To the Ends of the Earth
The Center for Missions and Evangelism is a new initiative at Mid-America Reformed Seminary designed to enhance the current M.Div. program with a greater missional emphasis where appropriate, as well as developing a new set of classes, conferences, cohorts, and internships focused on areas of evangelism, church planting, discipleship, and foreign missions.
It is our hope and prayer that in doing so, we may help the church raise up the next generation of faithful church leaders to serve faithful churches as well as help plant new ones at home and abroad.
A Great Commission
Jesus gave to his church a Great Commission. Until the end of the age, the church is to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth, making disciples, baptizing and teaching them the word of the Living God.
Faithfully reformed, confessional churches
The Center for Missions and Evangelism embodies the Seminary’s vision for assisting the church in carrying out the Great Commission through theological education that focuses on perpetuating faithfully reformed, confessional churches, church plants, and foreign mission fields.
Our Core Values
- Mid-America Reformed Seminary is a self-consciously Reformed and confessional school that serves the church through training pastors for faithful, ordinary means of grace ministries at home and abroad.
- Our primary purpose is to serve the church of our Lord Jesus Christ by providing our students with the kind of training, learning, and equipping that students need to be ministers of the gospel—the good news of salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
To glorify and enjoy God in Jesus Christ as we:
- Cultivate a genuine love for the Triune God and his church
- Help raise up the next generation of faithful pastors, evangelists and teachers with a high commitment to Reformed confessions and catechisms and a missional mindset
- Equip and train men with the particular gifts and calling to plant evangelistically engaged churches
- Offer classes and lectures taught by proven church planters, missionaries, and lay workers with extensive experience in missions, evangelism, and related practical areas in tandem with the current M.Div. program that focus primarily on the mission of the church
- Offer continuing education courses, conferences, and lectures for pastors and missionaries on relevant subjects
- Cultivate a greater awareness of evangelistic opportunities at home and abroad and assist students with internship placement
- Assist churches and sending agencies in finding suitable candidates for outreach ministry and/or church planting
- Assist established churches in cultivating more outward facing cultures of evangelism while maintaining strong covenantal identities
- Encourage lay members of local congregations as they seek to serve Christ faithfully
- Establish cohorts in various locations, focusing on missional subjects and providing valuable resources to churches on subjects related to evangelism, outreach, and discipleship, as well as church planting and missions
From Believing to Belonging
Hospitality & Evangelism in the Local Church
- When
- October 2–3, 2026
- Where
- Bethel Church, Lansing, Illinois
Held October 2–3, 2026. Seven speakers helped churches discover what it means to truly welcome and enfold people into the life of a congregation. Every talk is below.
Overview
Hospitality is essential to the life of a healthy Christian and a healthy church. It is listed among the qualifications of being a church leader and is often one of the most important things visitors notice when they come to our churches for the first time. Simply put, churches that are warm and hospitable tend to grow and thrive by the grace of God.
The apostle Paul exhorts believers to “contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality” (Romans 12:13). While many churches excel at meeting practical needs, hospitality—true, biblical hospitality—often remains underdeveloped. Yet hospitality isn’t optional for healthy church life; it’s essential.
“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”Hebrews 13:2
What the conference offered
- Biblical Teaching
- Explore what Scripture says about hospitality as a mark of genuine Christian faith and healthy church culture
- Panel Discussion
- Engage with speakers during Q&A sessions designed to address your specific questions and challenges
- Practical Tools
- Receive accessible, actionable strategies you can implement immediately in your church context
- All Ages Welcome
- Content designed to be practical and accessible for believers of all ages, from youth groups to seasoned leaders
- Fellowship & Food
- Experience hospitality firsthand through delicious meals, meaningful conversation, and uplifting worship
- Worship Together
- Join in corporate singing that draws our hearts toward the God who first welcomed us
Speakers
- John BouwersPastor of Hope Reformed Church, Brampton, ON
- Greg BylsmaPastor of Living Water Reformed Church, Brantford, ON
- Jon DennisPastor of Holy Trinity Church, Chicago, IL
- Alan StrangePresident of Mid-America Reformed Seminary
- Dale Van DykePastor of Harvest Church, Wyoming, MI
- Heather WatkinsOPC Pastor’s Wife, Conference Speaker
- Eric WatkinsDirector of the Center for Missions and Evangelism
Talks from last year
While I Was Saying… | Mark Vander Hart
Rev. Mark Vander Hart reflects on how everyday conversations, often spontaneous and unplanned, can become powerful moments of gospel witness, and how even casual remarks can serve as Spirit-led “points of contact.”
“Daughter, Come and Rest:” How Jesus Frees Women from the Demands of a Self-Absorbed World
Andrew Compton examines how the church can support women who are overwhelmed by the pressures of modern Western culture: honoring women biblically, rejecting harmful stereotypes, and discipling them deeply.
The Power of Christian Hospitality: Making Your Home a Place of Ministry
Eric and Donna Hausler share how God has used their marriage, local church, and everyday life to bear witness to the gospel and foster discipleship.
What If Evangelism Were a Simple Conversation?
A short invitation to the 2025 conference theme: rediscovering the beauty of everyday conversations that point people to Christ.
The local church is essential
The involvement of the local church is essential to the CME program at Mid-America Reformed Seminary. While the primary goal of the Center is to help students develop their gifts and abilities for effective ministry, a secondary goal is to aid the Church in growing missionally within their respective contexts. The CME seeks to both serve and cooperate with the local Church in reaching the world for the sake of Christ.
The benefit of the CME is thus twofold: first, to help those within the Reformed world who undervalue the need to reach a lost world to realize the importance of missions as part of being a faithful Reformed church, and second, to help those with a great emphasis on missions to realize they can carry out this calling best with a wholehearted commitment to Reformed doctrine and worship.
To reach out to the Director of the Center for Missions and Evangelism, you can email Dr. Eric Watkins directly at ewatkins@midamerica.edu or fill out the form.