Video Series Tells Stories of Our Journey Together

In a new video featuring ways in which the Christian Reformed Church in North America’s Our Journey 2020 ministry plan is inspiring congregations to renew lives and build communities, Rev. Nate Meldrim says he was going through a tough time after 15 years in pastoral ministry.

Standing in the sanctuary of Messiah CRC in Hudsonville, Mich., where he serves as pastor, Meldrim said he has been on the “edge of burnout” a couple of times.

Meldrim decided to look for help, and he found it in an assessment process available through a CRCNA ministry, Pastor Church Resources.

He says the assessment tool enabled him to discover more about the gifts God had given him. Understanding the range of his leadership gifts as well as learning more about his strengths and weaknesses revitalized him and helped him to improve in his ministry work.

The video featuring the Hudsonville pastor is the first of a series of short videos that will be shared in the weeks leading up to Synod 2018, which meets June 7-14 at Calvin College. Each video connects to an aspect of the Our Journey 2020 ministry plan and encourages viewers to learn more about resources and programs available to help them achieve their ministry goals.

“An important aspect of Our Journey is to encourage each other by telling our stories about what the Holy Spirit is leading us all to do,” said Steven Timmermans, executive director of the CRCNA.

In fact, “telling our story” in our churches and with neighbors is an important goal that the denomination hopes to see accomplished through the ministry plan.

“As a denomination, we see ourselves as connecting people to resources and to each other,” said Timmermans. “Through these short videos we want to share what the church is doing. We want people to share their stories and through them to tell the good news.”

Henry Hess, a communications specialist who is helping to oversee the creation of the videos, said the videos aren’t so much to tell people about the Our Journey ministry plan itself as to inspire congregations to take their own next step.

“The purpose is . . . more to let people know what is happening because of the ministry plan and how it is making a difference,” said Hess.

Each video will be short and will focus on one story about how the plan is working. The videos also invite people to connect with assistance and resources from the CRCNA that may help them in their ministry.

“We hope these videos will remind people of Our Journey 2020 and show them that this is not just a document that has been put on a shelf. It is a living thing that churches are using to help them in their ministry,” said Hess.

The videos will be shared on Facebook and Twitter each week.  They will also be posted here: https://vimeo.com/crcna.