IREC Trinity is a fellowship of Christians who receive, live, and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our fellowship is a fellowship in the Trinity: God the Father who calls and chose His people, God the Son who rescues us from sin and death; and God the Holy Spirit who makes us one with Christ as His Body.
Along with the whole church of Jesus Christ, we affirm the Apostle’s Creed, and together with Reformed Presbyterian churches, we affirm the Heidelberg Catechism and the Westminster Confession of faith.
IRECT started off as a monthly Bible Study with Rev. Joshua Lie at the Winardis’ residence. When it began in October 2000, there were only 3 couples participated in the group. But the Lord added to this Bible Study’s numbers so that in a year, we have around 30 adult participants.
Along with the growth, the participants’ desire to seek and learn the Word of God also grows, so that Rev. Joshua Lie, and other brothers and sisters prayed and sought God’s will on how they would have a place for this fellowship. In the struggle of seeking God’s will for us, it was made known that besides a Bible Study, the Indonesian immigrants, especially the newcomers, needed a Reformed/Presbyterian Church in which they could worship and grow together. With this realization, we prayed again and asked that the Lord would allow us to begin a Sunday Service in the Indonesian language.
During these times, God made a way through Rev. Ian McWhinnie and an elder of Glenbrook Presbyterian Church. They offered us their worship space for Sunday afternoon Service. On Sunday, September 9, 2001, the first IRECT’s Sunday Service took place in Glenbrook Presbyterian Church, 3535 South Common Court, Mississauga, Ontario.
IRECT is our registered name as a charitable organization in Canada. In the past, we were known as Mimbar Reformed Injili Indonesia (MRII), Toronto. This is due to our affiliation with Gereja Reformed Injili Indonesia (GRII). Since October 14, 2007, IRECT has officially become an independent church.
We give thanks to Jesus, the Lord of the Church. By His providence, He has made IRECT a place where the body of Christ can grow and serve in the Greater Toronto area. We hope that in and through IRECT, we can be a blessing to the Indonesian communities in Mississauga and Toronto, and to all Canadians at large.
As the years passed, God led along IRECT and He added to their numbers day after day those who were being saved. Several church members who resided in the East-Toronto region (Scarborough, Markham, Richmond Hill and Ajax) also held a monthly Bible Study in the area starting with only 5 families since 2004. From there, the East Bible Study group grew into 10 families and the need for a church planting to serve His people in the East-Toronto region seemed natural.
By the Grace of God, on May 31, 2009, IRECT began the East church plant by holding a fortnightly Sunday Service at Seneca College, Toronto. In October 2009, Rev. Joshua Lie returned to Canada and began a weekly Sunday Service. Since August 25, 2013, IREC-East found a home to hold their 2 PM Sunday Services at the Trinity Presbyterian Church York Mills at 2737 Bayview Avenue, Toronto. The ministry in the East-Toronto region grew to be a mature and independent church and on January 18, 2015, this congregation was officially recognized as the Indonesian Reformed Evangelical Church Trinity or IREC Trinity.
As we look ahead to the future and consider the vision God has put in our hearts, we see so much more ministry – ministry to and by young adults, children, youth, all ages, families, and singles… and to the nations, both here in the Greater Toronto Area and across Canada!
All glory be to God alone.
Rev. Joshua Lie is the founding pastor of the Indonesian Reformed Evangelical Church in Toronto (IRECT). After graduating from South East Asia Bible Seminary, Malang, Joshua served at GKIm Bandung. In January 1990, he began to serve at the Reformed Evangelical Church of Indonesia (GRII), Jakarta. A year later he was ordained and continued to serve the congregation. In 1993, he flew to Canada to pursue his Master of Philosophy in Philosophical Theology at the Institute for Christian Studies, Toronto. In 1998, besides serving GRII, he lectured and managed Reformed Institute, Jakarta. In 1999, he returned to Canada to complete his study at the Institute for Christian Studies. In 2006, he founded Reformational Worldview Foundation in Jakarta. He currently serves as a pastor at IREC Trinity and works on his doctorate.