Sara’s trophy
And here is the picture: Sara with her diploma. Well done, little girl! Lees verder Sara’s trophy
And here is the picture: Sara with her diploma. Well done, little girl! Lees verder Sara’s trophy
You might have noticed that this blog has a new skin. Inspired by Wouter I thought it was about time. It is not all set and done yet as some plugins and templates need to be tweaked, but the overall idea is there. Let me know what you think of it! Lees verder New skin
“Contact met de mensen uit de wijk, daar draait het allemaal om” ROTTERDAM – Het stadsteam van Agapè in Rotterdam-Delfshaven organiseert van 27-31 december een Winterevent. Ruim 50 sporters trekken samen met een groep vrijwilligers uit lokale kerken Delfshaven in om met de kerst het goede nieuws te brengen. Athletes in Action, de sporttak van Agapè, heeft het Winterevent in Delfshaven voorbereid. Activiteiten als sport, … Lees verder Winterevent in Rotterdam-Delfshaven
I keep pondering on the topic of prayer these days. Yesterday, Mira touched the subject of praying for the city in her sermon in church, and we put it into practise rightaway. Last Friday I was in Rotterdam doing student outreach, and again while talking to a foreign student, I felt the urge to pray for her. I did not do it on the spot, … Lees verder Pondering on prayer
Heard an interesting lecture this morning by Robert Doornenbal during our monthly staff meeting (called ‘Pitstops’). We are currently exploring different trends in society that affect our work and ministry, and Robert shared some insights in new spirituality, being one of those trends. Some of the stuff he mentioned is worthwhile repeating: Recent research shows that 30% of the Dutch call themselves spiritually unbound, and … Lees verder New Spirituality
Monday night we were invited to the Dutch premiere of ‘Amazing Grace‘, the movie about William Wilberforce and his lifelong political campaign against slave trade and social injustice. A moving story, well pictured, and from an interesting angle. Slave trade as such was not so much the topic as were the personal struggles of Wilberforce in the political arena – his drive, the highs and … Lees verder Amazing Grace for politicians and paupers
Today is Agape’s Global Day of Prayer. All around the world staff dedicates this day to prayer instead of the daily activities. For the first time in a long time, the Netherlands also participates. So today we gathered with about 60 staff in Voorthuizen to pray for our country, for Agape, for the church, and for many other things. It is quite fascinating to know … Lees verder Worldwide day of Prayer
It happened last night: watching someone really understand grace is a beautiful thing.
We know that everything in the Law was written for those who are under its power. The Law says these things to stop anyone from making excuses and to let God show that the whole world is guilty. God doesn’t accept people simply because they obey the Law. No, indeed! All the Law does is to point out our sin. Now we see how God does make us acceptable to him. The Law and the Prophets tell how we become acceptable, and it isn’t by obeying the Law of Moses. God treats everyone alike. He accepts people only because they have faith in Jesus Christ. All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins. (Romans 3: 19-24)
By faith we have been made acceptable to God. And now, because of our Lord Jesus Christ, we live at peace with God. Christ has also introduced us to God’s undeserved kindness on which Lees verder “Understanding grace”
Back from the annual staff conference, as always held in Dalfsen. The conference center changed its name to ‘Mooirivier’ (Beautiful River’) and had been completely upgraded and restyled. An real improvement! The conference was great. It is just amazing to see how God is bringing things together. Saturday morning gave an overview on everything that Agapè is doing, which was very inspiring, even for me … Lees verder Deeply rooted, growing strong