 The diaconate is made up of men elected from the congregation. The deacons are those who coordinate the stewardship of resources among the congregation, including the administration of Christian mercy. The form for the ordination elders and deacons summarizes the work of the deacons as follows:
"The work of the deacons consists in the faithful and diligent ingathering of the offerings which God’s people in gratitude make to their Lord, in the prevention of poverty, in the humble and cheerful distribution of gifts according to the need, and in the relief of the distressed both with kindly deeds and words of consolation and cheer from Scripture."
Collections are held weekly, for the budget of the church, as well as for a secondary cause, most of which are listed below with links.
Adoration Christian Centre (ACC) (Part of Word & Deed Ministries):
ACC`s mission is to enable poor and handicapped children to become productive members of society in which they live through education and training. ACC seeks to reflect the love of Jesus Christ to people who are in need and to witness to the Reformed faith through the distribution of Bibles and study material in their native language. ACC operates Adoration Christian School in Pot-au-Prince, presently under the directorship of Randy and Karen Lodder, as well as youth programs, a medical clinic, and is in partnership with an OPC/PCA church mission.
http://adoration.net
The Anchor Association:
Anchor Association in an effort to better serve our special needs brothers and sisters. The Anchor Association is an association that is founded on the Word of God as confessed in the Three Forms of Unity and seeks to promote the well-being of the mentally and physically disabled at The Beacon Home in Dunnville, Anchor Home in Beamsville, Twins Oaks Home in Burlington and The Lighthouse Home in Fergus.
http://www.anchor-association.com
Christian Counselling Centre:
Located in Burlington, Ontario the Christian Counselling Centre
provides Biblically oriented Christian counselling to individuals and families who are experiencing relational, emotional, and spiritual difficulties, especially to those within our Reformed communities.
web: christiancounsellingcentre.ca
email: info@christiancounsellingcentre.ca
Come Over and Help:
An organization committed to providing aid to churches and Christians in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Our foundation is the Bible, which is the Word of God. COAH adheres to the revealed truths and principals in that Word in accord with the Three Forms of Unity (Heidelberg Catechism, Canons of Dordt, Belgic Confession) and the Westminster Confession.
http://www.coah.org
Covenant Christian Church Mission Outreach
Rev. Tony Zekveld has been called by the Covenant Christian Church
(URCNA) of Wyoming, Ontario, to work in Toronto. The Toronto Mission is a
ministry to the Sikh immigrants from Punjab, India to Canada.
Approximately 130,000 Sikhs live in the greater Toronto area. This work
consists of speaking engagements, Bible studies, newspaper articles in
the Punjabi language, and Sunday worship. tzekveld@accglobal.net
Disaster Relief:
In circumstances of disaster relief, the diaconate determine
how best to distribute funds collected. Funds will typically go through an organization such as Word
and Deed.
Eternal Life Mission (Tepic, Mexico):
ELM is a church plant in the United Reformed Church of North America (URCNA). The sending church of Richard and Angela Bout and Matt and Anne-Marie Van Dyken is Hope Reformed.
http://www.eternallifemission.net/
FAREL Reformed Theological Seminary
(Laval, Quebec):
Farel Reformed Theological Seminary is a bilingual
seminary that equips and trains students on an academic and pastoral
level to serve the churches in Quebec and in other French and English
speaking areas. www.farel.net
Hispanic Christian Ministry (Rev.Pennings-MINTS)
This ministry will be accomplished primarily through Miami
International Seminary. Rev. Pennings is the Regional Director for MINTS
in Central America (Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador,
Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama) and Canada, responsible in the
ministry of training church leaders in Biblical and Reformed
Leadership. Most of Rev. Pennings ministry activities revolve around
establishing study centers and visiting them several times a year to
teach courses. MINTS seeks to train enough Christian leaders to reach
every community on earth with the Good News of Jesus Christ. www.mints.edu
Mid-America Reformed Seminary:
Centrally-located, in Dyer Indiana, Mid-America is a distinctively
Reformed Seminary with a theological perspective firmly rooted in the
historic truths of the Reformed faith. Mid-America concentrates on
training men in the high calling to be ministers of the Word and
sacraments, training them to serve the church as “knowledgeable pastors
with servants' hearts“. www.midamerica.edu
Middle East Reformed Fellowship:
Headquartered in Cyprus, M.E.R.F. serves the Middle East on behalf
of Reformed Churches, working in over fifteen Middle East countries to
build up local churches through evangelism, church extension, biblical
training, and diaconal aid. MERF is committed to proclaiming the
historic Christian faith as expressed in the early ecumenical creeds and
the confessions of the Reformation to non-Christians in the Middle
East. www.merf.org
Niagara Life Centre:
They are a local organization and a mission to mothers, fathers,
children and families in crisis, through biblical counselling. www.niagaralifecentre.ca
Redemption Prison Ministry:
This ministry reaches out to Canadian prison inmates with the Gospel of Jesus Christ mainly through correspondence Bible lessons administered by volunteer instructors.
www.cornerstonebible.ca
Reformed Faith & Life Radio Ministry (French):
This is a ministry of literature distribution and radio broadcasting
to the French speaking people throughout the continent of Africa. Rev.
Eric Kayayan is a Reformed minister from South Africa, responsible for
the radio messages and the follow up work with those who respond to the
broadcasts. ekayayan@iafrica.com
Shalom Manor:
Primarily for members of the Dutch-Canadian community, in conjunction with its member churches and government agencies, Shalom Manor is a non-profit long-term care and assisted living facility for the elderly, located in Grimsby, Ontario. www.shalommanor.ca
Streetlight Ministries:
Streetlight Ministries is a joint project of the Ancaster Canadian Reformed Church and Fellowship Canadian Reformed Church of Burlington-South. Streetlight Ministries' mission is to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of downtown Hamilton. It is the aim of Streetlight Ministries to use volunteers from the supporting churches to teach others the glad tidings of God 's grace, to be received by faith alone, for the salvation of all those who repent of their sins and believe that Jesus is Lord of all. (Romans 3:21-26). Presently, this work is being led by a missionary and mission worker, and by a part time evangelist, youth program coordinator, and administrator. www.streetlightministries.ca
Toronto/Scarborough Church Plant (Rev.Persaud):
Under the oversight of Cornerstone United Reformed Church of London, Ont. Rev. Mitchell Persaud seeks to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the many Chinese, East Indian, and African peoples living in this northwest area of Toronto. www.newhorizonchurch.ca
Word & Deed
- Word & Deed Ministries seeks to help those in developing
countries through spiritual and physical aid. Their goal is to help
people become self-sufficient and ultimately come to know Christ as
their Saviour. www.wordanddeed.org
- Child Sponsorship Program (Columbia): This program provides needy children with a Christian education, food, clothing, and medical care. An
education centered on God's Word provides many opportunities to share
the Gospel and teach family values from a biblical perspective. www.wordanddeed.org
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