[UPDATE] Springtime on the Singel
Ministry and life update from March & April 2024
April doet wat hij wil, “April does what it wants” as the Dutch say. And that’s really been apparent this month. The first two weeks were filled with bright skies and temperatures in the high 10s to low 20s (high 60s to mid 70s for my Fahrenheit friends). As I’m writing this, the sky is gray, the ground is getting slammed by rain, and the temperature is hanging at a cool 7c/44f.
It’s been like this for the past few days.
April doet wat hij wil.
Bipolar weather aside- it’s been a very exciting start to spring. Much has been going on: the start of the Alpha course, Easter and Good Friday services, ICF’s five-year anniversary, and more.
And, in an amazing show of answered prayer, I’ve moved! I’m currently living over the Rehobothkerk in the center of Rotterdam just off the Noordsingel. Thank you all sincerely for the prayers. This place, the people around it, and the location are simply incredible.
Just as our early ancestors in the Church held all they had in common, I too hope to do that with this apartment and the opportunities it provides.
Now- here’s what’s been going on with springtime on the singel.
Alpha 2024
I wrote a bit last year about the Alpha course ICF put on. We’ve decided to make it a yearly occurrence and, on the 25th of last month, started with this year’s course!
All in all, it’s the same deal as last year. A group of interested participants comes together to meet on Monday nights, eat dinner, listen to talks, and explore those talks in depth in small groups.
Now we have made a few changes this year. The most prominent is an edited curriculum when it comes to the talks. Normally, Alpha has premade videos for these but we decided to go our own route this time. Still taking the essence of Alpha’s aim (answering the question “Is there more to life?”) we are highlighting the “Human Problem”- the fact that, in life, something is wrong in the world and ourselves. It’s a fact that virtually all people can agree on regardless of where they come from.
From there we walk the participants through how this Human Problem is answered in the person of Jesus Christ and how life with Him leads to what some may call "the “Good Life”- the best possible life a person can lead.
We are three sessions in so far and things are going well. The course will continue into June- you can go here on the ICF website for more information.
Our Collective Longing, Our Collective Answer
Like last year, I was coordinating ICF’s Good Friday service.
The vision with these is to engage in a way of worshipping different from a usual Sunday morning. It’s quite common in the Protestant-Evangelical wings of the Church to make a service’s center of engagement the sermon. It’s great that the primacy of Scripture is emphasized with this method, but, all too often, we forget that there are other ways of doing corporate worship.
For that reason, we’ve opted to make art the center of engagement for Good Friday this year.
With the help of two talented artists in the community- paintings and illustrations were used to walk the congregation through the story and meaning behind Good Friday.
At the end of the service, we had a contemplative moment in which small canvases were passed out to the congregation and each person was encouraged to “paint their prayer” and express how the Good Friday story makes them feel. When we finished, we took all these paintings and arranged them on posterboard in the shape of a cross. The end result being a “mosaic” of our reflections on the Cross itself.
On Easter Sunday, this cross was positioned at the front of the church- present as we sang songs of worship, listened to the Easter story, and lifted our prayers on that incredible day.
ICF’s Good Friday service can be viewed here.
Five Years of ICF-Noord!
This past Sunday, the 14th of April- five years to the day, ICF celebrated its fifth anniversary.
Our pastor, Fred Kappinga, shared a message from the “core passage” of ICF found in John 17- specifically verse 23:
I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Our church is described as a church “of all nations, for all nations” and, for this reason, emphasizing the need for cross-cultural unity is of the utmost importance. Such love is what our church is built upon and it’s what was expressed during this colorful and exciting celebration last weekend.
You can watch the service for yourself here. And it’s packed with so many wonderful moments but, if I had to pick a favorite, it comes around the 1:12:40 mark. There our sister Rossy does something of a role call for all the different nationalities represented at our church. The countries included are as follows…
Canada, China, Colombia, Curaçao, Ghana, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Poland, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Togo, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, South Africa, Brazil, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Germany, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Ukraine, Peru, Saba, Saint Vincent, Sudan, and Zimbabwe.
That’s a big block of text but it serves the point- the Kingdom of God is a Kingdom of all nations! Not bound up in one culture, country, people group, time, or place- but stretching over the face of the Earth. Just as God made it to be.
That’s the beauty of Jesus Christ.
This certainly won’t be the last time I express my appreciation for this Church.
Prayer Points
Here are some ways you can pray for the work out here:
The Alpha course! Trying out this new curriculum is exciting but also challenging. Please pray that it flows well and goes well with those who attend.
Be praying that ICF continues onward faithful for however many years the Lord blesses us with.
And, on a personal note, prayers that I get settled into my new place are much appreciated!
And, as always, if you feel moved to partner through generosity I thank you deeply for your kindness and would like to direct you to some helpful ways to give:
Venmo (@Jon-DiNovo)
Revolut (@jondinovo)
WEC USA giving information can be found here.
Tomorrow I’ll be taking a weekend trip to the Dutch island of Texel with a few friends. These little moments of rest and community weave together well with the busier moments of plannings, courses, services, etc.- a season for everything, right?
I see how God so clearly allows everything to flow into one another and complement the grand scheme of life on this side of eternity. There’s a deep appreciation to be had for all of it.
Truly I am blessed to be here in Rotterdam doing this work with this community. And I am just as blessed for all my friends and family beyond this city. All is enriching if we allow the Spirit such.
My heart is with you all,
Jon