End of year 2023

The year 2023 is drawing to a close and for sixteen years now I have made it a habit to seize this moment to both look back and look ahead.

speaking engagements

Let me begin by summarizing, in bullet points, the gatherings in which I was allowed to serve this year:

• With only a single exception, I have been able to give speaking engagements every Sunday in Benthuizen (twice a month), Urk (every first Sunday of the month) and furthermore in, among other places, The Hague, Rotterdam, Alblasserdam, Epe, Zeewolde, and Nieuw Buinen.
• Monthly I was able to lead study evenings in Nunspeet and also monthly in Capelle a/d IJssel. The latter location is new for GoedBericht: we received a very attractive offer, so since September we have been able to hold our meetings there instead of in the building ‘de Aker’, where we had previously held our studies for many years (with pleasure and for which: thank you!).
• This year, we were also finally able to hold the GB weekend in Maarn again. Never before was there so much interest, especially from young families. Everything was fully booked in no time. Another GB weekend is scheduled at the same location next year. Mark it in your calendar already: the weekend of June 7–9 (2024). In due time, you will also be able to register for it.
• We were also finally able to hold a GB conference again this year, for which no fewer than about 170 people signed up. Due to the corona measures, we had refrained from organizing such a conference in previous years. This year, for the first time, we made use of the recreation center in Maarn. We hope to continue this initiative in the coming year, if at all possible.
• For several years now, I have also been able to give monthly Bible studies for a large group of young adults (‘around 30’) in Rotterdam. These studies are not listed in the agenda on this site. We certainly cannot complain about a lack of interest, and this year a whole weekend was organized for this group (at Pentecost), also at (yes indeed) the recreation center in Maarn.
• My wife Petra and I spent a week on vacation in July/August in Engelsbach (former East Germany), at a vacation center where we were together with many dozens of fellow believers (especially young families). Quite an experience! I was also able to give three studies there.
• In addition to these studies, there were also a number of private gatherings again, such as a wedding and wedding anniversary, but also several funeral services.

recordings

With the exception of the more private gatherings, almost all speaking engagements were recorded on video and audio and can be viewed and/or listened to on the website. I can tell you that, technically speaking, this was sometimes quite a challenge. And admittedly, things occasionally went wrong (especially with streaming due to a faltering internet connection), but overall the result is something to be proud of. With an excellent video channel on Vimeo (and YouTube) and Red Circle as a podcast (among others, on Spotify). In addition, for each study the PowerPoint has also been made available for many years now.

publications

This year the GoedBericht library was again significantly expanded. No fewer than five new brochures were published and two new books were also allowed to see the light of day. All in cooperation with the Evangelie Om Niet Foundation, which—with the help of various contributors—converts lectures into text, edits texts, handles layout, and so on.

The physical brochures are provided entirely free of charge, whereas the books were, until recently, sold through bookstores. That is now a thing of the past: the books are no longer available in bookstores but exclusively available free of charge (with the exception of one book that was published independently of GB). In short, all publications from GoedBericht are now offered completely free of charge (including shipping!) by the Evangelie Om Niet Foundation. So although the publications are from GoedBericht, the distribution of the written material is entirely funded by the aforementioned Foundation, which thereby does exactly what its name implies. It is wonderful to be able to proclaim the message in this way, “freely”!

website

This website has been the platform for all the work of GoedBericht for 24 years now. Whereas in the past that mainly included lectures and weekly blogs, it now also includes daily devotional pieces in which, for over seven years already, I have been discussing especially Paul’s letters verse by verse. Unfortunately, partly due to these efforts, blogging has somewhat fallen by the wayside (twenty posts this year), but I hope to dedicate more time to it again in the coming year.
A few more ‘facts’ regarding the website:

• An average week in 2023 saw 8,600 unique visitors to the website, which amounts to over 1,200 unique visitors per day.

• This year I also wrote a Q\&A on the subject of ‘the pre-existence of the Word’. A topic about which there is much confusion, but also one that is fiercely contested with much unholy zeal.
• For many years GoedBericht had a Facebook account, but since November I, as administrator, no longer have access to it (due to a hack?). Facebook turns out to be completely unreachable and unhelpful in resolving this, and I have decided to let it rest and not to create a new account. This also applies to my personal Facebook account and thereby also to Messenger.

co-workers

The work that GoedBericht is privileged to do involves much more than the lectures and studies that are given and the management of the website. A lot of work happens behind the scenes, and I will briefly touch on several aspects of that.

• The gatherings in Benthuizen are largely supported by staff who open the venue, set up chairs, make and serve coffee, prepare the book table, handle sound amplification, manage the livestream, provide musical accompaniment, and so on. I won’t mention names, as I would undoubtedly forget someone.
• The same applies to the gatherings ‘on Urk’, which may appear a bit more ‘low profile’, but where many people are also always ready to ensure everything runs smoothly. I also think of the pleasant bread meals afterwards, which, of course, are not run by elves.
  The Bible study meetings in Nunspeet at the Feenstra home, where we are always received with hospitality and generosity.
• The same goes for our luxurious accommodation in Capelle a/d IJssel, which was made freely available to us just like that, and where everything is also excellently arranged for us.
• All those involved in converting spoken text into written form for the brochures, as well as proofreading and correction work.
• I also think of the translation of the devotional into English. Or of various staff members who, truly ‘behind the scenes’, take care of styling the website, managing the video channel, and, for example, using AI to convert GoedBericht studies into completely foreign languages.
• And so on.

other activities

• Each week I try to reserve a day (or part of a day) to visit someone who indicates they are in need of it or who otherwise appreciates it.
• GoedBericht is easily reachable via email or the contact form, and every day emails come in from people with questions—of a Biblical or personal nature. Or with criticism, comments, and observations. And in principle, I always respond to them.

support

Last but not least, those must also be mentioned who not only wholeheartedly love the message of the Good Tidings, but also support this work through financial contributions—whether small or large. As a matter of principle, I never ask for support for this work, because I believe that if it is GOD’S work, He will undoubtedly make it possible. And since the Evangel is WITHOUT PAYMENT, we do not want to ask anything for it. That was Paul’s approach at the time, and we gladly walk in his footsteps. So no begging. But we are immensely thankful to GOD for the fact that many hold this work dear and spontaneously share in it. There is only One who prepares hearts for that. In this way, I was once again able to devote myself full-time this year to all the work that belongs to the Good Tidings. And that with great joy, I may add.

2024

It is in that joy that, together with my loved ones, Petra and the children, I also look forward to the new year. Time is becoming increasingly urgent, for the famous “two days” (= two thousand years) are rapidly passing. And that fact is (in any case!) a significant milestone! The prophetic word will therefore demand ever more attention, and alert and watchful we want to notice, in its light, the signs of the times. Even though the transition from the current eon to the coming eon will be very intense (no doubt about that), GOD’S future is certain, and nothing and no one can undo it. And therefore, as long as we have the opportunity, we will tell anyone who wants to hear it: the living GOD is the Saviour of all mankind… especially of believers!

(All the best for 2024. THE BEST IS YET TO COME!)

Delen: