Commissioning Service

We look back on a beautiful and blessed Sunday at Ciutat Nova in Barcelona. It was a service in which I, Guido, was relieved of my daily responsibilities for the church there and commissioned as a minister of the word for the missionary work in Girona. Our new church auditorium in Barcelona was a very fitting place for this, with many people present to hear God's Word and sing His praises.

During the service, Evelin was thanked for her faithful service in Sunday school, both teaching and coordinating this work. I was also thanked for my work over the past 11 years in leading and writing music, teaching and preaching.

I had the privilege to preach on Nehemiah 12:43 and the joy of a new city, joy as an answer to God’s restorative work, a joy which can sustain our reality and is ultimately found in Christ as he dealt with the misery of sin on the cross and guarantees with his resurrection that there are no ruins beyond his redemptive power, no wreckages of sin that he can’t restore, that in fact he will make all things new.

As such the church is a foretaste of this new city of people who’s tears will effectively be wiped clean by Christ himself and we are a joyful testimony to God’s healing presence in the world and invite those outside to enter into His joy.

After the sermon, there was the commissioning ceremony where I was sworn in, laying on of hands and prayer for our family. The congregation was also reminded that we get to do this work in their name. An elder also prayed for the other churches and missionaries in Girona, some of whom were also represented in the service. On behalf of the CGK Mission (my sending denomination in Belgium and the Netherlands), there was a contribution by Rev Willem van 't Spijker via video. After the service, there were more thank-you messages on behalf of the congregation.

For Ciutat Nova, as a young Catalan church, it was a special moment and a sign of God's faithfulness to now - after 11 years - be allowed to become a sending church herself and start new missionary work in Catalonia.

Afterwards, and as so often before, we enjoyed a meal together and caught up with many whom we have spent so much time over the past few years. We feel incredibly grateful for God's faithfulness and for the Christian community He has provided us with here. It is a privilege to continue our work in Girona, under His blessing and to His glory.