Leroy Koopman

The Reformed Church in America (RCA) has had a presence in North America since 1628. It was initially known as the Dutch Reformed church and was an expression of Christianity that was brought to America by immigrants from Europe. Early in its history the Reformed church was involved in ministry to those people who inhabited the land before the arrival of Europeans, the people we know today collectively as Native Americans. Taking the Jesus Road, by LeRoy Koopman tells the story of the ministry of the RCA among Native Americans.

Koopman opens with an overview of policies, both official and unofficial, that were used by those in positions of power to manage relationships with Native Americans. These range from early attempts to exterminate Native Americans from the continent to the current position of recognizing Native American tribes as sovereign governments, holding the rights of self-determination. He follows this with a description of early ministries with Native Americans and then has chapters that present the histories of the seven churches that the RCA established among Native American communities. He closes with a word of hope for the future of the work of the RCA among Native Americans.

I found the book to be fascinating. I had no previous knowledge of some of the US government policies towards Native Americans, such as the Dawes Act, which at surface may have been well-intended, but did not consider the workings of Native American culture, so that in its implementation the results ranged from poor to disastrous. Similarly, I was unaware of the individual stories of persons within the RCA who devoted their lives to working among Native Americans.

Koopman tells these stories fully, including both their good and bad parts, of which both are plentiful. He draws deeply from documents of congregational and denominational meetings, personal correspondence, and reports of missionaries back to the people and churches providing financial support. For the history of more recent times he has visited and had conversations with both the missionaries and people from the congregations.

Two things stand out for me from this book. One is the commitment of the RCA to be involved in ministry with, not to, Native Americans. From the early days of the seven congregations missionaries worked to cultivate local leadership within the churches. In several instances this included having Native Americans ordained as pastors. The other thing is the commitment to remain in ministry, which is repeatedly portrayed as work that does not often yield tangible results, such as consistently growing congregations, but nonetheless is work that God has called His church to do. Earthly blessings may be well and good, but missionaries among Native Americans know that the best fruit their work can bring is eternal.… (altro)