RFPA Annual Meeting 2023

Have you ever wondered why the Reformed Free Publishing Association is the RFPA, and not just the RFP?

Our nonprofit has long published "Reformed" literature and authors, we're "Free" because we operate without a denominational affiliation, and "Publishing" is self-explanatory, but why are we an Association?

From the beginning, the word "Association" was chosen by our founders to capture something about the structure of the organization. That is, it were founded as a group of believers, all working toward the same goal. Today, that goal is described this way: "to glorify God by making accessible to the broadest possible audience material that testifies to the truth of Scripture as understood and developed in the Reformed tradition" (About).

Currently, the RFPA has over 200 Association members (with 16 of those men serving on the RFPA Board)! But bringing together 200 supporters is no easy task. Because 200 men wouldn't fit in the RFPA conference room, the Association instead borrows a Grand Rapids-area church for one evening in September. At the selected church, we hold an Annual Meeting to which all current, past, and future Association members are invited. Last week Thursday, we held just such a meeting at Grandville Protestant Reformed Christian Church, hosting speaker Rev. Daniel Kleyn and as many Association members as could attend.

The 2023 speaker, Rev. Daniel Kleyn, begins his speech, "Spreading the Reformed Gospel to the Four Corners of the Earth," to gathered Association members and online viewers.

Rev. Kleyn is a former missionary to the Philippines, having served there for more than 14 years. [Read more about the history of the PRCP in a 2017 Beacon Lights article here, or more about the PRCA's work in the Philippines here.] In his speech, he highlighted the missionary and translation work that he and the PRCP have done in the Philippines over the last years, including the dissemination of over 18,000 books (all made possible by donations and church collections)! In addition, over 600 Reformed Witness Hour messages have been translated into Tagalog, the most widely spoken language in the Philippines.

RFPA bestsellers among believers in the Philippines include Doctrine According to Godliness and Saved by Grace.

As Rev. Kleyn and former RFPA Board president Josh Hoekstra noted near the end of the Meeting: "Our literature is worth spreading...[and] If it's worth spreading, it's worth translating."

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Below, you'll find photos of our 2023 Association Meeting displays, both old and new. We encourage readers, especially past and present Association members, to reminisce on the blessings of the Association from times past, even as we look forward with joy to the many fruitful years to come...with your support!

The lobby of Grandville Protestant Reformed Church, our 2023 Meeting location, bedecked with RFPA displays.

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An RFPA display that was used for conferences and tradeshows in years past, but has since been retired. While our new RFPA display takes about 15 minutes to assemble, this older display requires nearly two hours of careful work to set up!

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The future RFPA conference display, set to be used in place of the previous display. Lord willing, this display will see its conference debut at the Evangelical Theological Society conference from Tuesday, November 14th, to Thursday, November 16th. 

Note: Although Rev. Kleyn's speech was recorded, it has not yet been posted on the RFPA site. Click here or on the "Audio" tab of the RFPA homepage to find links to archived speeches, including - soon! - the 2023 Annual Meeting speech.