.co.uk/) As with all our free events, this event will be open to believers and nonbelievers alike. Last year a number of unchurched and dechurched people attended our Men's Day with very positive results.
Our annual Women’s Retreat with Jo Frost as our main speaker will be held on May 17. See here: https://www.eauk.org/author/jo-frost Last year so many women signed up we had to close registration after 100! The women's ministry is powerful at Christ Church and many unbelievers have been reached through their faithful witness.
Louise and I are beginning to plan a trip to the USA around September 2025. The New Wineskins Missions Conference is scheduled to be held September 17-20 and we would like to attend if possible. We have no set plans yet, but hope to visit churches and individual supporters we have not seen for a long time, especially those on the West Coast. But we do welcome invitations to share more about our ministry here in North Holland, so please do let us know if you would be interested!
Louise and I are still waiting for our DAFT Visa renewal...our residency permits expired this past Friday, but we are still legally fine as our application is being reviewed. Please do pray for a positive outcome of this process.
Please do pray for the events mentioned above as well as all the others not mentioned. Pray for our evangelism and discipleship efforts in the larger community as well.
Pray also for the funds needed to host all our outreach events. I want to keep these events free of charge so that there will be no hinderance for participation. If you would like to contribute to these outreach events, please do send your gifts to SAMS-USA earmarked for Vanderbijl Special Projects. See here: https://give.samsusa.org/project/missionary-special-project-vanderbijl
Louise and I are doing well on so many levels. While this is still one of the most challenging assignments we have had, the rewards are many. One really stands out as a believer here as there are so few of us, but that in itself is a blessing. We need to know what we believe and why, and we need to live it out so that folks can see the hope that is in us! Please pray that the seeds we and members of Christ Church, Heiloo have sown over the years may germinate, grow, and bear abundant fruit for God's glory.
We remain grateful for your personal participation in this ministry...home teams are every bit as important as go teams! You are truly appreciated!
Love, hugs, and blessings
Johann and Louise |
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