Bruce Martin

Ridgefield Park, N.J., RPC

In spring 2015 I received an email from a young man who was planning to move to our area with his wife and daughter for graduate study. A few weeks later, I was corresponding with Pastor Jim Mitchell of the Sandy Plains ARP Church. I was assigned to preach for that church as a part of the pulpit exchange just prior to the 2015 joint synods of the ARPC and the RPCNA. In the second email I received from Pastor Mitchell, he wrote that he was glad to know that a young family from his church would be worshiping with us when they moved north for graduate study.

What a wonderful connection God had made for us! On the Saturday evening prior to worshiping with Sandy Plains, I was staying with Pastor Mitchell and his family and was told that this young couple was planning to come over to meet me so that we could get acquainted before they moved to our area. During my conversation with them, I mentioned the name of one of our elders. The wife immediately piped up, “He was at Andrew’s parents’ wedding!” Andrew’s parents and our elder had served together with the Navigators at West Virginia University. Another wonderful connection!

The next day I participated in the morning worship service. Pastor Mitchell had decided to conduct the whole service like a service in the RPCNA, including the exclusive use of psalms sung a cappella. We should have talked about some of the logistics a little more prior to the service (after standing to sing the first psalm, Jim whispered to me, “You’re leading!”). Nevertheless, the service went quite well. This congregation reminded me of some of the older churches in the RPCNA. There were many mature Christians—both in age and in Christ—along with a mix of younger members who obviously love the Lord.

There was a fellowship meal after the morning service where I was able to mix with the people and hear their stories of faith. One man in particular had not grown up in the ARPC. He recounted his love for RPCNA Pastor Ken Smith because “he taught me the gospel. I thought I knew it before I met Ken, but I didn’t.”

In His high priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus made only one request for us who would believe in Him through the testimony of the apostles: “That they may be all one, just as you, Father, are in Me, and I in You” (17:21). May we grow in this oneness in Christ.

James Faris

Second (Indianapolis, Ind.) RPC

In 2015, I was honored and excited to be asked to preach by my friend Kyle Sims, pastor of First ARP Church in Lancaster, S.C. I preached there the day before our concurrent synods began in Flat Rock, N.C. Kyle has long been a friend to me and to many others in the RPC. Perhaps our closest ministry connection was that we pastored single members of our congregations that the Lord later joined in marriage. Our congregations already shared life together, and we wanted to see those bonds strengthened between Indianapolis and Lancaster.

Lancaster is near where my RP ancestors once lived, and Kyle arranged to take me to some of those sites. In the 1820s, men like James Faris and Thomas Smith (known in my family as “Uncle Tommy”) had moved to Bloomington, Ind., because of South Carolina’s slavery laws. I was eager to see where they had lived and where some Reformed Presbyterians lived and died fighting in the Revolutionary War.

My flight to Charlotte involved a layover at LaGuardia in New York. On the flight from Indianapolis to New York, I quickly learned that the woman sitting next to me on the plane had about a decade earlier owned and restored Uncle Tommy’s historic house in Bloomington. That house had served as a stop on the Underground Railroad. After moving to New York, this woman had been converted to faith in Jesus Christ through the ministry of Pastor/author Tim Keller. We marveled together at how God, who has worked so graciously in history, is still working to change lives in these same places today.

My fellowship with the saints in Lancaster was rich—whether over barbeque or over the Bible. It was a joy to meet fellow elders and saints who serve the same Christ. They are eager to grow, just like the believers I serve weekly. This eagerness was evident in their reception of God’s Word in worship. In deference to an RP pastor like me, we sang only psalms in worship that day; my hosts were gracious in every way. Most of all, it was a privilege to meet and worship with people for the first time with whom I will spend eternity worshiping the Lamb.

God tells us in Psalm 133 to behold, to look, to see how very good it is when brothers dwell together in unity. God opened my eyes to see the blessing of Psalm 133 that weekend in Lancaster in ways I had not before seen. I look forward to seeing more of the same truth here on earth and in glory.

Lee Shelnutt

Huntersville, N.C. ARPC

As an Associate Reformed Presbyterian minister, I’ve had some distinct privileges in our fraternal relationship with our RPCNA brethren. RP pastors David Reese and Jason Ryce have preached for me at the Huntersville, N.C., ARP Church. Pastor Kent Butterfield has led the singing of psalms during the ordination and commissioning service of a son of our congregation to serve alongside the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales as a World Witness (our mission board) missionary. In addition to these blessings, I’ve had the wonderful privilege of preaching at the Springs Reformed Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., and at the First Reformed Presbyterian Church of Durham, N.C.

It all began when I served as a part of our delegation to NAPARC meetings for several years. There I became friends with RP men, including David Reese. Following that connection, when we had our first concurrent Synod, I had the privilege of spending time with other RP brethren and, during our fellowship times, became friends with Jason Ryce. As I continued to serve on our Interchurch Committee, I was the fraternal delegate at one of your synods where I became friends with Kent Butterfield. My service on our Interchurch Committee has led me to blessed friendships and to a growing appreciation of the faithful ministry and witness of the RPCNA. To worship in your congregations, to enjoy your hospitality, to cherish our historical bonds and shared convictions, is a blessing I do not take lightly and one that I pray many others come to know. May many more such connections be made and stronger ties formed between our pastors, congregations, and Synods, as we fellowship together in 2019 at our next concurrent synods! Thank you for the invitation.