Brochure 1 - Langley Immanuel Christian Reformed Church

Church Profile 2012
Langley Immanuel CRC
21713 50 Ave Langley BC V3A 3T2
P: 604.530.6022 F: 604.530.1227
www.langleyimmanuelcrc.ca

Greetings
The members of the Langley Immanuel Christian Reformed Church
of Christ (LICRC) send you their heartfelt greetings. We hope that the
materials of this our church profile will help introduce you to our church
and perhaps answer some preliminary questions you and your family may
have.
As we embark on this search, it is our prayer that these materials will be
used by God as a tool of discernment for both you and the congregation.
This past year was a special one for us. We celebrated 25 years of God’s
faithfulness and we look with hope towards the future.
If God is leading you to join us as our pastor in His Kingdom work
at LICRC and you would like further dialogue regarding our ministry,
please contact the chairman of our search committee, Bert Moes, at the
committee’s confidential e-mail account at Immanuel.search.committee@
gmail.com. Additional information about the work of our committee can
also be found on our church’s website at www.langleyimmanuelcrc.ca
We look forward to hearing from you.
In Christ,
Bert Moes
Immanuel Search Committee (ISC) Chair
From Our Church Council
Based on Langley Immanuel CRC’s congregational response to the Pastoral
Search Committee’s survey, in consultation with the elders of church
council, I have compiled a description of what we as a church feel God is
calling us to look for in our next pastor. Each of the following paragraphs
focuses on a specific area of the pastor’s work and style; along with an
idea of what we (the congregation via responses on the survey) feel are
Immanuel’s biggest opportunities and challenges.
First, we believe the tasks of our pastor are as follows: The pastor must
have solid, biblically-based, inspiring preaching that is effective in its
exegesis (understanding the text) and its application of the text – he will
teach and guide the congregation well. We also desire a pastor who will
work at encouraging/delegating members of the congregation to develop
their gifts and leadership abilities. We desire a pastor who is intentional in
his pastoral work, visiting and connecting with his flock, showing a deep
and caring love for all members.
Second, we believe the pastor should possess the following qualities: He
should first of all be characterized by love. Love for God and for his
people. He should also exhibit wisdom, with a tendency to listen and think
first before speaking and acting. We desire a pastor who is personable,
humble and approachable in his relationships with the congregation,
and who is inspiring in his sharing of the Word and the modeling of his
ministry.

Third, we believe that our pastor should demonstrate the following themes/
styles in his work: He should seek to understand and interpret contemporary
issues and challenges in the light of Scripture, guiding the congregation
to a clearer understanding of what it means to follow Christ in 2012 and
following. He should also be current with the struggles facing Immanuel,
the Christian Reformed denomination, and Christian theology, maintaining
biblical truths with much prayer and study. We desire that our pastor continue
in the work of reformation, based in Scripture.
Fourth, even though the majority of members are pleased with how the
church is operating, the respondents to the survey indicated the following
changes our pastor could make to improve our church: The pastor
should work to unite the congregation, maintaining a balance between
congregational, local (Langley), and international (Mexico) ministries. On a
similar note, the pastor should lead us to be more connected with the Langley
community. We desire a pastor who will direct us in solidifying/implementing
the vision we have as a church. The pastor could also assist us in becoming
a stronger church, with prayer as a defining characteristic of our strength.
Finally, the pastor could strive for better inclusion of the Youth in church
life, particularly the Young Adults.
Fifth, we understand that being a pastor of a church is both very difficult and
rewarding work, and we feel that the following are the greatest challenges a
new pastor will face: It may be difficult for the pastor to maintain the content
and loving diversity of our congregation, moving us forward despite many
differences regarding issues like women in office, Mexico missions, children
at the Lord’s Supper, and our liturgy. It may also be difficult for our pastor to
connect with all ages in our congregation, particularly the youth. We also feel
that it may be challenging for our pastor to wake us up and motivate us out
of our complacency regarding our
spiritual development.
We know that God will give our
pastor the strength and capability
to deal with all things mentioned
in this letter. We trust and pray
that He will lead us to the man of
His choosing.
Respectfully submitted,
Seth Bakker
Clerk of Council

Our Vision
Immanuel Church seeks to glorify God by gathering and growing His
people…
OUR TERMS:
Immanuel means “God with us”,
all we need to do is respond.
To seek
is to make a continuous effort.
To glorify
is to worship God through our worship services that
are Contemporary-Reformed
and through our lives of service in this His world.
To gather
is to reach out to the surrounding community by
caring for people’s needs,
introducing them to Jesus Christ,
and welcoming them into the fellowship of the Church.
To grow
involves building people up as Christ’s disciples
through uplifting worship,
biblical teaching
Care Group support,
and opportunity for service.
We believe His People extend beyond our current members,
to include the
Murrayville area, Langley, Canada and the whole world.

Worship Statement
Through our worship, we offer with our whole hearts, in word, deed, song,
and prayer, our allegiance, love, glory and praise to the triune God.
Vision Statement of Worship at Langley Immanuel Christian Reformed
Church
At Langley Immanuel Christian Reformed Church, our purpose, in balanced
biblical worship, is to glorify God by responding to the teaching of Jesus
Christ, with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit by:
Exalting Him—Father, Son and Holy Spirit- Triune God, as Creator,
Redeemer and Comforter. The central dimension of worship is God’s glory
(Psalm 29:1-2).
Edifying the body—Through prayer, teaching, preaching, reading the Word,
and serving with the gifts that God gives (1 Corinthians 12).
Exemplifying the values of the Kingdom of God— Through Christian
unity within the church, deference to the preferences and needs of others,
sacrificial obedience, putting people over programs, ministry over money,
embracing social justice, and putting Christ’s kingdom over our kingdoms.
This includes fellowship, nurture, prayer and social ministries (Matthew 25:
34-40).
Evangelizing His world—“You shall be my witnesses. Go into all the
world.” We start with our families. Our worship is not just a Sunday event;
we empower people at Immanuel CRC through the worship service and
ministries of our church to practice lifestyle worship. We believe in and
practice lifestyle evangelism as well, both in word and deed, spreading the
worship of the Triune God throughout our world so that “all nations may be
glad” (Psalm 22: 22-28).
Embracing our faith heritage—We did not invent the Christian faith in the
last years of the 20th century. We are the grateful heirs of a rich biblical
faith, brought down to us in the Tradition of the Church of all time, places
and peoples (1 Cor.11:2; 2 Thess.2:15, 3:6). In our church there should be a
purposeful and meaningful sense in which we are connected to the faithful
confession of men and women who have gone before us. Through the liturgy
and the sacraments, an ancientfuture
reformed faith heritage is
reflected in our worship services.
Engaging the world—Our
worship is not transformed by
the world, rather, our worship of
God aims to make a difference in
the way we see the world around
us, engaging it for the sake of
Christ. While our worship of
God transcends context and
culture, our ministries seek to
bless our world, building up
the Kingdom of God. (Romans
12:1-3)

Pastoral Ministry Needs
The following is the current description of pastoral responsibilities as
adopted by our church council for our previous pastor, Bill Versteeg.
Pastoral Responsibilities: Senior Pastor, LICRC
Prayer:
1. Scripture makes it clear that the primary responsibility for those who
would lead the church is prayer. The Apostles chose deacons so that
they could, in preparation for all their work including preaching, commit
themselves to prayer. Our pastor is expected to immerse himself in prayer.
(“ 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not
be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait
on tables. 3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known
to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to
them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
(Acts 6:2-4)
2. A significant portion of this prayer is to include intercession on behalf of
the congregation. Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, prayed for those
whom he shepherded and those who would come into the flock. Our pastor,
in imitation of the Great Shepherd is expected to spend significant time in
intercessory prayer for the needs of the congregation. (See John 17)
3. We expect prayer to be measured in hours per week on our Pastor’s time
record keeping as along with preaching, it is his primary task.
Preaching:
1. Preaching both services each Sunday with the exception of 14 Sundays
due to holidays (5 weeks), Study Leave (2 weeks) and Discretionary (6 week
intervals, 7 Sundays).
2. Preaches at all special services (Christmas, Good Friday, Easter,
Pentecost, Ascension, New Year’s, and Reformation Day) and any other that
the Council may deem “special.”
3. Officiate on request at weddings and funerals of congregational members.
Make effort to attend funeral while on holidays if possible, compensated for
this in additional time.
Teaching:
1. The evening service will generally focus on “teaching” topics that may
range from studies from the Catechism to topics applicable to church,
family and societal issues.
2. Provide pre-marital counselling to couples. Will utilize the “Saving
Marriage Before it Comes,” course. Two sessions. Total of 5 hours.
3. Teach a Profession of Faith Class: Twice a year. Six evenings for each.
Two and one-half hours each evening.

4. Have formal “instructional” times with youth in grade 7 through 12 (age
18) as they mature in their faith. i.e. A maximum of six lessons for each level.
This will be a new initiative and timing of lessons need consideration.
5. Initiate periodic adult programs for a Saturday or evenings that deal with
life issues: i.e., Prayer, How to Minister to One Another, Assisting your Teens
in their Faith Development, Modeling a Healthy Marriage.
6. Oversees the educational direction set in the Church Education program
(Youth Education, Cadets, Gems, Alpha etc.) and works closely with the
Youth Pastor to ensure delivery is occurring in an effective way.
Pastoral Attention:
1. Priority visits made to those who have special needs: the elderly, widows,
widowers, hospitalized, and those experiencing family crisis and dysfunction,
recently divorced etc.,
2. Sustained attention and contact made with those who have experienced loss
(divorce, death, tragedy), recent converts, etc.,
3. Maintain contact with marginal members. Elders will help Pastor identify
these.
4. Members who experience significant contact with the pastor because of
involvement in church may only get a visit once every three years.
5. Attend celebration moments of church members: Birth of a baby, wedding,
special occasion (25th anniversary)
6. Develop a relationship with the congregation that allows them to sense
“He knows us, loves us, cares deeply for us, prays for us and is happy and
comfortable to be with us in our joys and in our sorrows.” A key element here
will be in the role of the congregational prayer in the life of the congregation.
Meetings:
1. Attend all Admin, Full Council meetings and Congregational meetings.
2. Lead a meeting of the paid staff every second month for the purposes of
coordination, encouragement and accountability.
3. Be a member of the Worship Committee. The purpose is to give
theological, liturgical and pastoral background support; and to ensure
cohesion within the overall liturgy of the services.
4. Summits a monthly report to Council on work done in the congregation
and issues facing the congregation.
Administration:
1. Ensures elders and deacons have the necessary pastoral information to do
their task effectively. Confidentiality needs to be respected.
2. Works with the church administrator to ensure the church leaders and
members receive the communication they need to plan their activities in an
efficient manner (bulletin, calendar, directories, agendas etc.).
3. To monitor and mentor the Youth Director in his responsibilities.

4. Maintain the website or delegate this out to someone.
5. Oversees the proper functioning of the church’s computer-sound system if
regular personnel not available.
6. Maintain a Ministry Manual and update (with the church administrator).
Broader Church Responsibilities:
1. Expected to attend Classis meetings and serve on Denominational
Committees.
2. Encouraged to attend the local ministerial.
3. Welcome to serve on a CRC Board or Agency.
4. Attend regular meetings with other CRC Pastors. (Langley and Abbotsford)
Professional Development and Holidays:
1. The Pastor will receive four weeks of holidays in the summer as well as one
extra week taken at his discretion.
2. Once every six weeks the Pastor will have one full Sunday off, when he will
not be called upon for any duties in the worship service, morning or evening.
3. Educational leave: Two weeks set aside to develop theological, pastoral and
spiritual disciplines (i.e. courses, retreats).
Typical Week for the Pastor: (Average 52 hours per week)
Monday: Day off. Uses this to work on his Theological Degree (Doctorate)
Tuesday-Friday: 9-4. Available in the Office or out on appointments
Tuesday-Thursday Evenings: Available to attend meetings, visits.
Saturday: At home doing final sermon preparation work. (7:00pm-10:00pm)
Sunday: Focus on preaching and church family connections before, after
services. (6:00 am – 1:30; 3:00 to 8:00)
Church Identity
LICRC has been uniquely blessed
by God in so many different ways
and we seek to guard and celebrate
them….
Core values
Our core values include worship that
is intentional, community, fellowship,
hospitality, unity, practical service,
compassion, outreach (Mexico) and
our young people (youth).

Strengths:
We value balancing our budget every year and paying 100% of our classical
and denominational shares. We love to sing and have a strong and vibrant
music and worship ministry. We welcome active participation. We are
committed to a volunteer driven church. One could say we are “doers” and
service oriented. We value the importance of pastoral visits by our elders
and pastors. We advocate and support the visual arts. We value the resources
offered by our denomination. We are a multi-generational congregation with a
strong core of long terms members. We truly care for one another. Two-thirds
of our membership has been part of Immanuel for at least 10 years. Care
groups continue to involve a large segment of our congregation.
Weaknesses and Challenges: (cracked pots)
Even though we value a balanced budget, every year we experience year-end
budget crunches where a looming shortfall needs to be address during the
month of December.
Similarly, even though we value home visits, the survey results would indicate
that our elders could improve in this area.
Ministry opportunities for post-grade 12 members (young adults) are not as
well developed as those for our younger people.
Our prayer ministry has seen better and more vibrant days in years past.
Because we value unity, more potentially divisive issues such as women
elders take a long time to be resolved. We therefore also struggle to deal with
conflict from time to time, both avoiding it (preferring silence over speech)
and resolving it satisfactorily.
And although our Mexico outreach program is extensive and well developed,
opportunities for practical local outreach ministries that serve our local
community are currently not as well developed. Our Coffee Break ministry is
the only exception here, as it is a vibrant and growing ministry.
We value hospitality and community, yet need to remember to be more
welcoming to guests and visitors, especially as our congregation continues to
grow in numbers.
Maintaining relevance in terms of the sermons is also something that is seen
by several members as an area that deserves more attention. We love sermons
that clearly relate to our daily lives by providing a practical application for the
coming week.
Church attendance during our 6:00 pm evening service is on the decline. And
even though our council is committed to maintaining the 2nd service (in part
as a means of catechism instruction), even attendance by elders and deacons
at the evening services does not back up council’s verbal commitment to
maintain evening services.
We used to have more social events (evenings) as a congregation. The only
social event that is currently in place is a kick-off barbeque in early September
of each year. However, we realize we all have busy lives that make it difficult
to create time and energy for additional social events.

Ministry Programs
OUTREACH
Coffee Break/Story Hour meets regularly on Tuesday mornings at LICRC.
42 women come with 50 children Tuesday mornings for community,
relationships, Bible and book studies, and a little bit of food too. After they
sit in a large group, they break off into four small groups throughout the
church. Space is a little tight, but they make due. A huge thank you goes out
to all the volunteers who come and help out with the kids. Without them, this
ministry could not happen. A thank you to Jacky Huberts as well as she is the
woman behind the scenes making sure everything runs like clock work.
Mexico Missions (Tijuana)
In October the Adult team of
16 went to Mexico. Another
house was built. This one is
for two families; three adults
and four children. This is the
14th year of involvement.
John Westerop is our Mexico
Missions Coordinator. He
continues to make quarterly
visits to oversee and coordinate
the various aspects of outreach
initiatives.
The “Community Centre” continues to play an important role. It provides a
safe place for women in the community to learn the skill of sewing, which
in turn gives opportunity for the women to contribute to the needs of the
family, helps self esteem, provides a sense of community and social network.
The community center is also used for Bible studies during the week.
The food distribution program is provided approximately every three months
with John Westerop supervising its delivery. This project began in 2009 with
the downturn in the US and Mexico economy. This project is partly funded
through the work of the deacons.
Youth Mexico: In March 2011, 18 youth and 11 leaders left for Tijuana. This
year we anticipate similar numbers. Sign up is in progress for those interested.
YOUTH
GEMS is also happening every other Thursday Night. On any given night
they can have upwards of 57 girls show up through these doors. If one were
to rate success by decibels, GEMS would be tough to compete with. A large
group of volunteers headed up by Linda Rook and Stacey Kloosterhof are to
thank to the vibrant noise heard at LICRC every other Thursday Night.
Cadets is happening in its new format for the third straight year. 8 leaders are
to thank for the success of Cadets that gets about 25 boys out every other
Thursday night. Events like the camping trip, kub car races, and trips to the
youth barn highlight this ministry. While the boys have a lot of fun, they are
also hearing messages every evening about their lives in God’s world.

The Youth Ministry continues to move in waves every year as the dynamic of
new Grade 8 youth come in and former Grade 12 youth graduate. We have
had a great start to the year, and have even implemented a new facet to the
youth ministry. A new LIT (Leadership In Training) ministry has started and
we have 3 of our very own youth joining the leaders at meetings planning
the calendar of events every month. This LIT ministry is hopefully going
to develop leaders at a younger age, and gives the youth the opportunity to
take ownership of their own ministry. The mentorship model is still being
followed, and we have 14 amazing youth leaders mentoring the youth in our
church. They cannot be thanked enough for the time and commitment to this
ministry!
YOUNG ADULTS
Fusion has a great group of 5 leaders this year as we continue to build
relationships with the 18-30 year old demographic of our church. Worship
nights, special events, and fun activities are all on the go, and the Fusion
Leadership is planning at least one event per month for this ministry. They
also started the first annual camping trip back in August and plan to bring that
event back for the years to come. Thanks to Justin, Kaitlyn, Laura, Tanya, and
new member Johanna for all the work they do for this ministry!
EDUCATION
Council remains committed to the evening service. Attendance remains
a concern. On average we have 35 to 50 attendees per evening. The most
disappointing has been the lack of interest in Intergenerational Church
Education (ICE) by the youth. Council will be testing the will of the
congregation at the next meeting in March/April to see if we should end
formal evening services. At this point Council is looking to ending evening
services by starting the summer season on the last Sunday before the May long
weekend. We are also interested in hearing what our new pastor would have in
mind for the evening service.
WORSHIP COMMITTEE
It has been a challenge for our Worship Committee to organize the worship
services without the consistency of a Pastor. We are grateful for the
committee’s leadership and David Alexander as Music and Worship Director.
Worship Committee is applying for a grant under the Worship Renewal Grant
Program of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. The purpose of the
application is to promote and further develop intergenerational worship in
our congregation. Recent developments within our denomination of allowing
children to celebrate communion will compliment this initiative rather well.
Worship committee meets on a monthly basis.
ARTS
LICRC enjoys a wonderful visual arts program. Our talented local florist,
Al Colyn, provides weekly “liturgical flower arrangements”. And a team
of volunteers creates visual displays throughout the various seasons of
the liturgical calendar throughout our sanctuary. All of these efforts have
resulted in our corporate worship becoming more and more “the work of the
people” (=liturgy) by ensuring greater participation. Participants from time
to time include Caroline Noort (current worship committee member visual
arts liaison), Jacqui Dykstra, Debbie de Vries, Wieke Moes, Fiona Moes, Rika
Emmens and Jeana Schuurman.

NURSERY
Nursery services are provided
during morning services. An
increase in the number of younger
families with babies and toddlers
continues to present challenges in
terms of finding sufficient space.
CHILDREN’S WORSHIP TIME
Children’s Worship Time is
continuing its focus on a large
group/small group format. Every
Sunday, the children get together and hear a Bible story together told by a
leader. After the story, they all head off into their own classrooms and do
some crafts, games or activities that better explain the story and how if is
relevant to their lives. Brenda Aukema, Marie Baker, and over 40 volunteers
make this ministry a success every Sunday.
PRAYER MINISTRY
Retired pastor Peter Boodt remains very active in our congregation. While
we’re vacant he is providing pastoral care, catechism instruction and is our
prayer coordinator. Prayer teams are available after each morning service and
during the monthly celebration of The Lord’s Supper.
CARE GROUPS
John and Wendy Folkerts are our care group coordinators. In addition to care
group meetings throughout the week, our ‘Seniors Alive’ meet every other
Wednesday morning in our church.
FINANCE COMMITTEE
The Finance Committee usually meets twice each year. A spring meeting deals
with the financial statements and a fall meeting deals with the formulation
of the church’s budget for the upcoming year. Elsa Huberts, our church
administrator, along with a deacon, representative from the board of
stewards, and Peter Riezebos (chair) work diligently throughout the year to
ensure planning and accountability in the area of our church’s finances.
PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
Our personnel committee is chaired Dick Kleingeltink. The committee
members meet with our staff at least twice a year to review with them
how their job description is meeting his/her expectations. In addition to
being responsible to do performance reviews at the request of council, the
committee makes recommendations relating to salaries and benefits of our
staff.
BOARD OF STEWARDS
John Schipper chairs our Board of Stewards. This committee is responsible
for the repairs and maintenance of our building and the grounds on which
they are located.

Worship
In April 2008 our church hired its first Worship Director Dave Alexander,
who continues to serve our church in this part time (one day per week)
position.
We are a congregation that loves to sing and harmonize. And we are very
willing to actively participate in our Sunday worship services. And yes, we
are the last of the CRC’s in Langley trying to hold on to our second services
at 6:00 pm. Several of our second services are currently focussed towards
Intergenerational Catechism Education. God has blessed us with a large
pool of gifted and Godly people willing to volunteer and serve many hours
towards weekly celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ.
Our congregation celebrates the Lord’s Supper usually on the second Sunday
of each month. We celebrate this communion meal by gathering in groups
around the table as we pass the bread and wine (grape juice) to one another.
During the celebration we sing our songs of adoration and prayer teams are
available in the foyer of our building. Due to recent synod decisions our
council is proposing to proceed with admitting children to the table sometime
in 2012.
Our services are led by a praise team. There are four praise teams who each
commit to leading worship once a month. Each team has a praise team
leader who is responsible for the planning of the order of worship for each
service. This planning process happens within an accountability community
in close consultation with our pastor (that is could be you!) or the guest
preaching pastor. Resources used in planning our services are Reformed
Worship Journal, Psalter Hymnal, Sing! A New Creation, CLLI, The Worship
Source Book and Contemporary Songs for Worship. For morning services the
most commonly used planning structure is that of the four-fold liturgy of
Gathering, Greeting and Praise; Confession and Assurance; the Service of the
Word (and the sacraments); and Blessing and Sending Out.
Our worship committee meets on a monthly basis to plan annual themes for
our services, seasonal themes (based on the liturgical calendar) and oversees
the work of the worship director. Worship committee is directly accountable
to our church council, which is the reason why we have a council liaison
(which in the past has always been our pastor).
Our congregation very
much cherishes the visual
arts. We have several very
gifted teams who each take
on the responsibility of
the visual arts on an annual
basis.
Our congregation
celebrates the three main
seasons of the liturgical
calendar: Advent,
Christmas and Epiphany;
40 days of Lent and the
50-day Easter Tide, and

Pentecost and the Ordinary Season. Within those seasons we celebrate various
“special” days such as Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Trinity Sunday, World
Communion Sunday, Thanksgiving, Reformation Sunday, Cloud of Witnesses
Sunday, International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP), and
Christ the King Sunday.
Our style of worship can be summarized as “blended Reformed”. In our
readings, music, instruments, liturgy and the visual arts we contemporize the
Gospel message while at the same time cherishing our heritage, roots and
wisdom of the larger Tradition. Instruments most frequently used in our
services are piano, violin, acoustic guitar, mandolin, bass guitar and drums,
although for special services instruments like flute, trumpet and organ are
very much welcomed and appreciated. We continually consider music that is
theologically sound, singable, and supportive of the sermon.
Lastly, our worship committee has applied to the Calvin Institute of Christian
Worship for a grant under the worship renewal grants program. The
grant we have applied for is to serve our congregation in promoting more
intergenerational communal worship within our church.
Our congregation was invited to provide feedback by way of a questionnaire
on the various aspects of our worship services. Some of the results of the
feedback showed a desire by our congregation to incorporate children and
youth more actively within our services and to greater emphasis on times of
silent prayer and meditation.
Our congregation also indicated in the questionnaire that by and large most
members believe that the use of new and unfamiliar songs and blended
worship styles, music and language receive the right amount of emphasis.
Several members did comment that when it comes to worshiping the Lord
our God with all our heart, soul and mind, that the latter receives too much
attention from time to time.
As is the case in most churches these days, the style of worship and to a
lesser degree its contents remains an issue of (healthy) tension within our
congregation. The issue that appears to create somewhat of a dividing line
from time to time is that of how much unstructured (unplanned) spontaneity
should be incorporated in a worship service as compared to how much what
is said, sung, and spoken is planned, structured and worked out for each
worship service.
Very recently our worship committee presented our very first comprehensive
worship statement to the congregation. It serves as a formation tool, a
measurement tool and a teaching tool.

Our Story
Beginnings: In January of 1986 a small group of people at Langley First
Christian Reformed Church (“Langley First”) decided to start a smaller
daughter church. Due to the building boom in the early 1980’s, there was a
tremendous influx of people to the Langley area and that included “Langley
First”. In the summer of 1980 alone, 25 new families joined the church and
the trend continued for several more years. Due to the increased need for
space the idea was born of starting a new smaller church where fellowship
would be an integral part.
A steering committee was formed and given a mandate by the council of
“Langley First”. Our first official meeting was held in the Langley Christian
School gym in Murrayville
with a morning service
attendance of 216 people
and 100 in the evening
service. There were 33
children in Sunday School.
The long term goals of the
new church were enhanced
evangelism and outreach
in our Langley community.
The style of worship would
be basically the same as
that of “Langley First”.
A renewed commitment
to Christian fellowship
and intimacy with each
other and the Lord was stressed. On April 7th 1986 the name Langley
Immanuel Christian Reformed Church (LICRC) was chosen. We consisted
of 50 families, 114 baptized children and 12 single members. Singing in a
gymnasium was a little challenging as those were the days before “praise
teams”. We extended a call to our first minister fresh out of seminary, Pastor
Rob Hogendoorn who was with us from December 1987 – August 1992.
Pastor Rob accepted a call by the church of London, Ontario, to begin a new
home-missions church there.
In 1990 Immanuel bought a 2.4 acre piece of property from the Langley
Christian School and building plans were set in motion.
Almost exactly one year later, Pastor Ed Jager accepted our call to Immanuel
and arrived in August of 1993. Care groups were initiated in 1993 as well
as a Youth Ministry. Immanuel church was no longer small; a fellowship
committee was created, a training committee for volunteers, an ad-hoc
building committee and a Parish Nurse Ministry. In January 1999, Joanne
Koning became our first (and only) Parish Nurse. She was very much
appreciated especially by our older members especially during the time after
Pastor Ed left for Calgary in 2000. She remained our Parish Nurse until June
2003.
Leadership and Administration: In 1997 Elsa Huberts became our first church
administrator and continues to be employed in this position until the present.
In 1999 Paul Pousette became our first youth pastor, followed by Dan Meyer
in 2002, Brian Friesen in 2004, Mike Prins/Karen Wever in 2007 and Kevin
Lobert in 2008 until the present.

During the summer of 2011 we very much enjoyed Micah Schuurman as our
interim summer student pastor from the Calvin Theological Seminary.
Pastor Bill Versteeg from Thunder Bay accepted a call to Immanuel in
November 2002.
Dave Alexander became our first part-time Worship Director in 2008 and
serves us in this capacity until the present.
Over the past 25 years Immanuel Church has continued to flourish and has
become “home church” for many youth and young families.
Prayer: Several years ago a few of our
members attended a prayer seminar in
Sumas, Washington lead by Al Vander
Griend. They were so excited they
decided to run a prayer seminar in our
own church. It ran several times and out
of that venture sprang a small weekly
prayer group. In turn, a prayer ministry
began offering prayer partners to be
available following the morning services
in the Pastor’s office, and during our
monthly Lord’s Supper celebrations in the
foyer.
Missions: In 1992, Coffee Break was
started with much enthusiasm. We met
together at Aldergrove Community
Centre and drew in several community
women. As time moved forward, we
started Coffee Break in our own church building. Coffee Break today remains
a vibrant program for Immanuel. In 2010 there were approximately 40 young
women who attended and often 25 Story Hour children and 25 babies in
the nursery. Several ladies from the community join and a few from other
churches who don’t have a morning Bible study join us as well.
In 1994 Pastor Ed and four young people took our first Mexico Youth
Mission trip to Tijuana, hosted by YWAM. A year later nine students took
the adventure with Mexico Missions and lives were changed. Since then
Mexico Missions became a yearly trip for our youth. Soon John Westerop
accompanied Pastor Ed & Sylvia Jager as builder and the number of youth
desiring to come along increased. Youth Mexico Missions flourished and soon
gave birth to the Adult Mexico Missions.
Adult Mexico Missions was started by John Westerop with the specific
purpose of building a home for a destitute family each year in October. In
2005 Adult Mexico Missions became a self-hosted, self-translated trip each
year and no longer worked through YWAM. Land was purchased and a church
was built for the ministry of David & Alejandra Sandoval in Colonia San
Angel, Tijuana. Since the economic downturn in 2008/9 quarterly trips have
been made by John W. to follow up on the welfare of our Mexican friends
and meet the emergency needs of approximately 35 families. In 2010 Mexico
Missions opened a Community Center, which we named El Centro in Las
Cumbres. This center is to be used for learning life skills, church assembly
space, and whatever else the Lord directs. Soon after it was opened it was used
to teach sewing skills with six groups of six meeting every week.

Mexico Missions has been not just a program but a relationship. The folks
in Los Cumbres whom we have built for, and many others, look forward to
seeing our youth during Spring Break every year and our adults in October.
We know each other by name and often we are grabbed by the hand to go and
pray for someone or listen to a request for help.
Our church has also run the Alpha program for several seasons and made
regular visits to Union Gospel Mission in Vancouver. At present one of the
Care Groups is making monthly trips to Whalley to hand out sandwiches to
the homeless.
Hard Times: Our church has endured several tragedies which shook us to the
core yet drew us together like nothing ever had before. In the span of five
years four of our young men died suddenly. Several more of our members
have died of cancer and other difficulties and in 2010 one of the founding
members of Immanuel died suddenly during a fishing trip. Immanuel’s latest
death was that of our own pastor, Bill Versteeg following a five week battle
with cancer. These life changing and tragic events were also times to witness
God’s ever faithful comfort and strength to His people.
We carry on: In spite of our many hard times, Immanuel is still a growing
church. God is using the very things that have shaken us, to draw us together
and help us to grow not only in numbers but also in spirit and community.
We have an abundance of young families and youth. A large number of our
members are involved in Youth Leadership & Mentoring, Children’s Worship
Time, Coffee Break, Gems, Cadets, Mexico Missions, Worship teams and so
on. Our senior members are still actively meeting together though they are
small in number. One retired senior in particular is extremely active at age 80
and has taken on duties as Pastoral Care Minister since Pastor Bill Versteeg
passed away.
Currently Immanuel Church has 115 families and 50 young adults. There are
60 young people between the ages of 12-18 and 80 children between ages
0-11. Over the years it has become apparent that the Lord has blessed us with
many strengths, some that have been there since Immanuel began and some
that we have learned through adversity:
• We strive to be a welcoming church
• Prayer is important to us
• We draw together in times of crisis
• Youth; the mentoring program and leadership is seen as excellent
• Young families and youth seem to be drawn to Immanuel
• Praise & Worship is vibrant and alive, appreciating the traditional and the
contemporary
• Care Groups are appropriated by many
• Children’s Worship Time is supported by a strong volunteer base and loved
by the children
• Missions are important to us and involve both youth and adults
• Mexico Missions especially has become a passion for Immanuel
We have had three pastors in the life of Immanuel Church, all very different
in character, all of whom have taught us different aspects of life as a Christian
in this world. Our first pastor taught us to care about the unsaved. Our
second pastor taught us to care for each other as well as the unsaved. Our
third pastor taught us to search and learn from the Word of God and the
importance of prayer. All were appreciated for what they taught us and who
they were. They have shown us a glimpse of what the kingdom of God looks

like. Pastor Bill is now there in all its fullness. He always used to say, “Heaven
is a wonderful place!”
We look forward to what the Lord has in store for us but we also know that
no matter what happens He will be there in our hearts and in our brothers
and sisters in Christ.
The Lord has been our strength throughout the 25 years that Immanuel has
been in existence. We give Him all the glory!
Facilities
Our church building was built in
1987. It currently seats some 500
people, all on the main sanctuary
floor. Our current foyer is rather
small and crowed on a Sunday
morning. The same can be said
for the available classroom space
and child care facilities. This is
the main reason why there are
currently plans being proposed
to expand the church annex
and office space. A fundraising
campaign is currently underway
to partly fund the expansion
costs.
Annexed to the foyer is a kitchen, library and three offices: one for our youth
pastor, an office for the church administator and the pastor’s office/study.
Our library also functions as a designated room for council meetings.
Finances
The 2012 budget of our church can be summarized as follows:
Total church budget amounts to $480,000, which can be broken down into the
following main expense descriptions:
38% salaries and benefits
21% Classical and Denominational Assessments
18% on evangelism
12% church facilities and mortgage
6% on administration costs
2% on youth ministry programs
2% on education and workshops
1% for worship related expenses
Our church is currently debt free. Upon finalization of the expansion plans, a
new mortgage will likely need to be secured.
Each year by the grace of God we substantially meet our budgetary
obligations. As a church we value paying 100% of the annual classical and
denominational assessments.

Community
Langley Immanuel Christian Reformed Church forms a part of the Greater
Vancouver area. It is located in the heart of the Fraser Valley in beautiful
British Columbia, Canada.
Neighbourhood
Two other CRC-sister churches in Langley:
1.The Bridge Community Church recently welcomed Pastor Dan Roukema as
their new pastor. More information about The Bridge can be found on their
website at http://bridgelangley.org/
2.Willoughby CRC currently is also vacant. It is our “mother church”
from which we were birthed some 25 years ago. More information about
Willoughby CRC can be found on their website at www.willoughbychurch.
com
Climate
Situated in a coastal temperate rainforest zone, Langley enjoys a mild climate
similar to Vancouver’s. Favourable microclimates enable the growing of
grapes at local wineries.
Summer daytime temperatures sit at about 20°C/70°F, and winter
temperatures average closer to 2°C/35.6°F. There are close to 200 frost-free
days each year. Langley gets about 1,800 hours of sunshine annually, and the
average annual rainfall is 140cm/55in.
Websites to check out:
• Langley Christian Elementary, Middle and High School: www.
langleychristian.com
• Trinity Western University: www.twu.ca
• ACTS Seminary: www.acts.twu.ca
• Regent College: www.regent-college.edu
• Kwantlen University College: www.kwantlen.bc.ca
• University of the Fraser Valley: www.ufv.ca
• Salvation Army Homeless Shelter Gateway of Hope: www.gatewayofhope.ca
• Langley Township Recreational Facilities: www.tol.ca
• Langley Events Center: www.langleyeventscentre.com
• Twin Rinks: www.icesports.com/
langleytwin/Default.aspx
• Stanley Park Vancouver: www.
vancouver.ca/parks/parks/stanley
• Whistler/Blackcomb Ski Resort:
www.whistlerblackcomb.com
• Cypress Mountain: www.
cypressmountain.com
• Mount Seymour Ski Resort:
www.mountseymour.com
• Vancouver Island: www.
vancouverisland.travel
• Travel British Columbia: www.
hellobc.com

Church Profile 2012
Langley Immanuel Christian Reformed Church
www.langleyimmanuelcrc.ca