Very simple! God wants people to flourish as his image-bearers. He wants them to reach their full potential as his creatures. This requires living in daily fellowship with him by reading the Bible, praying genuinely and daily, and being part of a spiritually vibrant church for worship, service, accountability, and encouragement. If God is our Father, a true church is our nurturing mother. If we live by this simple code, we discover increasingly that all of life—every part of it—is blessed and flourishing.

A native of Paterson, NJ and the son and grandson of pastors in the Christian Reformed Church, James Allan De Jong graduated from Calvin College (1963), Calvin Theological Seminary (1966), and earned a Th.D. from the Free University of Amsterdam in 1970. He was ordained in 1970 and taught at Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights, IL and later Dordt College, Sioux Center, IA. An author and editor, he specializes in church history, particularly the history of Reformed theology and the history of missions.