September 26 Today in OPC History

On September 26, 1939, Pastor Bruce Wideman of Calvary OPC, Ringoes, New Jersey, wrote the following letter to the congregation.

Dear Brethren in Christ,

Our church, we believe, occupies a unique position in this portion of New Jersey. While many other churches have denied the fundamentals of the Faith and are no longer true to the Bible, we have been able by the grace of God to raise up a clear cut testimony of the truth of the Gospel as it is revealed in the Word of God. While many no longer preach an evangelical message, God has called us to preach Christ crucified for the salvation of sinners.

It is our desire not only to raise such a testimony but to keep that testimony so living and active that our Church’s message shall be constantly before the world. This we can do in two ways, by keeping the home fires of the Gospel burning so brightly in our own midst that outsiders will be attracted by our spiritual warmth and secondly by an ever different and ever widening program on the outside of our church walls, by means of which we shall reach with the message of salvation those who would never enter the doors of our church.

This ambitious but worthy program can be accomplished only with the cooperation of every member of the church. Cooperation, humanly speaking, assures the success of a church just as it assures the success of any other organization. I call upon you, Calvary member, to look upon your church as your personal responsibility. Feel that its success depends upon your efforts. Then you will give freely for its financial support. You will tell others of its clear cut testimony. You will yourself be present at every one of its services.

Your Pastor, Bruce Wideman

Picture: Calvary OPC, Ringoes, New Jersey