Introduction
About a year and a half ago, Redeemer Canadian Reformed Church called a missionary to Niverville, Manitoba. Niverville is in South-Eastern Manitoba, about a half hour south of Winnipeg. It is a Mennonite community, although that demographic is quickly changing. The leadership in Redeemer grew interested in planting a church in this area because of some contacts it had with individuals and families in the South-East of Manitoba. Originally they planned to send their man to Steinbach. However, a homegrown Reformed Baptist church had started there. They did not want to start competing with that local church. Therefore, they did some more research and settled on the town of Niverville.
Here, I want to tell the story of how I came to take that call, what has happened since we have settled in Niverville, and offer some reflections on the nature of our ministry in Niverville.
The story of Niverville
The Canadian Pacific Railway company named Niverville after an 18th-century explorer and fur trader. Originally, some English and Scottish settlers settled in the area, but Lord Hespeler ultimately included it into the land given to the first group of Mennonite settlers to Manitoba. A small United Church in town represents something of the contribution of the English and Scottish settlers to the life of the town. The majority of the town is Mennonite. The other six churches in town represent the Mennonite population, even though three of the six churches are not Mennonite by name.
The town is still largely a Christian town. When you enter the town, you are welcomed by a sign that says “The churches of Niverville welcome you.” The mayor of the town attends one of the churches in town. This state is quickly changing. The town has doubled in size over the last number of years and most of the newcomers are not Mennonite. If they go to church, they often go to church in Winnipeg. The churches in town do not grow but slowly shrink. Besides that, liberalism grows in the hearts of the churches. They begin to deny the truths of Genesis 1 and the God-given order of sexuality and gender. The Christianity of Niverville is weakening.
As I have already mentioned, the Christianity of Niverville is Mennonite. The older Mennonites in town carry a lot of their father’s biases for free will, pacifism, and otherworldliness, but the younger generation grows more and more indistinguishable from the member of our local first Baptist, Peoples, or even Pentecostal church. They share in the generic evangelical culture of modern Christianity. Occasionally, there is still a vague belief in some of the older Mennonite distinctives. Even the older generation drank deeply of the evangelical milieu of the mid-twentieth century. One example of this is that many Mennonites rejected all consumption of alcohol, which is not a historical Mennonite position. Like the other Mennonite distinctives, that teetotalling attitude is also disappearing. Unfortunately, the younger Mennonites have also left behind their parents’ knowledge of Scripture and church attendance.
The story of Zekvelds in Niverville
We first came to Niverville in the summer of 2017. I had just finished seminary that spring. We came at the request of the Redeemer church and their calling committee. What we saw was a unique opportunity. We had an opportunity not only to plant a church and provide a light to the lost, but we had an opportunity to reach out to fellow churches and strengthen the church as a whole; to live out the vision that Paul calls the church to, “Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.” We wanted to engage fellow churches in conversations about Scripture and doctrine and, hopefully, share some the strengths of the Reformed’s catholic tradition. It was also an opportunity to grow in reformed catholicity ourselves. When we received the call, we joyfully accepted a couple of weeks later.
After my ordination exam, we came out to Niverville in October. We quickly settled in the southeast corner of the town. From there we began to get to know the town. We were able to connect with people at various events in town and in the southeast of Manitoba. I was able to connect to the Ministerial in town. I was able to start a games night in a local coffee shop. Throughout the last year, I have been able to connect to local pastors and other local leaders, both being encouraged by them and hopefully encouraging them as well.
We have put on a couple of events for the town. We offer a conversations evening, where locals can come and freely ask whatever questions come to mind about Scripture. Unfortunately, this evening has not borne a lot of fruit yet. We also invited a member of Creation Ministries International to give a presentation. One of our most successful events, which you may have heard of, was a discussion between myself and a local Reformed Baptist pastor from Steinbach. We spoke on the question, “does God want us to baptize children of believers as well as their parents?” This is the type of discussion is something I hope to do more of in the coming years. We’ve also started up a yearly Christmas concert and yearly caroling as well.
Providentially, God had already been working in the southeast through his servants there. Through a family south of us we were able to meet a young single mother, who was looking for help and community. This is a friendship that has grown over the last year. She continues to grow in the gospel, especially through our bi-weekly Bible study on the Catechism. We were also able to meet a young Iranian man, who had attended a Bible College, which is to the south of Niverville. He had befriended a young man from the Canadian Reformed Churches and through that friendship God connected him with our ministry. This young Iranian man has only recently been baptized and has joined Ambassador Church.
As we began our ministry, we sought further understanding of both our community and of church planting. During the winter of 2018, my wife and I both attended the University of Winnipeg to study a variety of Mennonites around the globe and their relation to the earth. Our professor was very knowledgeable about the history of Mennonites around the world. We were happy to take the class. We also had the opportunity to learn from URCNA Pastor, Rev. Spencer Aalsburg from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We visited him for a week in February. It was a wonderful experience. Rev. Aalsburg had a lot of wisdom from his years of experience.
With spring came the work of finalizing who would be part of our core group and selecting a place and a time to worship. For a month we worshipped at a gym. The Lord, however soon granted us another place to worship, a church that was empty. By his grace, the Lord also raised the question of purchasing the church to the Redeemer Congregation and the Redeemer Consistory this past October. We are grateful to the Lord that he has now given Ambassador a permanent home in the Niverville community.
If you come and visit Ambassador, you’ll notice some differences from many Canadian Reformed Churches, although nothing is outside of the Canadian Reformed experience. We have more response in our services; particularly, we respond to God’s law with a prayer of confession. We do this, first because we believe it is a deeply scriptural practice, but also to demonstrate to visitors what confession of sin is. And also as a practical presentation of the doctrine of justification. After the morning service, we eat lunch together, living the communion that God calls his saints to live out.
We also do our afternoons a bit differently. Already before I had come, the consistory of Redeemer and the Mission Committee had decided that Ambassador’s afternoon service would look more like a study. I have to admit that although I saw the logic in their decision, I was personally hesitant about the afternoon. I am happy to say that I am no longer so. The opportunity to make the study of the catechism into a study has greatly blessed all of us in Ambassador. We still have the warnings and exhortations to faith and good works in the morning, and that is supplemented by digging a bit deeper into the historic doctrines of the church in the afternoon. I don’t think of all this as merely being missional. Rather, I see our practice as maturity in existing as a church. As we grow in being a church, we will be more missional.
Some first-year thoughts on my role in Niverville
Having been here in Niverville for a year now has given me the opportunity to put some thought into my particular situation. The Niverville project is unique. I am church planting in a town where a lot of people still go to church. This is a churched area. A lot of this Christianity is not very deep. Some vague Christian mysticism seems to be the predominant expression of Christian piety in the town of Niverville. But it is recognizable as Christianity. I am sure that there are still faithful Christians, and faithful churches as well, in our town. They struggle with whatever version they have of Jezebel and the Nicolaitans of Revelation 2. They struggle to retain worship infused by scripture. Their angels must be encouraged in obedience to the gospel.
My role then is variegated. First of all, I do have a role in reaching out as the church going population diminishes. But I also have a role in relation to the other churches in town. There are threatening clouds on the horizon for the churches in North America both within and outside the church. The church needs to be strengthened in her knowledge of the salvation of God and needs to be encouraged to stand strong even on those things that don’t seem all that central to the faith: things like women in office and the interpretation of Genesis one. We need to encourage our brothers and sisters in other churches to stand firm in the scriptures. And we need them as well. I only need to look to 1 Corinthians 12 to prove that.
I should add, that I truly desire that all would hold to the doctrines we consider so central to the understanding of Scripture, justification by faith alone, the inclusion of infants in the covenant of grace, and the sovereignty of God in all of life. These find their clearest expression in Reformed teaching. These are the truths that give the Reformed church its backbone, and I would desire that all churches would participate in this backbone.
This means that I do not fit into our generic understanding of a missionary. We tend to think of a missionary as one who goes to those who have never heard. Our vision of a missionary is one who comes into a jungle town and announces the gospel to those who have never heard of the term Jew or Gentile, Israel or David, Jesus Christ, Yahweh, or Trinity. I do meet those who have strayed and those who have very little knowledge. In Niverville, even those who do not confess Christ, generally have some knowledge of the church. Most of my interactions are with those who confess Christ. All this means that I work with a somewhat expanded definition of a missionary.
As I have settled myself into this community, I see my role as having three functions. For one I am a missionary because I am seeking to find ways to reach out to those who have never heard or those who have left the church. I seek to build a relationship with my neighbors for example, who are lapsed Christians. I hope that through the games night we have started in our town we might find a way to find others who are lost and need a savior.
I also function as a pastor. The consistory of Redeemer in Winnipeg decided that they would support the church plant in Niverville by encouraging a number of its members to join the fledgling church. We started with seven families meant to function as a core group, who would provide a welcoming atmosphere for those who were interested in joining Ambassador. Among these families, I function as a pastor. As the man who is called to bring them the word every week, I am also called to encourage and exhort them in remaining faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ. This pastoral work is an organic working out of my weekly presence in Ambassador.
Finally, I function as an ecumenicist or you might say an ecumenical missionary. This last function is probably the most significant part of my ministry in light of the Lord’s leading right now. I seek to understand the varieties of traditions and beliefs that are in the town of Niverville and particularly in the Mennonite and Evangelical Community. I seek to distinguish to those who still hold to the Articles of the Christian Faith and who seek to obey their Lord and those who have moved beyond that to other things. I approach my brothers and sisters with an open Bible, seeking to both understand how they understand things and seeking to challenge that framework.
At the same time, I retain an attitude of openness. Perhaps we have missed something. Perhaps they have reached some understanding that the Spirit working in the community of Christ has not fully illuminated yet. I know that I can grow in seeking to clarify and communicate the dogma of historic and catholic Christianity. Ultimately, I seek to retain an attitude of humility toward the Word of God, the final conscience-binder in all my interactions with fellow Christians.
I don’t pretend that I will excel at every one of these functions. It is even truer that I cannot divide my energies equally between these three functions. I have to divert my energy in those places that the Lord leads. “Man makes a plan, but God directs his way.” I trust that God will give me the strength to do as he sees fit. Neither do I claim to have the understanding of how to function in our contemporary world. Rather, I seek to use the wisdom that God has given me to apply what has been handed down in the Reformed Catholic tradition of the church under the foundational and final authority found in the word of God.
Some first-year thoughts on the role of a Reformed church in Niverville
Of course, I am not the only Reformed witness to the gospel in the Niverville. Ambassador Church also plays a role in bearing witness to the authority of Scripture and the Reformed Catholic tradition. Ambassador is not just another flavor of church. Neither is Ambassador a type of non-denominational church, representing a faint parody of Reformed catholicity. We bind ourselves to the Canadian Reformed churches to preserve our catholicity; to preserve ourselves from sectarian doctrine. Rather, Ambassador represents a challenge to the contemporary believer. Ambassador offers a different way to move toward unity in Christ. We provide a way of catholic unity based in the ecumenical creeds and confessions of the church and grounded in active submission to the living Word of God. It is only through digging deep into Scripture and digging deep into the history of the church, the breadth and the depth of the teaching of the universal church that we will find a way to abolish the walls of division that we raise between one another in the modern world.
I believe that the way the Reformed can truly represent themselves as distinctive is by pursuing the way of Reformed Catholicity. That means we both affirm an individual’s confession of the evangelical center of Christianity, Christ’s death and resurrection and the Trinity. We also seek to dig deep into Scripture so that we know the truth and obey every breath that comes from the mouth of God.
Other traditions fail in this catholicity. Baptists want to keep children from membership in the church. Among the Baptists, there are those who reject the formal membership of any who have been baptized as an infant. Pentecostals want to form a group of elite members who have the second blessing of the Spirit. Catholics have their own have special status as members of the church because they submit to the Pope. If you don’t like Vatican II you might say there is no salvation outside of submission to the Pope; at least that is what Unam Sanctum seems to say. If you like Vatican II, Protestants are separated brethren, saved by association with the sacramental work of the Catholic priesthood. Unless these denominations rid themselves of these sectarian doctrines, ecumenical efforts will fail or dissolve into the vapid expressions of unity we see among churches today.
What stands out about the Reformed church is its catholicity, that is, its desire to hold to the great tradition of the Christian church, its absolute humility before the Word of God, and, finally, its affirmation of justification and therefore the high value of all who truly confess Christ as Lord. It can sustain deep discussion of theology and polity and is at the same time able to affirm the simple faith of all those who hold to the gospel. We accept the mature and the immature as equal before God. Male, female, Jew and Gentile are all freely accepted by God through faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no elite group of the faithful whether they identify as the circumcised or those of the second blessing. The gift of salvation belongs to the theologian as much as it belongs to the infant. More often than not God chooses the praise of the infant to establish strength rather than the high thoughts of the theologian. This is the catholic way of the Reformed church. This makes the Reformed church the best place for any person who desires to learn Christ.
We desire that Ambassador be a living demonstration of such catholicity. And as such, we hope that we will truly be a witness in our community as well, both as an encouragement to our brothers and sisters in other churches and as a light to those who do not yet know Jesus. I am sure we fail in many ways to live out the vision I have described. Few churches do. Like our Father Jacob, we walk with a limp. What I do know is that this is the church that Christ has washed, sanctified and justified. It is the church that he wishes to present as a spotless bride to his father in heaven.