The Effect of “The Declaration” on Missions in This Global City
Rev. Richard Smit examines the continuing relevance of the Protestant Reformed Churches' 1950s Declaration of Principles for contemporary missionary work in a globalized world, particularly in Southeast Asia. He argues that despite its original limited North American context, the Declaration's doctrinal clarity on covenant grace, predestination, and the gospel remains valuable for preparing missionaries to navigate denominational and religious pluralism across cultures.
Rev. Smit is a missionary of the Protestant Reformed Churches in America, stationed in Manila, the Philippines. I recently read a book written by Prof. David Engelsma and published by the RFPA in 2013 about the history of the origin, the writing, the adoption, and the rocky reception in the PRCA of The Declaration of Principles of the Protestant Reformed Churches during the early 1950s. While reading the book, I wondered whether in our mission work with those brought out of superstition and...
Full article available on sb.rfpa.org