RFPA Annual Meeting 2024

"Is Your Brain Being Wired for Deeper Thinking?"

Such was the title of the speech at the center of this year's Annual RFPA Meeting. The event, held at the end of each fiscal year, is an opportunity for current Association members to gather together in one place and discuss the current state of the Reformed Free Publishing Association. It is also the only time during the year that new members are able to join the Association!

This year's Annual Meeting drew an excellent turnout of young and old readers and RFPA supporters. Many of the 181 active Association members attended with friends and family members to listen to high school teacher and long-time Association member Mr. Joel Minderhoud give a presentation titled "Is Your Brain Being Wired for Deeper Thinking? The Christian Calling and Incentive to Read."

More than 200 Association members and visitors were in attendance at this year's meeting

Why this topic?

First, the idea arose from memories of a chapel presentation which Mr. Minderhoud was a part of many years ago at a local Christian school. Though that presentation was very well received at the time, the RFPA—with a vested interest in what and how and why believers are reading!—desired to make a similar presentation available to readers and listeners on a wider scale.

Second, recent trends on reading are, frankly, discouraging. The speaker noted, "As Christians, we need to be readers. As supporters of the RFPA, you are readers...But I and you alike recognize that [in] the day and age in which we live, there's plenty that distracts us and competes with our reading time—and from a statistical perspective, the trends on reading are not good." According to the statistics cited by Mr. Minderhoud, 8th, 10th, and 12th graders are reading far less often than in years past. (And that's to say nothing of adults, whose daily screen time has increased dramatically in the last decade of school, work, and leisure.) The RFPA is keenly aware of these trends and their results. Thus, it seeks with this topic to give readers and supporters the knowledge and tools necessary to buck the trends and begin to move in a new direction.

Third, and most importantly, Mr. Minderhoud noted that "While reading is not the only means God has given us to grow in grace and in the knowledge of God, reading is one of the best means. We"—that is, RFPA member and non-member alike—"do well to make use of this good means." 

After all, as retiring RFPA secretary Rick Gritters noted in his Secretary's Report:

"Though in times past, much of what a Christian learned about God had to be passed down orally from generation to generation in poems, lectures, and songs, the church universal today is nourished and strengthened primarily by the written word. By means of books, pamphlets, and magazines, the gospel is spread to more nations, tribes, and tongues than any one person could ever reach."

Watch Mr. Minderhoud's speech here to learn more. (The full speech with opening remarks and the reading of reports is here.)

After the speech and reports, attendees were introduced to one of the RFPA's newest authors, Rev. Bill Boekestein, pastor of Immanuel Fellowship United Reformed Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Rev. Boekestein has published numerous books, but Finding My Vocation is his first book with the RFPA.

Rev. Boekestein speaks on his experience working with the RFPA and the process of writing his book Finding My Vocation

Rev. Boekestein was one of many RFPA authors in attendance, including P.M. Kuiper, Rev. Martyn McGeown (pictured below), Abby Van Solkema, and Mike Velthouse.

Above: Rev. Martyn McGeown and RFPA book coordinator Marco Barone. Below: Rev. Bill Boekestein and RFPA business manager Dwight Quenga

The RFPA bookstore at this event featured displays of each new release in the 2023–2024 fiscal year

Other highlights from this year's meeting included the food and fellowship following the speech. A beautiful and tasty dessert charcuterie was provided by the Hope School Circle, which also organizes the annual fundraising event "Taste of Hope" for Hope Protestant Reformed School. If you liked the food at the Annual Meeting, be sure to watch for next year's Taste of Hope event!

If you attended, let us know what you thought! What did you most enjoy? What was missing? What could have been done better? And in 2025, what kind of topic would you like to hear more about? Do you have a recommendation for a speaker? Email ashley@rfpa.org with your feedback.

Interested in attending next year or learning more about the Association? Subscribe to the RFPA email list here and follow us on social media for more news on events, releases, and sales.

Finally, in the words of Mr. Minderhoud:

"Let us be reminded of the goal and emphasis of the Reformers: read the word of God. Let us read, and in the way of that reading, our minds will be sharpened and equipped to read and digest what we read...more and more equipped to read the infallible word of God, and in that way...we will grow in the knowledge of our gracious covenant God, which knowledge is above all else most precious."

Note: The featured image at the top of this post is a slide taken from Mr. Minderhoud's presentation. Learn more about typoglycemia via the link noted in the image.

—This article was written by Ashley Mulder, RFPA Marketing Director. All opinions expressed above are those of the author.