A Day of Encouragement, Inspiration, and Welcome at Dordt College

Keep in mind every morning when you wake up how much you will once again need the mercy of God as you go about that day’s business.

This is one of the messages Rev. Reggie Smith gave in his keynote address opening the annual Day of Encouragement at Dordt College.

“Also know that we need to show that same mercy to others,” said Smith, director of the CRC’s Office of Race Relations and Office of Social Justice.

Basing his Day of Encouragement presentation on Luke 10, in which Jesus sends out 72 followers two by two to reach out to the nations, Smith talked about the need to be a good neighbor, even when the going gets rough.

“There are people who choose not to see him [Jesus], those who are way too busy, those who don’t really have him down on their friendship list,” said Smith.

“Regardless of how people respond, we must make sure to see them for who they are — children of God — and show them mercy.”

“We must push ourselves out of our own social networks to do God’s will and to welcome the stranger,” he said.

Titled “A Day to Inspire, Encourage, and Equip God’s People for Ministry,” the event included various workshops and breakout sessions, ranging from “Foster Parenting: Broken and Beautiful” to “Child Abuse in the Church” and from “Ministry in Gritty Situations” to “Navigating a Pixelated World: Bringing Context to a Media-Saturated Culture.”

Syd Hielema, team leader for the CRC’s Faith Formation Ministries, led three workshops at the event: “Restoring the Pastor’s/Leader’s Soul,” “Engaging Youth in Worship,” and “Faith Formations.”

“My work as team leader for Faith Formation Ministries requires me to stay in touch with church leaders (staff and volunteers) all over the denomination, and I found that leading the workshops . . . provided ‘blessings overflowing’ as we engaged in conversation,” said Hielema.

He was inspired by the stories he heard, the excitement he saw, and the sense of transformation that people reflected:

“Experiencing passions for the vitality of the church and hearing specific stories describing steps churches have taken or challenges they are addressing are always moving.

“It made my day to learn that one congregation had taken the Network post I had written 1.5 years ago and had successfully done the same project that I had described.”

Hielema said he finds that one of the strongest ways in which the Day of Encouragement lives up to its name is “by bringing together folks from many congregations around similar themes and challenges and creating space for them to learn from each other.”

He has been to the Dordt Day of Encouragement many times and was struck this year by how many church leaders from outside of the CRC attended.

“I must confess I frequently discover that the blessings we share in the CRC often ripple out beyond our denominational boundaries,” he said.

Scott Hoezee, director of the Center for Excellence in Preaching at Calvin Theological Seminary, has also been at the event many times. This year he led two workshops, “both of which I hope had a lot of traction for the preachers that attended but also for the others,” he said.

His first workshop was titled "You Have Heard It Said: Matthew's Allusive Gospel," and the second was "The Technicolor Jesus: Savoring the Drama of Mark."

Both, he said, provided overviews of the major themes and literary features of each gospel account.

“My material seemed well-received. People seemed to enjoy the chance to dig into Matthew and then also Mark to see how each evangelist shaped his material to convey messages the earliest Christians needed to hear,” he said, adding that those same messages “are still so relevant for us today as we preach, teach, read, and try to understand the gospels.”

Dianne De Wit, who coordinates special events for Dordt, including the Day of Encouragement, said this year’s event once again lived up to its name.

“It is a day for encouragement—a day to train, inspire, and challenge students, alumni, and the broader church community. Students hear about the event and are curious about its purpose.

“At a basic level, the all-day event showcases a keynote speaker as well as individual speakers for three smaller group sessions.”

Over the years, a number of Days of Encouragement have taken place in Ancaster, Ont., and elsewhere in Canada, and Dordt College has developed a tradition of holding them annually.