A publication of the Renewal Fellowship
A publication of the Renewal Fellowship
By John A. Vissers. The holiness of the church is one of the marks of the church. It refers to the purity of the church's faith and life, and the sanctity of its doctrine and practice. Holiness is at the very centre of renewal. The impetus to sanctification begins with a vision of God's holiness as is found in Isaiah 6. … Read more
By John Vissers. Knox Church has been praying for decades that God would renew our theological colleges. Dr. Vissers' appointment as Principal signals the first time that a conservative evangelical minister has led one of our colleges since the early part of this century. … Read more
John A. Vissers urges the commissioners to the 120th General Assembly in June to adopt the report of the Church Doctrine Committee: it talks about God. The crisis of faith is that we are being asked to believe in ourselves more and more as sexual beings, and in God less and less. … Read more
By John Vissers. On Wednesday, November 28, 1990 the Renewal Fellowship lost a friend and keen supporter when Mr. E.W. “Nick” Nicolle passed away in Toronto after a brief illness. … Read more
By John Vissers. The statement represents at best a softening of our confessional position and at worst an outright denial of the uniqueness and glory of Jesus Christ and his saving grace. … Read more
By John Vissers. We need to embrace what Pentecostal, Charismatic, and Third Wave Christians are contributing to the life of the church, but spiritual renewal cannot be reduced to their vision alone, nor operate in isolation from the rest of the church. … Read more
By John Vissers. What is the nature of this postmodern world in which we are moving? How are we to understand it? What are the dynamics of the renewal of the Christian church within the context of this new world? … Read more
By John A. Vissers. Perhaps the greatest obstacle to the ministry of the Renewal Fellowship is the perception within our denomination that it is our intention to move the church in a direction away from the Reformed tradition. You want to make our denomination something it is not. … Read more
By John A. Vissers. This past July “Lausanne II in Manila” brought together over 4300 evangelical Christian leaders from about 170 countries to assess what has happened over the last fifteen years since the first Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization was held in 1974 in Switzerland, and to chart a course for world evangelization as we approach the year 2000. … Read more
In July 1974 the International Congress on World Evangelization was held in Lausanne, Switzerland, and issued the Lausanne Covenant. Now in July 1989 over 4,000 of us from about 170 countries have met in Manila for the same purpose, and have issued the Manila Manifesto. … Read more
By John Vissers. Over two hundred and forty Presbyterians gathered at Kortright Church, in Guelph, Ontario for a Renewal Day on October 31, 1987. Representing nineteen presbyteries and fifty-four congregations, those gathered listened to addresses on “The Church as A Caring Community” by the Rev. Calvin Brown of First Church, Nelson, British Columbia, and Dr. Stan Skarsten, of the Institute For Family Living in Toronto, Ontario, featured on the cover. … Read more
By John A. Vissers. My time at Singapore ’87 has given me a new perspective on the church around the world, on Christian leadership, on world evangelization, on the worship of God, on prayer, on the relationship between theology and evangelism, on renewal, and on the Christian church in Canada … Read more
As Canadian participants at Singapore ’87,we have been deeply challenged concerning the responsibilities of our generation to work for the extension of the Kingdom of God in our age. Seeking to glorify the Triune God of creation and redemption, and out of our love for humanity, we call our generation in Canada to exercise leadership humbly, strategically … Read more
By John A Vissers. As we enter the sixth year in the life of the Renewal Fellowship Within The Presbyterian Church In Canada, we do so with much thankfulness to God for the ways in which the ministries of the Fellowship have been used to advance the cause of renewal within our denomination. The past years have been times of exciting growth … Read more
By John A. Vissers. The most remarkable aspect of the conference was the degree of openness on the part of the reformed theologians and pastors to Pentecostalism and the charismatic renewal, the sincere desire to articulate a biblical and contemporary doctrine of the Holy Spirit … Read more