Every year, TUA students taking the missionary course come to the Services Office in Veenendaal for a guest lecture. There they are introduced to the working field of diaconate, evangelisation and foreign shipment. It was the end of May again: the counsellors welcomed nine students.
Missionary awareness
Rev Willem van 't Spijker, missionary consultant until recently, discussed with the students the possibilities, opportunities and problems of missionary presence outside Europe. The Dutch context was addressed by missionary consultant Rev Peter Visser, in the lecture 'Mission in the Netherlands of the 21st century'. Diaconal consultant René Hubregtse discussed the practice of diaconate in society, or in technical terms: the missionary-diaconal presence of churches.
St Paul walk
It did not stop at theory. In the afternoon, the students went into Veenendaal for a practical part. They visited pioneer place De Poster and walked the St Paul walk through different neighbourhoods. The purpose of that walk is to reflect on how the gospel could be shared in those neighbourhoods.
Vocation
The collaboration with the TUA is of great value. The annual guest lecture offers students insight into current developments in the fields of mission, diaconate and evangelism. It also challenges them to think about their own role in it. Some do so quite consciously, wondering whether this might be where their vocation lies. Others are preparing for a future as church pastors and become more aware of the missionary and diaconal vocation of the church during the lecture.
