Two years ago, Springs (Colorado Springs, Colo.) RPC issued a call to me as associate pastor to labor in the gospel ministry. The main thrust of the call would be to labor to the end that a new congregation of the Lord Jesus would be organized and particularized.

For some time prior to that call, Springs Reformed had been diligently planning and preparing for a church plant in the Tri-Lakes region of the Front Range. There are, as you might have guessed, three lakes in this area situated in close proximity to one another: Palmer Lake, Woodmoor Lake, and Monument Lake.

It was the Lord’s mercy and blessing that, as a young pastor entering into my first call, I could step into a situation where such a high degree of wisdom in preparation had already been exercised. My job was to simply jump on board and head in the same direction!

In March 2011, we began services at Tri-Lakes Reformed Church (TLRC) in Monument, Colo. What a joy it has been to worship the Lord God in the company of these saints! We have experienced many of the vicissitudes of the church planting experience, trusting and resting in the glorious and everlasting sovereignty of our triune God. The Lord has blessed us with growth. It is tempting to use the adjective “moderate” to describe this growth, but in the eyes of the world it would surely be described as “slight.” And yet the Lord has greatly encouraged us with the addition of families and individuals who love the Lord and share with us a like-precious faith and trust in Jesus.

One part of Springs RPC’s wise planning was to ensure that this new work would be supplied with godly leadership. The initial group of Springs members that moved north included two ruling elders (Craig Milroy and Shawn Stickel) as well as one deacon (Joe DeBenedittis). A great blessing of 2012, for both Springs and Tri-Lakes, has been the ordination of four new deacons. Two of those newly ordained deacons (Jeremiah Hamer and Matthew Stickel) will be resident at Tri-Lakes Reformed. It has been a great pleasure to work alongside these men and to observe and feed off their zeal for Christ and for the kingdom.

One Lord’s Day in early November, I had an experience with a family of visitors that has repeated itself several times since the inception of TLRC. After the introductions were completed, the husband/father looked at me and said, “Boy, that sure was different from our normal experience in church!”—leaving me to find out for myself whether he meant that as a good thing or a bad thing! Comments like his have on a number of occasions led to fruitful discussions concerning God’s Word and the purpose and nature of worship.

Additionally, however, such conversations, along with the work of home missions in general, have planted a seed in my mind to more deeply consider our relationship as a denomination to the broader church here in America (or Japan, Cyprus, East Asia, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, etc). Are we simply a funny little curmudgeonly group that clings doggedly to our convictions with little care as to the state of the broader church? When people notice the distinctiveness of our church are we ashamed? Arrogant? We talk about the distinctives of our denomination. We dutifully probe theological students as to their views relative to our distinctives. (Oh, how I remember such probing!)

Should we not also grieve that such distinctiveness even exists? If we hold these doctrines to be revealed by God in the holy Scriptures and therefore to be loved and obeyed by the whole of the church, should we not set our lamp on the stand to be seen and to give light? My thoughts are drawn particularly to a cappella worship, exclusive psalmody, and the mediatorial kingship of Jesus Christ—issues concerning the pure worship of the church and the crown rights of King Jesus. This deposit has not been preserved within our denomination for our own sake, to sinfully revel in our distinction from the rest of the body of Christ. This deposit belongs to the whole church, all the toes and feet and legs and fingers and arms, etc. (1 Cor. 12:12-26)

Woe to us if we do not recognize this reality. Let us set our lamp on the stand for all to see. Let us eschew all shame and all arrogance in exchange for clarity and compassion—a bold humility and a humble boldness. Above all, let us put on love. Let us winsomely and graciously seek to be a blessing to the whole of Christ’s church. May our prayer be that our distinctives, inasmuch as they are firmly rooted in the Word of God, cease to be distinctives!

The apostle has told us to expect difficult times (2 Tim. 3:1). What is the role of little Tri-Lakes Reformed in the tribulation of these last days—and, by extension, what is the RPCNA’s role as but a little sliver of the Church militant? Has not the Master of the house promised to mightily use those who would cleanse themselves from what is dishonorable? (2 Tim. 2:20-21)

Brothers and sisters, let us join together now more than ever to labor heartily in the harvest. Let us pray to the Lord of the harvest that He might be greatly glorified in and through our churches, that we might be meet instruments in His hand toward the accomplishment of His promises: the salvation of His sheep and the beautification of His bride.

Prayer Requests

• Pray that God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—would be glorified in our worship Lord’s Day by Lord’s Day.

• Pray that the name of Jesus would be made famous in the Tri-Lakes area and that God would be pleased to use us to that end.

• Pray that the Lord would not only bring to us families and individuals looking for a church that is more Reformed, but also that He would bring to us the unconverted and the lost. Pray that we would be a place where publicans and prostitutes both would find a most gracious and abundantly compassionate Savior. (Matt. 9:10-13)

• Pray that we would be wise and faithful in our outreach to the community. Faithfulness is ours; the fruit is the Lord’s. (1 Cor. 3:5-9)

• Pray that God would richly bless the preaching of His Word and the proclamation of the good news of the kingdom.

• Pray that God would bless and prosper the shepherding ministry of the elders and the mercy ministry of the deacons.

• Pray that we would outgrow our current rental accommodations and that God would provide both a suitable location as well as the requisite means to purchase our own building.

• Pray that God would give us wisdom as we decide when to “break away” from Springs and officially organize as a particularized congregation. Also, pray for the strength and the faith it will take to make that necessary and inevitable break, especially considering the intimate bond that many of us have with Springs Reformed Church.

• As something of a first major step toward particularization, we began conducting evening services twice a month in Dec. 2012, per the limits of our present lease in the meeting place we are renting. Up until then we had joint evening services in Colorado Springs at Springs Reformed. Pray that this transition continues to be smooth and that the addition of evening services in Monument would be a blessing to the congregation and a boon to the work of the kingdom.

• Pray, along with us, for the work of the Home Mission Board of the RPCNA. There are a refreshing number of new works in our denomination. May their company only increase. As churches especially, and also as individuals, please consider giving financially to the work of this important board of our denomination as we seek to enlarge the place of our tent and let the curtains of our habitations be stretched out (Isa. 54:2-3).

—Alex Tabaka is associate pastor of Springs (Colorado Springs, Colo.) RPC. Alex and his wife, Melissa, have two sons, David and Jude. A home missions feature appears semiannually in the Witness.