On Reformation weekend, as many Americans celebrated the Protestant Reformation in their churches, the cradle of the Reformation was awakened with the echoes of psalm singing, clear gospel-preaching, and Holy Communion.

As part of the First Heidelberg Conference on Reformed Theology (http://www.heidelbergconference.info/), set in the idyllic city where the Heidelberg Catechism was drafted, the ordination of a Reformed pastor, the Rev. Sebastian Heck, also took place.

The Rev. Heck, a native of the Black Forest, completed his internship at the Grace Presbyterian Church in Douglasville, Georgia, and was examined and approved for ordination by the Northwest Georgia Presbytery (PCA) on Sept. 11, 2010. A special commission was approved by the Presbytery to ordain Pastor Heck, who is called as an Asst. Pastor for Church Planting from the Douglasville congregation. The vision of this session is one that is spurring our presbytery to adopt and oversee its own works. For more information on this exciting work, see: http://r2g.gutensite.com/ [Editor’s note: the original URL (link) referenced is no longer valid, so the link has been removed.]

The participants and acts of the Special commission on October 29, 2010, are noted from the excerpt below:

The Commission of the Northwest Georgia Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America . . . was chaired by the Reverend Jon D. Payne and was composed further of the Moderator of the Presbytery, Joseph H. Fowler, the Reverend Dr. Derek W. H. Thomas, and the Reverend Dr. Carl R. Trueman. Joining the members of the Commission were TE William M. Schweitzer, RE Michael Ottensmann, and TE Markus Geromin.
The commissioning service was conducted at the Independent Evangelistic-Reformed Church of Heidelberg, commencing at 4:30 p.m.
The service began with prayer by Dr. Payne, followed by the Call to Worship from 2 Corinthians 13:14. Following the Doxology and the Hymn of Adoration, “Praise to the Lord the Almighty,” TE William Schweitzer read a passage from 2 Corinthians 3:1-18. Following the scripture reading, TE Markus Geromin lead the congregation in prayer and the Confession of Sin. The Hymn “Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken” was then sung, followed by the Confession of Faith led by Dr. Trueman. The Confession was taken from the Heidelberg Catechism, Question and Answers 60 and 61.
Dr. Thomas preached the ordination sermon from 2 Timothy 4:1-5, entitled “Gospel-Based Ministry.” Following the message, Dr. Payne submitted the questions for ordination to Mr. Heck, followed by a prayer by Dr. Thomas and the laying on of hands by the elders. Dr. Payne then pronounced the regular ordination and installation of Sebastian Heck as a gospel minister according to the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in America.
Dr. Payne provided the charge to the minister, and RE Joseph Fowler provided the charge to the congregation.
The service was concluded with the singing, in German, of Psalm 89 with the Benediction pronounced by Rev. Heck.

Ruling Elder Joseph Fowler, the Moderator of Northwest Georgia Presbytery, commented about this moving occasion: “It was very special; the service on Friday was great. On Sunday the church observed its first communion service. I looked back during that service, and a lady about 60 years of age was weeping, hearing the gospel in her own tongue.”

He added further, “Outreach is tough sledding, with the general populace having been baptized as children, and believing ‘their card has been punched.’ To suggest to such a person that he needs to participate in a church service (particularly outside the ‘mother church’) can be (and generally is, according to Sebastian) insulting. We need to prepare ourselves to expect results coming on the long term. Meanwhile, we need to pray that God would open doors and remove barriers.”

Pastor Payne describes the first April service of this church in these words: “The church is located in the heart of the city, on the top floor of the historic Landfried building, a building which, in former times, was a large tobacco factory. From the arched windows in the sanctuary there are stunning views of the ancient hillsides and the tops of vintage buildings which are unmistakably German. Elevated front and center is the recently constructed pulpit, built by Sebastian and his father.

This beautiful piece of ecclesiastical furniture underscores the centrality of the public reading and preaching of Scripture (1 Timothy 4:13). On April 18, 2010, the church plant gathered for public worship for the first time. By God’s sovereign grace and power, the vision for the establishment of a Reformed, Confessional and Presbyterian Church in Germany has now become a reality.”

The 2010 HCRT lectures by Carl Trueman, Derek Thomas, Jon Payne, and Sebastian Heck are available at: http://www.heidelbergconference.info/media/. Also, for an informational video on the work in Germany, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6xnt2kwuFE

We hope all will recall what Pastor Payne wrote: “Today less than 7% of the German population attends church. Of those who profess Christ, only a tiny fraction confess the Reformed Faith. Therefore, the need for a new reformation in Germany, a country of almost 90 million people, is huge. A work of this size will not likely happen overnight. Therefore, there must be ongoing support of faithful German church planters in the future.

The city of Heidelberg is the quintessential place to begin the work of church planting in Germany . . . it is a bustling town with many leading professionals and over 40,000 students from the University of Heidelberg, one of the finest universities in Europe. In kingdom terms, the church plant here in Heidelberg is only one blossom on the tree of reformation and renewal in Germany. Therefore, it must be our solemn prayer that God would end the long spiritual winter in the land of the Protestant Reformation, and bring the inception of a new spiritual springtime through the faithful proclamation of the Gospel through Word and sacrament.

Great grace and power will be needed to accomplish the task. Thankfully, great grace and power are provided through the crucified and risen Christ. Let us be even more devoted to support and pray for the building of God’s kingdom in Germany.”

We invite all our friends to rejoice with us and pray for this crucial ministry. Year-end gifts are needed and would be greatly appreciated. To donate such, please send to: Grace Presbyterian Church (memo: Reformation 2 Germany), 5000 Stewart Mill Rd., Douglasville, GA 30135.