From 1995 until 2001, our mission work was developed from a few contacts to a field on which it was necessary to have a missionary. Involvement in the Philippines began in 1995 with the work of Peace PRC’s evangelism committee. Peace had correspondence for some time with several people throughout the islands. When Peace realized that this work might be better served by a possible missionary, they gave the work over to the Foreign Mission Committee to continue and develop. With our Synod’s approval, the FMC oversaw the sending of delegations in order to assess whether the Lord was giving to us a place of labor in the Philippines. The delegations visited, preached, lectured, and conducted Bible study meetings in such places as Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Capalonga, Daet, Davao, Jose Panganiban, Labo, and Manila. Our first delegation of Rev. Arie den Hartog and Rev. Allen Brummel labored for several weeks here in the fall of 1997. Since that visit, 6 more delegations were sent for the investigation and development of this foreign field. Having done what was possible by periodic delegations, the FMC proposed to Synod 2001 that a missionary be sent by the churches to labor in the Philippines and stationed in Manila. Synod 2001 approved the calling of a missionary to labor in metro Manila as well as with the other substantial contacts in a few other places in the Philippines.
In the fall of 2001, Rev. A. Spriensma considered the call extended to him, and, having accepted the call, moved with his family to Manila in July 2002. His labors focused on a group of saints whom we know today as the Berean Protestant Reformed Church. Through the Lord’s blessing on Rev. Spriensma’s labors, the church was instituted as a Reformed congregation on November 20, 2006. In addition to the Berean PRC, Rev. Spriensma conducted weekly Reformed doctrine lectures with area pastors, lectured, and preached with pastors, churches, and contacts in Bacolod City and Inayauan, on the island of Negros. Having been instrumental in the growth and establishment of the field, Rev. Spriensma laid down his labors in the Philippines in March 2007.
From March 2007 to July 2009, the Lord led the mission churches and groups through a trial of the absence of a missionary. During the two year interim between missionaries on the field, several PRCA congregations had the opportunity to offer some of their pastors for several weeks at a time to provide some limited pulpit supply to the Berean PRC in Quezon City and the All of Grace Protestant Reformed Fellowship in Gabaldon. Besides preaching and leading Bible studies, some pastors and professors gave speeches at conferences and made important visits to other Reformed pastors and contacts in Manila and in the Reformed Free Churches, located on the island of Negros.
Though a difficult trial of patience and faith for the saints of our churches and groups in the Philippines, Doon PRC persevered to extend calls for missionaries to continue with the work. After extending fourteen calls from October 2006 to January 2009, the Lord provided another missionary to continue our labors, Rev. Richard Smit. Then with the fifteenth call in April 2009, the Lord had actually provided a second missionary, Rev. Daniel Kleyn, to carry on the mission work.
In the spring of 2014, after many years of work, the congregations of the Berean Protestant Reformed Church and the Protestant Reformed Church in Bulacan joined together to form their own federation of the Protestant Reformed Churches in the Philippines. On April 9 the Act of Agreement for the formation of the federation was read and signed by the officebearers of both churches at the first classis of the PRCP.
Also in the spring of 2014 the Doon council and the FMC voted to honorably release Rev. Smit from his labors in the Philippines, and shortly thereafter began calling another man to labor in the field. In early 2015 Rev. Smit returned to North America, and in the spring of 2016 the Lord lead Rev. Daniel Holstege to accept the call to labor as the second missionary. Then, at Synod 2016, a recommendation of the FMC was approved for Doon to begin calling a third man to labor in the Philippines. After just over a year of calling, Rev. Smit once again accepted the call to take up the labors of a missionary and to return to the Philippines in December of 2017.
Missionary Contact Information
Rev. Daniel & Sharon Kleyn Rev. Daniel & Leah Holstege Rev. Richard & Tricia Smit
PO Box 1173, ACPO PO Box 1173, ACPO PO Box 1173, ACPO
Antipolo City, Rizal 1870 Antipolo City, Rizal 1870 Antipolo City, Rizal 1870
The Philippines The Philippines The Philippines
d.kleyn@prca.org daniel.holstege@prca.org smit@prca.org
sharonkleyn@prca.org leahholstege@yahoo.com smitphilippines@prca.org
Skype ID’s
revdanielkleyn daniel.holstege1 revrichardjsmit
sharon.kleyn tricia.r.smit
