Comayagua, Honduras · sistory of Trinity URC in Visalia, CA, and we are thankful for their prayer...
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Comayagua, Honduras Rev. Ernie & Betsy Langendoen Greetings to all those who pray and sup- port the ministry in Honduras, where we con- tinue to seek to call all people to repentance and to believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. I have been on a two and half month furlough in Ontario, Can- ada. This allowed me to attend the URCNA pastors/missions conference in May. This past week, I also attended some of the sessions of the International Conference of Reformed Churches, which was held in Jordan, Ontario. My wife and I also visited her parents, George and Davina Doepp, on Lookout Mountain, Georgia. My father-in-law is 89 and my mother-in- law is 86 and are retired missionaries, having served in Bra- zil and Guatemala. On most Sundays in Ontario I have been preaching at Hope Reformed Church of Brampton, Ontario. The works of missions is the extension of God’s Kingdom throughout the world through the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. We have four people on the field who aid us in this most important task, Orlando Sierra, Elder Herrera, Felix Martinez and Antolín Mendoza. Antolín serves a small coun- try church in southern Honduras, in the community of Nueva Union, a church that I have worked with ever since going to Honduras. Although this is a small church, it is always a joy to visit and worship with these people. They sing the songs with much joy, and their friendship and hospitality is delightful. We started working in Comayagua in 1994, and we celebrate our anniversary of the church plant every year on October 31 as the approximate founding date. I am the missionary pastor, plus there is an elder, and two deacons. One of the deacons, with the name Elder Herrrera, functions more as an elder that a deacon, does most of the teaching while I am in Canada. Or- lando Sierra and Felix Martinez take turns preaching. Services in Marcala, a town an hour and a half from Comay- agua, are led by Rafael Rivera. This still a preaching point, and in my absence Rafael has been reading from material that I had prepared. At the moment we are working on leadership training with eyes on the future. The training of our leaders has not been conven- tional. Felix Martinez is a school teacher, and at the moment is studying for his Masters in education. Most of his theologi- cal and biblical knowledge is self-taught. Orlando Sierra had studied for two years at a Bible Institute, but his knowledge of the Reformed faith is through the church and personal stud- ies. Antolín received some theological education in the 1980’s with Christian Reformed World Missions. Rafael Martinez, our newest man, has a quick mind, and is self-taught. Elder Her- rera has been a member of the Comayagua Church for many years and understands well the material I give him to read. Please pray for the work, that our God may continue to lead and direct us as we serve him, and that our leaders may be well prepared as we continue to work in His Kingdom and for His glory. And may our good and gracious God call a new genera- tion of young men in the URCNA to take on the important task of preaching the Gospel to the nations. To Him be the glory and the honor. Rev. Ernest Langendoen URCNA Missionary to Honduras AUGUST 2017 • PAGE 1 “You will be my witnesses...to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 AUGUST 2017
Transcript of Comayagua, Honduras · sistory of Trinity URC in Visalia, CA, and we are thankful for their prayer...
Comayagua, Honduras Rev. Ernie & Betsy Langendoen
Greetings to all those who pray and sup-port the ministry in Honduras, where we con-tinue to seek to call all people to repentance and to believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.
I have been on a two and half month furlough in Ontario, Can-ada. This allowed me to attend the URCNA pastors/missions conference in May. This past week, I also attended some of the sessions of the International Conference of Reformed Churches, which was held in Jordan, Ontario. My wife and I also visited her parents, George and Davina Doepp, on Lookout Mountain, Georgia. My father-in-law is 89 and my mother-in-law is 86 and are retired missionaries, having served in Bra-zil and Guatemala. On most Sundays in Ontario I have been preaching at Hope Reformed Church of Brampton, Ontario.
The works of missions is the extension of God’s Kingdom throughout the world through the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. We have four people on the field who aid us in this most important task, Orlando Sierra, Elder Herrera, Felix Martinez and Antolín Mendoza. Antolín serves a small coun-try church in southern Honduras, in the community of Nueva Union, a church that I have worked with ever since going to Honduras. Although this is a small church, it is always a joy to visit and worship with these people. They sing the songs with much joy, and their friendship and hospitality is delightful.
We started working in Comayagua in 1994, and we celebrate our anniversary of the church plant every year on October 31
as the approximate founding date. I am the missionary pastor, plus there is an elder, and two deacons. One of the deacons, with the name Elder Herrrera, functions more as an elder that a deacon, does most of the teaching while I am in Canada. Or-lando Sierra and Felix Martinez take turns preaching.
Services in Marcala, a town an hour and a half from Comay-agua, are led by Rafael Rivera. This still a preaching point, and in my absence Rafael has been reading from material that I had prepared.
At the moment we are working on leadership training with eyes on the future. The training of our leaders has not been conven-tional. Felix Martinez is a school teacher, and at the moment is studying for his Masters in education. Most of his theologi-cal and biblical knowledge is self-taught. Orlando Sierra had studied for two years at a Bible Institute, but his knowledge of the Reformed faith is through the church and personal stud-ies. Antolín received some theological education in the 1980’s with Christian Reformed World Missions. Rafael Martinez, our newest man, has a quick mind, and is self-taught. Elder Her-rera has been a member of the Comayagua Church for many years and understands well the material I give him to read.
Please pray for the work, that our God may continue to lead and direct us as we serve him, and that our leaders may be well prepared as we continue to work in His Kingdom and for His glory. And may our good and gracious God call a new genera-tion of young men in the URCNA to take on the important task of preaching the Gospel to the nations. To Him be the glory and the honor.
Rev. Ernest LangendoenURCNA Missionary to Honduras
AUGUST 2017 • PAGE 1
“You will be my witnesses...to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 AUGUST 2017
Big Springs, CA, USA Rev. Nollie and Evelyn Malabuyo
Big Springs Community Church was first started by a couple of Reformed families from Southern California who settled in Mon-tague in Siskiyou County. A pastor of a Christian Reformed Church in Redding went up to Big Springs to hold Bible stud-ies with a few families, which later became a church. They first started Sunday meetings at the old fire station next to Big Springs Elementary School. In early 1990s, the present church building was completed.
In 2004, Rev. Bernie Van Ee was sent by the CRC to be its pastor. After nine years, Pastor Bernie retired and went back to Anchorage, Alaska. After Pastor Bernie’s retirement, the congregation voted to join federation of the United Reformed Churches as a mission church. From January-August 2014, interim pastors filled the pulpit supply. In September 2014, Rev. Nollie Malabuyo served the church until he went back to the Philippines to visit the two church plants there when he was a missionary of Trinity URC in Walnut Creek, CA from 2008-14. In June 2014, Pastor Nollie returned to California, and accepted a call to serve as part-time minister of Big Springs.
Since Big Springs started in mainstream evangelicalism, and later was part of the Christian Reformed Church, wor-ship was a “blended” form with contemporary music and hymns. The worship liturgy was more like that of a generic evangelical church. The congregation did not sing any of the Psalms, so I have been introducing them to the church.
Most of the people have no knowledge of even the basic “five points of Calvinism,” and terms such as justification, imputation, and sanctification. But in our Bible studies and Sunday classes, I’m so thankful to see how the people are zealous and hungry for the Word!
The church continues to be under the oversight of the Con-sistory of Trinity URC in Visalia, CA, and we are thankful for their prayer and financial support, as well as wise counsel when there are issues to be solved. Members are faithfully attending every Lord’s Day service. The last few months, we’ve had a steady stream of first-time visitors, and there have been a few who have continued worshiping with us. Recently, a couple made a re-affirmation of faith, the first ones since I started here. On the average, we have about 30-35 souls every Sunday.
We’re praying not only an increase in numbers, especially that Christ would bring in young families with children, as we do not at present have a single child. But we also pray that the Holy Spirit will convict more and more people to see their sin and flee to Christ and his Church; that they would grow in all holiness, righteousness, and knowledge of sound doctrine; that they would love their Savior with zeal, and do good works on behalf of the needy and the downcast.
Rev. Malabuyo can be reached at: [email protected]
AUGUST 2017 • PAGE 2
