We believe a North American regional fellowship would be a force for unity and mission. Separated as we are by denominational and other divisions, it is often difficult to work together. The WRF brings together brothers and sisters who share a commitment to the Reformed tradition in its various manifestations but who otherwise might have little fellowship with one another. The sharing of ideas, dreams, ministry models, stories, etc. is a powerful tool for the mission of the church. Hence, the WRF fills a need not met by the more broadly-defined interdenominational organizations (such as the NAE) nor the more narrowly-defined organizations (such as NAPARC).
Harvie Conn, in his magisterial work Eternal Word and Changing Worlds, said, “The Third World church will find its greatest struggle in learning to be a teacher of the West. The Western church will find its greatest agony in being taught to be a learner.” We North American Christians need our brothers and sisters in the developing world more than they need us; we have much to learn. We do, however, want to see the WRF in North America serve the church in the developing world out of the abundance of resources with which we have been blessed. For example, many from North American participated in the 2006 General Assembly in Johannesburg, while many from Africa were unable to attend due to limited financial resources. We want to work to see more of our brothers and sisters from the developing world participate in the 2010 General Assembly in Scotland.
1. We intend to communicate with a number of individuals—men and women, ordained and lay, from the mainline and “separated” churches, and from Anglican, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Reformed ecclesial backgrounds—to help form a steering committee for a North American regional fellowship. Much of this will be done by phone and email, although it is hoped that a face-to-face gathering can take place.
2. We intend to hold events which will connect pastors who have the potential of influencing and sharpening the effectiveness of the entire Reformed Church in North America. We are also considering the possibility of gathering the leaders of Reformed seminaries and colleges [in coordination with the WRF Commission on Theological Education] and the leaders of Reformed missions agencies and ministries [in coordination with the WRF Commission on Missions and Evangelism] to discuss ways in which we all may together work toward building the influence of evangelical Reformed theology on the North American continent.
3. Under the leadership of several of our members (Dr. Diane Langberg, Dr. Phil Monroe, Dr. Tuck Bartholomew, Mrs. Stacy Bartholomew, Dr. Sam Logan, Mrs. Susan Logan, Rev. Richard Tyson, and Mrs. Bethann Tyson), we have been working for the better part of two years toward the development of resources for ministerial leaders in crisis. When 18,000 ministers of the Gospel in the United States leave the ministry each year, the church has a problem. And the problem is not restricted to those in pastoral positions. All kinds of ministry leaders seem under attack. We intend to work toward the creation of a program and a facility which will provide assistance to ministry leaders - before, during, and after times of actual crisis. Consultations with such organizations as Focus on the Family, the Association of Theological Schools, the Lilly Endowment, and numerous specific denominations have been done -- and continue. An ever-widening network of people and organizations are becoming involved.
4. The ministry of Women in the Word: A Workshop continues! The fourth annual Workshop was held on October 2 and 3, 2009 at Calvary PCA in Willow Grove, PA. Information about the British conference on which Women in the Word is modeled may be found at at http://www.proctrust.org.uk. A dozen American women participated in the U.K. conference over several years and, in 2006, some of these women worked together to offer the first “American version” of the U.K. conference. Sixty women from across the U.S. participated in 2006. In October of 2007, ninety-six women participated in the American conference. In March of 2008, the WRF Board of Directors approved the recommendation of the North American Regional Ministry Advisory Board that the WRF assume sponsorship of the annual American conference in order to maximize its potential in North America for training women as Bible Study leaders in a wide variety of evangelical Reformed denominations in the United States and Canada.
The next "Women in the Word Workshop" will be offered at Calvary Presbyterian Church in Willow Grove, PA, on Friday and Saturday, October 1 and 2, 2010. By May, 2010, you will be able to click on the following link to get a downloadable version of the brochure: c/document_library/get_file
Go to the Bible Teaching section under "Resources" for must-read articles and details about the recordings from the 2008 and 2009 Workshop. Or, click here to access those recordings. You'll want to have your Bible in hand as you listen!
For further information, contact Dr. Craig Higgins.
