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Home , Dutch Reformed Church, Hendrik de Cock, Reformed Church in Japan

of the earth. the of

secularized society. By means of this basis we try to understand our call to be the salt the be to call our understand to try we basis this of means By society. secularized

basis is not meant to be a purpose as such, but it is to function as a pilot to be a reformed in a in church reformed a be to pilot a as function to is it but such, as purpose a be to meant not is basis

adopted by the 1618-19 , which is adapted according to changing circumstances. Our confessional Our circumstances. changing to according adapted is which Synod, 1618-19 the by adopted

that contradicts this basis. With respect to church government, we abide by the Church Order of of Order Church the by abide we government, church to respect With basis. this contradicts that

of our churches. All our office bearers have signed a document that they promise not to teach anything teach to not promise they that document a signed have bearers office our All churches. our of

In addition to the three ecumenical creeds, these so called are the confessional basis confessional the are Unity of Forms Three called so these creeds, ecumenical three the to addition In

Faith, the and the (the Three Forms of Unity) were adopted. were Unity) of Forms Three (the Dort of Canons the and Catechism Heidelberg the Faith,

Synod of 1618-1619 (Dordrecht) when the reformed confessional standards, the of Confession Belgic the standards, confessional reformed the when (Dordrecht) 1618-1619 of Synod

in the footsteps of , the great reformer of Geneva. This was especially expressed at the General the at expressed especially was This Geneva. of reformer great the Calvin, John of footsteps the in

with the 16th and 17th century , which shaped the churches in the , thus following thus Netherlands, the in churches the shaped which Reformation, century 17th and 16th the with

(universal) church of all ages. The second part of the name (Reformed) expresses that we have our origin our have we that expresses (Reformed) name the of part second The ages. all of church (universal)

as Reformed churches. The first part of the name (Christian) indicates that we are one with the catholic the with one are we that indicates (Christian) name the of part first The churches. Reformed as

The name CGKN gives expression to the fact that these churches desire to be Christian churches as well as churches Christian be to desire churches these that fact the to expression gives CGKN name The WHO ARE WE? ARE WHO

THE CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCHES IN THE NETHERLANDS

DE CHRISTELIJKE GEREFORMEERDE KERKEN IN NEDERLAND (CGKN)

these years there also was the necessity to rebuild and renew ecclesiastical life. ecclesiastical renew and rebuild to necessity the was also there years these From this time on, the Dutch reformed churches were referred to as ‘Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk’ (NHK). Kerk’ Hervormde ‘Nederlandse as to referred were churches reformed Dutch the on, time this From

ihteGN h GNwscnicdta h otieo rsmtv eeeaini nilcl During unbiblical. is regeneration presumptive of doctrine the that convinced was CGKN The GKN. the with ment. At the same time, the reformed confessions were no longer considered to have a binding character. binding a have to considered longer no were confessions reformed the time, same the At ment.

Spirit. During the first years after 1892 the CGKN paid much attention to questions regarding the differences the regarding questions to attention much paid CGKN the 1892 after years first the During Spirit. century the Church Order was replaced by a set of rules, imposed upon the church by the secular govern- secular the by church the upon imposed rules, of set a by replaced was Order Church the century

and the Second Reformation, which emphasized the personal experience of faith and the work of the Holy the of work the and faith of experience personal the emphasized which Reformation, Second the and decline of the church, many church members continued to long for true biblical spirituality. In the 19th the In spirituality. biblical true for long to continued members church many church, the of decline

Scriptures and the Confession of the church. They valued very strongly the heritage of both the Reformation the both of heritage the strongly very valued They church. the of Confession the and Scriptures of the church. Especially the Enlightenment proved to be a great danger to spiritual life. In spite of the of spite In life. spiritual to danger great a be to proved Enlightenment the Especially church. the of

continuing CGKN. They were not motivated by sectarianism but they simply desired to remain faithful to the to faithful remain to desired simply they but sectarianism by motivated not were They CGKN. continuing In the l8th century harmful philosophical influences began to increasingly threaten the confessing character confessing the threaten increasingly to began influences philosophical harmful century l8th the In

WHERE ARE OUR ROOTS? OUR ARE WHERE churches; they held that their objections had not been solved satisfactorily. Therefore, they remained as the as remained they Therefore, satisfactorily. solved been not had objections their that held they churches;

Kerken in Nederland’ (GKN). A small segment of the CGKN found it impossible to join with this merger of merger this with join to impossible it found CGKN the of segment small A (GKN). Nederland’ in Kerken

and the churches of the Doleantie were united. These united churches were called the ‘Gereformeerde the called were churches united These united. were Doleantie the of churches the and Christ’s second coming. second Christ’s

majority of churches joined in the unification process by which the churches stemming from the Secession the from stemming churches the which by process unification the in joined churches of majority country and throughout the world, to the glory of His holy Name and the salvation of many people until people many of salvation the and Name holy His of glory the to world, the throughout and country

of the influential Dr. Kuyper regarding the doctrines of baptism and regeneration. Yet, in 1892 a great a 1892 in Yet, regeneration. and baptism of doctrines the regarding Kuyper Dr. influential the of against us. It is our deepest desire and prayer that the LORD will use the services of our churches in our in churches our of services the use will LORD the that prayer and desire deepest our is It us. against

concerned the way the Doleantie viewed the ‘Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk’, and especially the teachings the especially and Kerk’, Hervormde ‘Nederlandse the viewed Doleantie the way the concerned LORD has been pleased to use the CGKN for His purposes, even though many transgressions testify transgressions many though even purposes, His for CGKN the use to pleased been has LORD

At first the CGKN sympathized with the Doleantie. However, certain objections prevailed. These objections These prevailed. objections certain However, Doleantie. the with sympathized CGKN the first At people. His presence with us always will be a matter of grace alone. From the beginning until now the now until beginning the From alone. grace of matter a be will always us with presence His people.

that He wanted to be in their midst and that He actually was in the midst of His oppressed covenant covenant oppressed His of midst the in was actually He that and midst their in be to wanted He that

the “Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk” from within; but his action resulted in a second secession. second a in resulted action his but within; from Kerk” Hervormde “Nederlandse the We believe our churches are like that burning bush. By this burning bush the LORD symbolized to Moses to symbolized LORD the bush burning this By bush. burning that like are churches our believe We

Doleantie of 1886, which took place under the leadership of Dr. . His aim was to restore to was aim His Kuyper. Abraham Dr. of leadership the under place took which 1886, of Doleantie These words with a picture of a burning bush form the seal of our churches, as the illustration indicates. illustration the as churches, our of seal the form bush burning a of picture a with words These

“…and yet not consumed” (Ex.3: 2) (Ex.3: consumed” not yet “…and movement the CGKN springs. Another movement in the church of the l9th century was the so-called the was century l9th the of church the in movement Another springs. CGKN the movement

"NEC TAMEN CONSUMEBATUR" TAMEN "NEC 1834 at Ulrum in the province of , where was pastor. From this Secession- this From pastor. was Cock de Hendrik where Groningen, of province the in Ulrum at 1834 When protests were raised against these developments in the church, a Secession followed, beginning in beginning followed, Secession a church, the in developments these against raised were protests When WHO ARE WE? The name CGKN gives expression to the fact that these churches desire to be Christian churches as well as Reformed churches. The first part of the name (Christian) indicates that we are one with the catholic (universal) church of all ages. The second part of the name (Reformed) expresses that we have our origin with the 16th and 17th century Reformation, which shaped the churches in the Netherlands, thus following in the footsteps of John Calvin, the great reformer of Geneva. This was especially expressed at the General Synod of 1618-1619 (Dordrecht) when the reformed confessional standards, the Belgic Confession of Faith, the Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dort (the Three Forms of Unity) were adopted.

In addition to the three ecumenical creeds, these so called Three Forms of Unity are the confessional basis of our churches. All our office bearers have signed a document that they promise not to teach anything that contradicts this basis. With respect to church government, we abide by the Church Order of Dordrecht adopted by the 1618-19 Synod, which is adapted according to changing circumstances. Our confessional basis is not meant to be a purpose as such, but it is to function as a pilot to be a reformed church in a secularized society. By means of this basis we try to understand our call to be the salt of the earth.

THE CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCHES IN THE NETHERLANDS

When protests were raised against these developments in the church, a Secession followed, beginning in "NEC TAMEN CONSUMEBATUR" 1834 at Ulrum in the province of Groningen, where Hendrik de Cock was pastor. From this Secession- “…and yet not consumed” (Ex.3: 2) movement the CGKN springs. Another movement in the church of the l9th century was the so-called These words with a picture of a burning bush form the seal of our churches, as the illustration indicates. Doleantie of 1886, which took place under the leadership of Dr. Abraham Kuyper. His aim was to restore We believe our churches are like that burning bush. By this burning bush the LORD symbolized to Moses the “Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk” from within; but his action resulted in a second secession. that He wanted to be in their midst and that He actually was in the midst of His oppressed covenant people. His presence with us always will be a matter of grace alone. From the beginning until now the At first the CGKN sympathized with the Doleantie. However, certain objections prevailed. These objections LORD has been pleased to use the CGKN for His purposes, even though many transgressions testify concerned the way the Doleantie viewed the ‘Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk’, and especially the teachings against us. It is our deepest desire and prayer that the LORD will use the services of our churches in our of the influential Dr. Kuyper regarding the doctrines of baptism and regeneration. Yet, in 1892 a great country and throughout the world, to the glory of His holy Name and the salvation of many people until majority of churches joined in the unification process by which the churches stemming from the Secession Christ’s second coming. and the churches of the Doleantie were united. These united churches were called the ‘Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland’ (GKN). A small segment of the CGKN found it impossible to join with this merger of WHERE ARE OUR ROOTS? churches; they held that their objections had not been solved satisfactorily. Therefore, they remained as the In the l8th century harmful philosophical influences began to increasingly threaten the confessing character continuing CGKN. They were not motivated by sectarianism but they simply desired to remain faithful to the of the church. Especially the Enlightenment proved to be a great danger to spiritual life. In spite of the Scriptures and the Confession of the church. They valued very strongly the heritage of both the Reformation decline of the church, many church members continued to long for true biblical spirituality. In the 19th and the Second Reformation, which emphasized the personal experience of faith and the work of the Holy century the Church Order was replaced by a set of rules, imposed upon the church by the secular govern- Spirit. During the first years after 1892 the CGKN paid much attention to questions regarding the differences ment. At the same time, the reformed confessions were no longer considered to have a binding character. with the GKN. The CGKN was convinced that the doctrine of presumptive regeneration is unbiblical. During From this time on, the Dutch reformed churches were referred to as ‘Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk’ (NHK). these years there also was the necessity to rebuild and renew ecclesiastical life. In 1892 the Theological School at Kampen joined the GKN. For that reason the CGKN had to start its own We are mindful of the words of the well-known 17th century theologian, , who said that theological school to train future ministers. This theological school, established in 1894, is now called the true theology is a science that must always be connected to piety. There is also close contact and coop- Theological University and is situated at Apeldoorn (since 1919). The denomination grew from some 1,000 eration with the university of the Reformed Churches (Liberated) in Kampen. members to more than 74,000 members today. There are 185 churches with 165 ministers. The last few years the membership has held steady. As churches that exist in a western society, we face all the RELATIONSHIPS AND CONTACTS problems connected to the progressive secularisation process that is taking place. The CGKN are also National increasingly confronted with spiritual indifference and apostasy. Our churches recognize the call to seek unity with all who in truth love Christ. We seek to obey this call, first of all, in our own country. That there are so many different reformed denominations in our country HOW DO WE FUNCTION? proves that the church is divided and should cause us to feel shame and humble us. Churches that are situated in close proximity usually meet twice per year by way of classis meetings. At these meetings the churches seek to mutually assist one another and exercise oversight over each other. The last decade especially two contacts have developed, namely with the Reformed Churches (Liberated) Theological candidates, eligible for a call by one of these churches, are examined at these meetings. Three (GKV) and with congregations within the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN) who sincerely agree or four classes meet together annually in what is called a particular or provincial synod, of which there are with the Three Forms of Unity. There are also a number of our churches which have close contacts with four in the CGKN. Once every three years, the churches meet in a General Synod. The Synod is made up the Dutch Reformed Churches (NGK). of 52 office bearers who are delegated by the four particular . The professors of the Theological University at Apeldoorn are present as advisers. International On the international level the CGKN have been involved in ecclesiastical fellowship with several Reformed The various tasks of the churches are dealt with by several committees, appointed and mandated by the Churches. Besides the relations mentioned below, there are also contacts via our Mission Committee with General Synod. These committees remain responsible to Synod for the way they fulfil their mandate. The some other churches, which are originated in the mission work (Geraja Toraja Mamasa (), reformed structure of church government implies that during the time between the meetings of a classis the Synod of Soutpansberg and the Synod of Midland ()). In our ecumenical relations or a synod there is no ecclesiastical ruling body except for the local consistories. This means that the we discern three levels of relationships (like many other churches). Correspondence, then, includes e.g. CGKN have no central hierarchical authority structure. opening the Lord’s Table to each other and opening the to each other’s visiting ministers besides the offering of spiritual support wherever and whenever is possible. In ‘Complete Correspondence’ With gratitude we mention the fact that during the time of its existence the CGKN have been spared mutual acceptance of each other’s (membership)attestations and mutually considering each other’s the pains of a church split, although a number of individual ministers and congregations have left the ministers eligible for call. By means of ‘Contact’ we want to offer some spiritual support and other coop- denomination. The preservation of the bond of unity has not always been easy, since there are different erative activities of common responsibility. emphases and nuances in respect to the way personal faith is experienced and preached. On the one side there are those who strongly emphasize Complete Correspondence the covenant of grace by way of “covenantal Free Reformed Churches of North America preaching.” On the other side, there are Free Church of Scotland those who emphasize “experiential preaching.” Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) At times, this results in definite tension. To a Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland certain point, the roots of these problems lie in Die Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid- Africa the past. There are also certain theological Igrejas Evangelicas Reformadas no Brasil developments (e.g. in hermeneutics) that cause Reformed Churches of New Zealand friction. However, there still is unity within the Limited Correspondence CGKN, a unity that is determined by the Eglises Réformées Evangéliques Indépendentes de France Scriptures and the Reformed Confessions. of Reformed Churches of Botswana

THE CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCHES IN THE NETHERLANDS

WHAT ARE OUR MINISTRIES? Orthodox Presbyterian Church of North America The CKGN (CRCN) is involved in quite a few activities: Reformed Church in Foreign Missions Presbyterian Church in Korea (Kosin) The first mission field was in Indonesia (Sulawesi). Nowadays the Toraja church in Indonesia functions Christian Reformed Churches of Australia independently with partial assistance of one of our missionaries. Currently, in South Africa, mission Contact: work and proceeding and accompanying activities are carried on in Venda, KwaNdebele, Botswana, There are quite a few CGKN congregations that have some ties with congregations in Eastern Europe. Mozambique and Bangui. Some of the mission workers there are involved in special assignments such Not all of these are reformed churches, but they are faithful to the authority of God’s Word. For this as lecturers in Bible Schools or Colleges (e.g. the FATEB, Bangui). Others are active in Bible translation reason the General Synod of 2001 agreed to this third form of ecumenical relationship, especially with work (amongst the Bushmen). churches in Eastern Europe. Home Missions A number of evangelists work in this field, both in the Netherlands and in Belgium. Recently, church Additionally, our membership in the International Conference of Reformed Churches (ICRC) provides us planting projects have started in some of our bigger cities. The advisors at the Mission Facilities Centre with the opportunity to exercise fellowship with even more churches. It is our opinion that this body could in Veenendaal offer expert advice in facilitating this work. be of great importance for giving mutual assistance and encouragement to reformed churches worldwide, Witness to the especially with those that are very small. Since 1960 a few pastors have resided in Jerusalem to work among the Jews and to dialogue with the Jewish people in all diversities. Since 2001 our churches take part in a Study and Advice Centre in Ede, which is connected with a college. Recently, an appointment has been made for a missionary worker among the Jews in Israël as well as in our own country. Church members are actively involved in several organizations that support the Jewish people. Special Ministries A number of our pastors have accepted special ministry positions, such as chaplains in the military services, in hospitals and in jails. In addition, there are pastors who are employed to provide pastoral care as teachers in schools and to the handicapped. Diaconal Tasks During the last few decades more attention has been given to the diaconal tasks of the church. Support and aid is given for special needs in our congregations, as well as in our society and throughout the world.

Important as these activities are, they are not the only essential part of our church-life. Of greatest impor- tance is what takes place when the congregation gathers around the Word, twice on Sundays and at set SOME IMPORTANT ADDRESSES times during the week. There, first of all, is experienced what it means to be a church. Website: www.cgk.nl Information about committees is available on this site, such as Foreign Missions, Home Missions, Relief THEOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY Projects, as well as other links. Since 1968 our university is open also to those who do not seek training for the ministry in the CGKN, but who have a desire to study theology, especially reformed theology, for other aims. During the last two Website Theological University: www.tua.nl decades many international contacts with our university have been established and are still increasing. As a result, every year some students from outside our country study in Apeldoorn. Since 1980 the university Inter-church Relations Committee: is allowed to grant a doctor’s degree (ThD) in theology. Apeldoorn is one of the few universities in the Secretary: Drs. B. de Graaf, Whemelaan 6, 8071 GZ Nunspeet, The Netherlands; Netherlands where truly reformed theology is being taught. Tel. 0031 341 260207, Email: [email protected]