Over the past couple of weeks, I have been reading a short book entitled Wisdom from Babylon all about how the church lives in a secular age. There has been a massive shift in the culture of North America in the last 30 years. Thirty years ago, you could assume that even if someone was not a Christian they probably had values rooted in the Judeo-Christian worldview. This is simply no longer the case. Whether it be issues tied to our sexuality, to war, to care for the poor, fewer and fewer people seek to develop their values by turning first to scripture and the Christian tradition. 

This can feel a bit unnerving. For those coming from a European historical context this is a radical change from the norm of Christendom, where Christianity was the favored religion and assumed belief of people, since roughly 380 AD. For 1600 years, people of European descent assumed being French or German or American or Canadian meant you were also a Christian. In only a generation this has changed and it is discombobulating and disorienting as we try to get our feet back under us.

The author urges us to look to the post-exilic prophets in the Old Testament, and 1 Peter in the New Testament, as well as the early church, as well as historic minority churches and the church in secular Europe for wisdom. These followers of God all have more experience living as a minority community in a world that follows a different God and we can learn from them. While our culture may not claim allegiance to another religion, secularity can be an all encompassing worldview just as Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam can be. We can learn from these communities where the church has learned to thrive and be a faithful witness without political or cultural power.

One paragraph really stuck with me and I want to share it with you, Gordon Smith writes: 
“As I will stress again and again when speaking of what it means to be the church… in a secular age, the greatest threat to the church is not external, but internal. The greatest threat is fear, not the society or culture in which we are located.”

Fear leads to a fight, flight, or freeze response. It leads us to attack those who disagree. It leads us to run away from uncomfortable interactions. It leads to us hiding behind the walls of the church. But if we truly believe our God is present and providing, then we can engage our increasingly secular culture without fear, but with confidence in our God and his control of our future.

I am reminder of Peter’s advice to the churches he leads in 1 Peter. He basically says, love your neighbors: be so kind and generous, so gracious and welcoming that they want to know more about Jesus. And then, obey the authorities in your life so they think well of Jesus, but don’t worry about the political games and power plays of our world. Focus on God’s kingdom instead.

I wonder what God could do with a believer or a church who trust him fully and worried only about how their behavior showed people the love of Jesus.

– Greg

Connect to God
This week we will gather for worship at 9:30 am. This weeks service will be at zionreformed.online.church and streaming on our YouTube channel. We will also rebroadcast a version of the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday. The service will continue to be available on YouTube to watch at your convenience.

During the Easter season, we will be considering questions Christians often avoid that many young people as well as people wondering about Christianity frequently want to ask. Some of these topics may be uncomfortable for us as believers as young people often see through the masks and inconsistencies of our lives, but I hope in considering these questions we can humbly acknowledge our own weaknesses and point each other to the glory and beauty of our God. This week, we consider a troubling question for many in our pluralistic world: “do we have to believe in hell to be a Christian?”

Grow in Community
Starting on Sunday morning, June 5, we’ll switch to our summer mode in Zion Kids! We’ll be running a nursery, and a simplified program for kids 3 yrs.-going into 3rd grade (all together). We read Bible stories to kids in small groups, pray, do crafts & play with them.  It’s really fun, and a great way to get to know the kids!  To make this happen, we need your help! Would you be willing to serve In kids ministry two times over the summer months?  We’re looking for young grandparents, teenagers, parents, and people who enjoy being around kids.  We’ll make sure to pair summer volunteers alongside our regular kids ministry people.   All adults over 18 years old must go through Keeping Kids Safe training and a background check prior to serving with kids.  If needed, Rachel will contact you to set up a time to go over our policies. These really are fun Summer Sundays with extra time to get to know the kids a bit more! You can sign up through the links below, or via a sign up sheet outside of Room 205, or by texting Rachel at 616-669-3412.  Thanks for considering supporting our kids & young families!
Summer Kids Ministry  
Nursery

Our nursery is filling up again! Praise God for the gift of these children. And, we need your help. Would you be willing to support young families so parents can attend the worship service, and provide great care for our young children? The time commitment is once every 4 weeks during the school year, and a couple of times over the summer. If you’re interested, please contact Rachel Brower at 616-669-3412.

Our youth are looking for Shareholders for our 2022 Alaska Mission Trip. Becoming a shareholder means that you will donate $40 or more to help offset the costs of the trip. As a shareholder, you will be matched up with one student and commit to praying for them before the trip, during the trip, and after the trip. There are all sorts of benefits for shareholders like: a meal with your student after the trip, an update from the student during the trip, a copy of their pre-trip devotionals (you can also find the devotionals on our website here), the knowledge you played a role in a student’s spiritual growth and so much more. 

Serve the World
On Monday night, I received an e-mail from Albertha Kuiper, a missionary whom we support to reach the Mixtec people in Mexico. She is well past retirement age, but will be traveling back to Mexico to visit the Mixtec people and has several people for whom she asks for prayers that they might be open to the gospel including: Arturo and his family, Ernesto, and Flavia. She also asks for prayer as she works on a retranslation of Galatians, a Mixtec dictionary and encyclopedia. As we pray for these requests, I urge you to join me in thanking God for the example of Albertha who continues to serve and share her hope in Christ through Wycliffe. Her heart for Jesus and the Mixtec people inspires me and I hope you as well.

If you need help, either with food, personal care items, help grocery shopping, or with financial needs, please contact Jerrod Holzgen, our chair of deacons, and he can help connect you with the appropriate resources at Zion. His e-mail is Jholzgen@yahoo.com and his phone number is 616-520-1771.

Administration
The carpet installation was completed this week and it looks great!

We continue to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and for the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and treasures. 

Fiscal Year 2021/22 Budget: $560,513.50
Fiscal Year 2021/22 Contributions: $518,438.56
Giving Last Week: $7,713.50

Earlier this week, I attended the annual meeting of our Regional Synod (all the Reformed Churches in Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky are represented). As part of the meeting, I was struck by the huge amount of grief in many of our churches. This has been a hard couple of years for many churches. Further, many of our Classes (local church bodies) have seen several churches leave the denomination this year. There was much grief. It is good and healthy to acknowledge our grief and loss. We certainly are wise to do so. Lament is very Biblical (see the entire book of Lamentations).

And, it is also good to celebrate and praise God for all the good he is doing. The President of our Regional Synod shared some stories from the history of our denomination many may not know. I found them encouraging and want to share them with you, too.
1. The Presbyterian Church of South Korea was founded by a graduate of New Brunswick Theological Seminary (one of our two seminaries). Today, the Presbyterian Church in South Korea has 3 million members.
2. Eighty years ago, the Kempkers moved to Chiapas, Mexico to begin a mission there. Today, the Presbyterian Church of Chiapas has over 1 million members.
3.Dr. Ida Scudder is widely considered the third most respected name in the nation of India. She trails only Ghandi and Mother Theresa. Dr. Ida Scudder was the third generation of RCA medical missionaries in India.
4. In 2016, Secretary of State John Kerry visited the King of Bahrain and talked about how the relationship with the United States and Bahrain had flourished over the last 45 years. The King of Bahrain shook his head and told Secretary Kerr Bahrain had a relationship with the US for over 100 years because in 1890, the RCA started a mission hospital in Bahrain, before they had oil, before anyone cared about them, the RCA was there. According to the King, the RCA is why they have a strong relationship with the United States.
5. Today we are seeing new church plants in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Brazil, and Europe all supported by or even wanting to find a way to become a part of the RCA.

While we are a small denomination in the US, God has used us to have an outsized impact on the church throughout the world. I have heard multiple church experts comment that the RCA “punches above its weight class” when it comes to global missions.

I think we often “punch above our weight class” at Zion as well. A week or so ago, I spent a day writing a grant proposal to remodel part of our basement to better support our outreach ministries. As part of the proposal, I got to talk about all the benevolent ministries of Zion. You all are a pretty amazing group of people! From Threads to Camp Zion to Kids Hope to the Personal Care Pantry and Hand2Hand, you make an impact in our community. And that doesn’t even consider the impact you have made through helping plant Lifeline Community Church and City Chapel and churches throughout Nepal and a church in Kenya with the Kuria’s and so much more.

Years ago now, on a Tuesday night in August, our Consistory went on a prayer walk in groups of two. Their most challenging assignment was to talk with residents from at least three homes and ask them three questions: Do you know where Zion is? How could we be better neighbors? And, how could we pray for you? Most of the people they met, who lived within two blocks of Zion, did not know where our church was. Because of your hard work, that is no longer the case. They not only know where we are, but have been or know people blessed by God through you. God is making an impact in our community because of you.

I think it was Reggie McNeal who once said you can determine the vibrancy of a church by the number of people in their community who do not attend the church, but who would grieve if the church were removed from the neighborhood. Many, many people would experience loss if you were not here faithfully witnessing to the just, generous, and loving kingdom of God. Just this past Sunday, I was talking with a first-time visitor and they said they decided to check out Zion because they had heard so many good things about us in the schools. (They were connected to Jenison Public Schools.) Your service is being used by God to encourage other believers and draw people closer to him.

I am so glad we are joined together in life and ministry at Zion.

– Greg

Connect to God
This week we will gather for worship at 9:30 am. This weeks service will be at zionreformed.online.church and streaming on our YouTube channel. We will also rebroadcast a version of the service on WCET at noon on Friday and 4pm next Sunday. The service will continue to be available on YouTube to watch at your convenience.

During the Easter season, we will be considering questions Christians often avoid that many young people as well as people wondering about Christianity frequently want to ask. Some of these topics may be uncomfortable for us as believers as young people often see through the masks and inconsistencies of our lives, but I hope in considering these questions we can humble acknowledge our own weaknesses and point each other to the glory and beauty four God. This week, we consider how we can not only hold onto our faith, but even grow a deeper faith as wrestle with both God and our doubts.

Grow in Community
Our youth group has reached its next fundraising goal of $20,000. We are grateful for a generous grant from our denomination to support our youth trip to Alaska that has put us over this next goal. As you may remember each goal we reach comes with a reward. The “reward” for reaching the goal of $20,000 is having a youth member throw a pie into the faces of Pastor Jeremy and Pastor Greg. They are pastors of our word so just before the benediction this Sunday (on our old carpet that will be replaced the very next day), Jeremy and Greg will have a lemon pie mashed into their faces. They both look forward to “eating” a little pie and celebrating your generosity.

Our nursery is filling up again! Praise God for the gift of these children. And, we need your help. Would you be willing to support young families so parents can attend the worship service, and provide great care for our young children? The time commitment is once every 4 weeks during the school year, and a couple of times over the summer. If you’re interested, please contact Rachel Brower at 616-669-3412.

Our youth are looking for Shareholders for our 2022 Alaska Mission Trip. Becoming a shareholder means that you will donate $40 or more to help offset the costs of the trip. As a shareholder, you will be matched up with one student and commit to praying for them before the trip, during the trip, and after the trip. There are all sorts of benefits for shareholders like: a meal with your student after the trip, an update from the student during the trip, a copy of their pre-trip devotionals (you can also find the devotionals on our website here), the knowledge you played a role in a student’s spiritual growth and so much more.

Serve the World
Threads will be sorting agin this Monday night from 6-8 pm. If you are interested in learning more about the ministry, connecting with other people from Zion, and just knowing you are making a difference in someone’s live, join us to sort clothes and bless our community.

Lisa Cook is deeply involved in Deaf Teen Quest (a ministry of Youth for Christ) and she invites all of us to support this ministry by eating! Next week Tuesday, May 10, you are invited to bring yourself or your family to one of two Culver’s locations (4280 Alpine Ave or 6300 28th Street SE) from 5-8 pm. Deaf Teen Quest is fundraising to join other Deaf and Hard of Hearing teens from around the country at Eagle Rock Camp in Tennessee. Yummy food and a great cause!

As the school year is beginning to wind down, our first full year of partnering with Bursley Elementary and Kids Hope is also coming to a close. Mentors will be having their final meeting with their students the week of May 16. Though we cannot share stories from Kids Hope due to the need for confidentiality, I frequently hear update from mentors of important conversations, stories of hurt and hope, and the love mentors have for their students. Thank you to all of our mentors for this year! If you would like to know more about Kids Hope or even get involved next school year, please contact Olivia DeHaan at 616-914-4467.

If you need help, either with food, personal care items, help grocery shopping, or with financial needs, please contact Jerrod Holzgen, our chair of deacons, and he can help connect you with the appropriate resources at Zion. His e-mail is Jholzgen@yahoo.com and his phone number is 616-520-1771.

Administration
On Sunday at our annual Congregational meeting, the congregation affirmed Tim Mekkes and Eric Zondervan as our new elders and Ashley Gross and Ashley VanderWall as our new deacons. We also want to thank out outgoing Elders Brandon Dieter and Steve Boersma and Deacons Robbi Boeve and Dan Sundberg.

New carpet will be installed in the sanctuary this week. If you are able, please plan to stay after worship a few minutes to help move chairs out of the sanctuary. Please wait for Pastor Rick to give instructions before stacking or moving the chairs. There really is a best way to move the chairs. Thank you in advance for your help on Sunday!

We continue to thank God for his provision of all of our needs and for the generous support of our congregation with their time, talent, and treasures.

Fiscal Year 2021/22 Budget: $538,092.26
Fiscal Year 2021/22 Contributions: $499,942.56
Giving Last Week: $8,842.00

05-01-22 Bulletin