On 24 May, the deputies provided diaconate, evangelisation and shipment guest lectures for second-year students of the TUA. These guest lectures are part of the missionary course.
Different perspectives
As a surprise this year, missionary Wilke den Hertog was present 'live'. He was on leave from the mission field in Thailand. We talked to each other about vocation. Do you passively wait, or do you proactively seek God's will for your life? Could church-going in the Netherlands, like abroad, perhaps be shaped differently and be more missionary?
Diaconal counsellor René Hubregtse took the students through the vision of the Biblical basis of diaconate and how it can be shaped in the practice of church life, for example in cooperation with the social field.
Finally, missionary consultant Petra de Jong-Heins described current missionary practices and the Dutch context we face as churches.
St Paul walk
The students did a so-called 'Paul walk': just as Paul walked across the Areopagus to see how he could connect with the people with the gospel, the students walked through different neighbourhoods in Veenendaal, to think about how the gospel could sound there.
All in all, the students found it a varied, inspiring day!
Broadening the field of vision
We welcome this collaboration with TUA. It offers a wonderful opportunity to broaden the perspective of theology students on their future field of work and make them enthusiastic about diaconal and missionary work. It is nice to hear back during conversations with them also that some are thinking very consciously about whether their vocation lies in this area. But also for those who want to become congregational pastors in the future, the guest lectures are a great way to broaden their view of the practice of congregational life and increase their awareness of the congregation's missionary and diaconal vocation.
