End of Year 2022

02-06-2025 - Posted by Geert-Jan
Originally posted on December 30, 2022 - by Andre Piet

With just one day to go, we can now look back on 2022. In this blog, I want to focus primarily on the work of GoedBericht.

Beyond the Corona Crisis

Fortunately, there were not too many corona restrictions this year, and all gatherings could proceed as usual. Not that we paid much attention to those restrictions, but still, some measures were hard to avoid. Only a GB conference and a GB weekend have not yet taken place, partly due to (then) still looming lockdowns and/or QR requirements.

By the way, a GB weekend is planned again in Maarn for 2023. Reserve the last weekend of June in your agenda. More announcements and the possibility to register will follow in the course of January.

One of the positive aspects of the corona crisis has been that now all (public) gatherings are not only recorded but also broadcast via livestream. You don’t think about it every day, but until recently, it was unprecedented to manage your own ‘TV station’ as a private individual with a worldwide reach! The GoedBericht website started in the year 2000, and over the years, better and better technologies have become available to make “the Gospel of God’s grace” heard. Because that’s what we aim for, and we don’t want to leave any option unused.

Even More Reach

There’s more to say about the reach of GoedBericht. For example, below you see statistics about the visits to the GB website. Last year, there were an average of 55,500 pageviews per month, 34,700 unique visitors, and 7,600 returning visitors.

Also, the podcasts via RedCircle (and Spotify, etc.) found their way. No less than 125,100 studies were downloaded, which is an average of over ten thousand per month! Although the gatherings are generally well attended, it turns out that the actual reach of the studies is many times greater than that. “Faith comes from hearing,” says Scripture, because “how can they believe without hearing?” (Rom.10:17, 14). We leave the rest with confidence to our God. We can herald and reach ears, but only One is capable of reaching hearts. He calls out those whom He has predestined for this (Rom.8:28-30).

Gatherings

With only two exceptions, I have been able to give a Bible study every Sunday throughout the year, and regularly even multiple times on one Sunday. Twice a month in Benthuizen, once a month ‘on Urk’, and further in Rotterdam, The Hague, Zeewolde, Nieuw-Buinen, and Epe. Then there were the midweek studies in Nunspeet and Rotterdam, and in the spring, also four times in Alkmaar. Oh yes, in the summer, I also gave a number of studies at a campsite in Schoonloo (Drenthe). And then I leave out the speaking engagements that are more in the private sphere, such as jubilees, weddings, and funerals. In that category also falls the ‘youth’ group (of about twenty-five people) in Rotterdam, where I have the pleasure of giving (interactive) Bible studies.

Online Publications

All public gatherings are almost always published on the website the same day. Including the PowerPoint. The latter is often an interesting option for those who are not able to listen to the studies but still want to know in broad terms what was discussed and possibly also want to check ’the receipts’.

In addition to these study gatherings, daily devotional pieces (Goed Belicht / Well Highlighted) are also posted, in which I explain a Bible verse in about two hundred words. In 2022, I completed the letter to the Romans verse by verse, discussed the entire letter to the Galatians, and have already covered part of the letter to the Philippians. These ‘pieces’ are not intended as a meditative pep talk but expressly aim to provide an explanation of the text. Short, powerful, but also intended to be instructive.

Additionally, around twenty-five blog posts were published this year as well, in which various biblical and/or current issues could be addressed in more depth.

Written Material

Last year, for the first time in collaboration with the Evangelie om niet foundation, two Bible commentaries from GoedBericht were published (on the letters to the Ephesians and 1 Corinthians, respectively). In 2022, a new book was added: “de alleen wijze GOD,” which is a commentary on the letter to the Romans. It’s a thick volume of no less than 543 pages. Like the previously mentioned books, it is a collection of all the devotional pieces I have written on the respective Bible book. It can be ordered in bookstores or online.

Also, six brochures were published this year (also in collaboration with the Evangelie om niet foundation):

• de gelukkige God (the happy God)
• Abraham slapend rijk (Abraham made rich while asleep)
• vanwaar haalde Abraham de most? (Where Did Abraham Get the Wine?)
• Hebreeën 10:25: stok achter de kerkdeur? (Hebrews 10:25 — A Rod Behind the Church Door?)
• Hoop doet leven! (Hope Gives Life!)
• Altijd blij en onbezorgd?! (Always Joyful and Carefree?!)

All these brochures can be read online, downloaded, and also ordered for free. Yes indeed, ‘gratis’ is highly valued by us!

Staff and Support

It goes without saying that all this work is by no means done solely by myself. Without naming names, I think of all those who arrange the hall, the sound, coffee, meals, catering, book tables, and so on, in connection with the gatherings organized under the banner of “GoedBericht.” I also think of those who make their home or another space available for this purpose. Or what about those who proofread before the books and brochures can be published? And let’s not forget the transcription work, where lectures are turned into brochures. I also think of the translation work, in which the “daily devotional” (Goed Belicht) and also blog posts are rendered into English.

By “staff of GoedBericht” I mean, not least, the many who love the Good Message and support it in deed, also financially. For the fact that you (on principle) never hear me ask for money obviously does not mean that there are no costs involved in this work. Not only the website, subscriptions, and various equipment cost money; a car doesn’t run for free either, and because I do this work full-time, I forego income from a salary. But all these years we have never—let me repeat: never—lacked anything, on the contrary! Without ever making a request for it, many have freely shown that the passing on of the Good Message matters to them. By contributing financially, they share in the Good Message, and for that reason, I naturally count them as co-workers. Petra and I see this as confirmation that “GoedBericht” is not a human undertaking, and so we give thanks to our GOD and Father that He involves us and many others in this wonderfully beautiful work!

Intentions

And thus, in this blog I’ve reviewed some important aspects of the work of GoedBericht. The labor of correspondence and visits I’ll leave aside for now. The heart of all our labor remains the study of Scripture. And so it should remain. For that Word is an inexhaustible goldmine that continually surprises with new discoveries that gladden the heart. To me has been granted the great privilege of sharing this with you. And if it is given to me, the coming year too will again be marked by that focus.

One Year Closer…

What 2023 will bring us remains to be seen. I won’t speculate, but this one thing is certain: 2023 brings us one year closer to the return of Him whose coming is near. The spans of “two days” (i.e., two thousand years) since Christ’s departure, and “six days” (i.e., six thousand years) counted from Adam, are passing rapidly. In world events we see the prophetic stage being constructed. Everything spoken of by the prophets is being reconstructed. At the center: an unbelieving Jewish state that has Jerusalem as its capital. When will a temple once again arise in that city? And when will Babylon in Iraq begin to fulfill its role in the Middle East? To become the financial heart of the world, it seems to me, a gigantic monetary and economic shift must still occur. How will that unfold? Gradually or suddenly? Will we already see the first signs of this in 2023? Will the Abraham Accords be further expanded? Or will that require new elections in the U.S.? I won’t make any predictions, but several scenarios present themselves to my mind unbidden. We will see.

There is one other certainty. The one GOD, Creator of heaven and earth, has everything in His hand and nothing happens by chance. He is the great Director, and His Word stands unshakably firm. He guarantees that all things will be brought to a good conclusion in His time and in His way. With no one excluded. With that unsurpassed Good Message, we move forward into 2023 with full confidence!

Warm greetings, also on behalf of my beloved wife and our children, from whom we receive so much support.
—André Piet—

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