History of the Maple Ridge CRC

Transcription

1 History of the Maple Ridge CRC After World War II, there was a steady flow of European immigrants coming to Canada. Many came from the Netherlands, and from a Reformed background. In the late 1940 s and early 1950 s, the first Dutch families arrived in the Maple Ridge / Pitt Meadows area. They began attending worship services at the Vancouver C.R.C., which held Dutch services for new immigrants s: In 1951, after two years of meeting bi-weekly in the Community Church of Pitt Meadows (under the guidance of the Vancouver CRC), the first official meeting of our church (Haney CRC) took place on November 2. Membership began with 15 families and 5 single persons, and 3 elders and 2 deacons were voted in. Rev. J. Betten served our church (as well as Chilliwack and Abbotsford) as a Missionary Church Planter from BC Classis. In 1955 Rev. W. Feenstra became our minister, until An old Buddhist temple in Haney was purchased in 1956 for $6000, with an additional $6000 being needed for repairs. Old theatre seats were purchased for $1 each, rather than purchasing expensive pews. Vancouver CRC supplied the minister (or elder) to conduct the service each week. English and Dutch were used on a basis. The Christian School was birthed, as well as the Young Peoples Society, Ladies Society, and Men s Society s: It was common practice for CRC pastors to change churches quite frequently in the early decades. Rev. J. W. Postman served as our minister from 1959 to We began using English as the main language during this period. Rev. J. W. Jongsma served as our minister from 1965 to Cadets was organized for boys, and Calvinettes for girls, as well as the Ladies Auxiliary (to the Ebenezer Home for Seniors) s: Rev. W. Dykstra served from 1969 to 1974, and Rev. H. Samplonius from In 1976 our current church building was built and dedicated. At that time we had more than 100 families. The name was changed to Maple Ridge C.R.C s: Rev. J. Boonstra came to us in 1980, and served our congregation for 11 years. Various groups and ministries were operating in the church. During this period there was a deliberate shifting towards becoming an outreach church. A team of leaders attended a church growth conference in California. Music was a big part of our church, and a Music Ministry was established with a volunteer director. A few worship teams were created, and we had a men s choir of about 30 members. The community s inter-denominational Ministerial Association was thriving. The James Cameron School for children with learning disabilities began, renting our facilities. In the late 1980 s a secretary was added to staff, an intern pastor was employed for a year, as well as someone to work with the youth for a year. A decision was then made to hire a permanent full time youth pastor.

2 1990 s: This decade began with many changes. Pastor Dave Nieuwsma was hired as our full-time youth pastor in 1990, the same year that Rev. Boonstra took a call to another church. In 1991 Pastor Veenstra became our senior pastor. Dave led annual summer Mexico Mission trips which saw many hearts changed. Hi-Lights (jr. youth) and FIA Faith In Action (sr. youth) grew and many young adults were involved in leading this ministry. The music ministry continued to grow, and we had a large mixed choir, as well as a harmonica club. Many other ministries continued to thrive including the 55-and-over Club, Checkers Club, the Ladies Auxiliary, and the Ladies Society. Coffee Break Bible Study was a vibrant, well-attended ministry for women. Cadets for boys, and GEMS (formerly Calvinettes) for girls were blessing many of our kids as well as some from the community. Our Sunday School program became Little Lights, and was larger than ever. A number of Vacation Bible School programs were held, and they eventually became Backyard Bible Clubs hosted in neighbourhoods. Community-wide worship services began to occur at least once per year, joining various denominations for worship in the park. New-Comers lunches were held regularly after church for new members to fellowship. We held early morning Easter Sonrise services in our front lawn, and hosted a Walk Thru the Bible seminar, attended by all ages. A church picnic every summer continued to be a tradition. A Friendship Group ministered to children with intellectual disabilities one Sunday per month. Coffee and Comfort, a group for grieving parents and their families was meeting regularly in a member s home. A few Christmas-time dramas during this period drew large crowds and many guests. The Hay-wagon Carolling ride became a popular annual family Christmas tradition, and continues today. A prayer group met weekly to pray for the church, beginning in A telephone prayer chain was also in place, to cover prayer needs. In 1995 we did a major addition and renovation to our facilities, which included a large youth room, numerous class rooms, expanded child-care facilities, as well as a bigger office area. The church library now had its own room and grew accordingly. Harmony Daycare was established in 1998, as a Christian Daycare operating from our facilities. The same year Pastor Dave left us for another call. In 1999 we held

3 congregational visioning workshops and adopted the purpose statement of Mirroring Christ, Embracing All. Goals were established for outreach and church growth, adopting the Small Groups concept. We held two morning services to make room for growth, and continued with our evening service. Pastor Carl Lazarotto was hired in 1999 as Associate Pastor of Leadership & Program Development. He began to develop the Care Group ministry, and also worked with the youth. Men s Ministry was re-established by members with Saturday breakfast meetings in the same year, partly fuelled by the start of the Promise Keepers movement. FUEL worship services for youth also began in 1999, becoming powerful events with attendances of well over 100 each month, continuing for several years. The Ridge Meadows Ministerial was growing in strength, with a strong sense of unity established between many denominations. Many pastors gathered regularly to pray for our community and to plan interdenominational worship events s: We began this decade with a total of 679 members, and were again faced with change. Pastor Veenstra left in 2000 for another position. Ken White was hired the same year, to serve as a part-time Music Director. The first Men s Retreat was held at Stillwood Conference Center in January 2000, becoming a popular annual event. It drew a large group of men, including a significant number of teens and young adults. In 2001 Pastor Martin Vellekoop was hired as our Senior Pastor. This same year we celebrated our 50 th anniversary as a church. A big celebration was held and a history book was put together. Under Ken s leadership, a Youth Camp was held in September 2001, and was a huge success. This annual event continued for several years. Pastor Carl launched The Alpha Course which was offered twice per year. A weekly prayer group was re-established, attended by a handful of members. While a few care groups remained vibrant, the intended growth of Care Groups Ministry never really materialized. Due to various challenges including declining membership, Carl Lazarotto s position was reduced to half time in 2003, at which time he left us. Ken White s position became full-time, adding the role of Youth Leader to his current position as Music Ministry Co-ordinator. Traditional evening services ended early in this decade. In spring 2004, Alpha was offered for the congregation in place of evening services. MOPS was established by a member and became a vibrant ministry for mothers of pre-schoolers, with many attending from other denominations and the community. First Love, emerging church worship gatherings for Young Adults was birthed, and ran for a few years. In 2005 we reluctantly went back to one morning

4 service, due to declining attendance and stretched resources. The Alpha course continued as an outreach led by volunteers on week nights, bringing in several new members. Seeing lives changed was a great encouragement to all. In the fall of 2008 Alpha was replaced by the newer H2O course, which was first held for the congregation and well-attended. After one more season the program ended due to lack of unchurched attendees. We continued to gather every summer for our annual church picnic, with our traditional horseshoes tournament. We had a number of river baptisms during a few of these events, which were very meaningful, as well as amazing times of worship in the park. A very fun and effective Colours personality course was offered and well-attended. Harmony Daycare expanded to include out-of-school care in September Pr. Martin continued to hold membership and growth classes and also a Going Public with Your Faith class. He also held a Healthy Congregations seminar in the fall of Around this time we began a process of re-visioning and workshops were held including one on the Life Cycles of the Church. It became evident that we had lost some sense of community as a church and needed to refocus on this. A Sunday evening prayer group was birthed again with a small group of members attending. Pastor Ken felt his calling had changed, and there was an eventual shifting of job descriptions. A new Enfolding ministry was birthed to strengthen community, and Ken also remained our part-time Worship Pastor. Matt Moerman was then hired as our full-time youth pastor. However, within the year, Pastor Ken took up a position as a senior pastor in another church. We currently do not have a worship pastor, but we are blessed by four excellent worship teams that lead us on a rotating basis. Following a difficult period of reflection and review, Council, in January 2010, concluded that a change in leadership was required and a decision was made that Pastor Martin and MRCRC should make plans to part. While the separation was most certainly difficult and painful, God is good and continues to lead this church forward. The monthly new-comers luncheons have now become wellattended potluck lunches held for everyone after the worship service, and have helped build a sense of community and fellowship. The Men s Ministry continues with one group of men still meeting weekly. But due to increasing costs, no men s retreat was held in This past January the church began hosting free monthly family dinners for the Daycare and Out-of-School families, as well as a four-week parenting course taught by a qualified instructor. It is being well-attended and an exciting new way to reach the community that uses our facilities. We ended the last decade with a membership of 337, about half of what it was 10 years earlier, which has caused us to prayerfully reflect and search for guidance and insight as we look forward. During this same period the CRC in Canada lost about 7% of its members and we were not immune to that trend, along with seeing the numerical results of our own struggles. However, as we look forward to the next decade we still have a solid group of members that is generationally diverse and increasingly multicultural, reflecting our diverse community. We wait in eager expectation of how God will use us to reflect Him as we demonstrate His love in this corner of His Kingdom.

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