Sparkler Rev. Jeremiah Thomas, ONA Board Member


What does a sparkler, a church sanctuary, and ONA have to do with one another? Nothing yet, but maybe something at the end of this little article! As a pastor at


a church that seeks to incorporate covenant children in Sunday morning worship, I have the great opportunity to invite our kids down to the front for a “children’s mes- sage.” In an effort to reveal the truths of God to these young ones before they lose all interest, like so many of my brethren, I incorporate object lessons into the message. Enter the Sunday morning that fell on July the 4th. I had the “genius” idea of lighting a sparkler inside the sanctuary. My thoughts were twofold. First, the children would


be seeing or hearing fireworks that evening. Second, fireworks go out! This would provide me an opportunity to share about “the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). Likewise, I could roll into such a concept Jesus’ words about himself, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). In other words, God gives us a booming and shining light that never fades! I had it in the bag! Thankfully, all went well. No fires! Only one elder, three deacons, and my wife “gently reminded” me of the instruc-


tions on the box (don’t light these indoors). And to quote one of our frequent visitors, “You certainly had their attention!” So far, we have the sparkler and the church sanctuary, but what about ONA? I am certain that many of you have heard


the news of potential changes to the structure of this denominational ministry. Even so, I want to assure you that ONA is working diligently and humbly in this season, seeking to serve the Lord and to see churches planted and revitalized. So many things on earth change, and denominational ministry processes are not exempt. But praise be to God that in


the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church we are not focused on worldly lights that go out (like sparklers!). Rather, we are focused on the Light of the World, Jesus Christ our Savior, and his call on our collective lives as the body of Christ represented in the ARPC. ONA is blessed and humbled to serve this denomination. May God be glorified in this season and in those to come!


Hope Reformed Church, Millbury, MA Rev. Josh Kitchen


Hope Reformed Church received a Covid Relief Grant from ONA to help with the


strain of planting a church during the pandemic. Like most churches, Hope had some serious challenges that we’ve faced


because of COVID-19 and the forced quarantine. Sadly, we had just spent most of our marketing budget on promoting our Easter service, which had to be moved online. We also had to purchase equipment to make sure that we could stream our services each Sunday, which we did on Facebook, Youtube, and on our website. After the quarantine ended, we were able to move back into the public school that we met at for the summer; however, at the end of the sum- mer, they told us that we couldn’t meet there during the school year. With less than a week’s notice, we were back to streaming our services. Before the school said we could move back in July, I had been looking for a more permanent space for our church to rent, but was unable to find anything. Within a month of being kicked out of the school, we were able to find a new facility that we could rent. The new space is more expensive than the school, but we are able to keep everything set up and have a permanent spot where people can always find us. We moved into the new space in November, and have been advertis- ing our new location since December. Praise the Lord our average attendance has gone up each month in 2021. Our prayer requests would be: • That our church continues to grow in this new location; • That God would grant us favor with our new landlord and neighbors; and


• That our church would be a light that would lead to a revival in New England.


Helping You Reach Your Community 14 The Associate Reformed Presbyterian


Outreach North America


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