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A Personal Invite to Inspire 2017

June 21, 2017
Ben Van Arragon invites Synod 2017 delegates to Inspire 2017.

Ben Van Arragon invites Synod 2017 delegates to Inspire 2017.

Karen Huttenga

On the evening of June 14, delegates to Synod 2017, meeting in Palos Heights, Ill., received a personal invitation to attend Inspire 2017.

It started with a short video in which Rev. Ben Van Arragon and his wife, Melody, who serve a Detroit-area church, ask ministry leaders in the Christian Reformed Church to consider coming to this event.

Inspire 2017 will take place in Detroit, Mich., from Aug. 3-5 and will offer a range of speakers, workshops, field trips, and times of worship -- all in a setting that will encourage participants to share ministry experiences and learn from one another.

Opening with an invitation from the Van Arragons, who serve First CRC in Grosse Pointe
Park, the video pans shots of the Detroit skyline and features clips of people involved in ministry across the denomination.

When the video finished and the lights came back on, Ben Van Arragon stepped out of his role as a delegate from Classis Lake Erie to Synod 2017 and stood before his colleagues to issue a personal invitation to attend Inspire 2017.

“Here I am, like magic, translated from the big screen to right in front of you,” Van Arragon joked.

He went on to say, “Here we are on the last night of synod, and I know what you are all thinking. You are all thinking, ‘I’m just starting to like these people, and now we have to go.’”

Having spent the past few days building friendships with people from across North America, Van Arragon said, people might not want to wait to get back together. Fortunately, they’ll have another opportunity to celebrate the Christian Reformed Church, build friendships, and learn about ministry in August.

“There is still room for you at Inspire,” Van Arragon added. “Inspire 2017 is an event designed to pour back into members and leaders of all kinds who have been pouring themselves out for ministry in our congregations. It is an opportunity to feature and bless the church.”

He then pointed out that on tables around the auditorium were copies of a devotional booklet containing prayers that can be used to support the endeavor in Detroit and to support and inspire those who would like to attend.

Prayer is an important part of preparing for Inspire 2017, and it will be crucial during the event, where a room for contemplative prayer will be available, intercessory prayer will be offered, spiritual directors will be on hand, and prayer stations will be set up.

On Friday morning, Aug. 4, there will even be a prayer walk along the Detroit Riverwalk, which offers a view of Windsor, Ont., across the St. Clair River. This will encourage attendees to pray for ministry in both the United States and Canada.

In fact, organizers chose Detroit as the site for Inspire 2017 because it is so close to Canada, helping to reflect the denomination-wide, binational focus of the event.

“We would like to see someone from each congregation in the CRC show up for Inspire,” said Ben Van Arragon, whose church is on the border of Detroit.

To provide even more motivation, Van Arragon issued a personal invitation to folks on behalf of his city.

“As a pastor and resident in the Detroit area, personally, I would love to have you come to Inspire not just to experience the best of our fellowship together, but also to experience the best of Detroit as a city,” he said.

Ben and Melody have watched Detroit begin to transform from a place of widespread blight to a city on the rise. There is art, culture, natural beauty, new public transit, and more -- all of which, he said, makes Detroit the “Paris of the Midwest.”

Melody Van Arragon is helping to oversee planning for worship for Inspire 2017, which she said will provide a variety of worship styles, reflecting different dimensions of the CRC in prayerful and uplifting ways.

As for the event itself, Ben said, “Give it a shot. You will experience not only all that is great about the city of Detroit, but also all the very best of our fellowship as a great church.”

You can watch a video of Ben Van Arragon’s presentation to synod. You can also see a list of Christian Reformed churches already registered to attend Inspire 2017. To learn more about Inspire 2017 or to register, visit crcna.org/Inspire2017.