Chambersburg Bible Church

It has been our conviction that when we have enough prayer support, the Lord will give us enough financial support to start our church planting ministry. Now, with close to 1,000 people receiving our prayer letter directly and many others through their church, the Lord is opening the door for our departure. With 95% of our support in place, we are making firm plans to move in October. This will give us time to pack, sell our house, and hold several more meetings to wrap up our deputation ministry. We are excited, but well aware that in faith we are stepping far outside our comfort zone.  As a family we are resting in this promise in Deut 31:8Deut 31:8
8 And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.  
: “And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee.”

House—Theo has been finishing a number of projects around the house and has listed the house in several places. We have had a few responses, but no serious inquiries yet. Please pray that the Lord would bring the right buyer our way. Along these lines, we are also actively looking for housing in the Netherlands. We have several options and need the Lord’s clear direction.

Ordination—We rejoice that Theo passed his public ordination questioning! He will be formally set apart for the Gospel ministry on August 15th (5 p.m.) at our home church, Mount Calvary Baptist Church. We invite all who are in the area to come share this special service with us.
Support—At 95% we are getting close to having all our needs met! We are pressing on toward an October departure with confidence that the Lord will indeed bring together the final members of our support team. We praise Him for providing almost fifty percent of our passage fund (which covers all one-time expenses involved in our move) and plan to hold a large yard sale in September to help add to this fund. We are entering a bittersweet time as we begin our farewells! This past weekend we said goodbye to extended family and dear friends in Sarah’s home state of Virginia.

Looking Ahead

• Aug 15–Ordination Service, Greenville, SC
• Aug 22–Community Baptist Church, Bradenton, FL
• September–Pack
• Oct 10-13–Fairview Baptist Church, Towanda, KS
• Oct 17–Crossview Baptist Church, Harrisburg, NC
• Oct 20 – Potential  Departure Date (10-20-2010)

Prayer Requests

• Daily growth in grace through God’s Word.
• The sale of our house.
• Effective ministry to churches.
• Our final support and passage fund needs.
• Increased evangelistic opportunities.

Serving Him Joyfully,
Theo and Sarah van Reijn

We just completed our second trip out West with meetings in Iowa and Colorado. We are exhausted, having dealt with both cold and stomach bugs, but we are grateful for the many opportunities we had to serve our great God. What a joy it is to preach God’s Word and see the Spirit of God using His Word to transform people. Our ministry right now is among God’s people in the United States, but we anticipate commencing our ministry in the Netherlands this year. We praise the Lord for the continued increase in our support as we now have nearly 65% of our financial needs.

As the economy slowly recovers from the recession, please pray with us for the remaining churches to join our support team by faith. We are praying that the Lord will enable us to leave for the Netherlands by the end of this summer. Each church also provides us with more prayer warriors who are committed to upholding us before the throne of grace. We do not underestimate this benefit of the deputation ministry. Our spring schedule is full, mostly on the East coast, and we eagerly look forward to how the Lord will work both in and through us.
We keep close tabs on what is happening in the Netherlands, and ask you to pray for the local government elections coming up. Also, with the recent collapse of a fairly conservative coalition cabinet, there is another opportunity for left-wing parties to gain influence in parliament. While total freedom to preach against sin is still present, Satan would love to put people in office who would hinder the work of God. Please pray for God’s mercy on this nation and the salvation of souls.

Thank you for your faithful support and prayer!

Theo & Sarah van Reijn
Gospel Fellowship Association

Read more about the van Reijns and their ministry at www.hollandforchrist.com

The van Reijns

Psalm 144:12Psalm 144:12
12 That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace: polished: Heb. cut  
states, “May our daughters be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace.”

Matthew Henry wrote the following thoughts in response to this prayer of the Psalmist: “When we see our daughters…adorned with the graces of God’s Spirit, which are the polishing of that which is naturally rough, and become women professing godliness…we think ourselves happy in them.” This certainly is our spirit and prayer as God has entrusted Miriam Joy to us on September 24th. We are grateful for a safe delivery and sober at the privilege and responsibility of rearing her to God’s glory.
Website

We are putting the finishing touches on our ministry website and hope to start using it soon to post some more frequent updates on shorter term prayer requests and events. We also have up to date information on the spiritual needs of the Netherlands and our expanded ministry strategies. We are very excited about this new avenue of communication and commend it to those of you who are especially interested in God’s work in Western Europe and in the Netherlands in particular. Our new website address is www.HollandForChrist.com

Support and Meetings

With another mouth to feed in our family, our support needs have slightly increased, which means we are sitting at the 50% mark. For those of you who have prayed for 60 scheduled meetings for 2009, the current count is 59. We are running out of time and slots for 2009, but the goal of 60 may still be a reality. Either way, we are very grateful for how the Lord has opened doors for us in a time when churches are generally having fewer missions meetings.

Prayer Requests

• Daily growth in grace through God’s Word
• Effective ministry to the churches.
• A full schedule of meetings for 2010.
• Solid partnerships with like-minded churches.
• Increased evangelistic opportunities.

Serving Him Joyfully,
Theo and Sarah van Reijn