The CRC’s new direction

“I believe that the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) is at a pivot point,” declared General Secretary Zachary King in his opening address at the denomination’s annual meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan on June 13. As King called the church to renewal, he also acknowledged the disunity the CRC has experienced in recent years.

At least 70 of the CRC’s 1,000 churches in both Canada and the U.S. have disaffiliated since 2022. According to King, “about 55 or 60 of those have been because of the human sexuality conversation.” The CRC’s position is that “Persons of same-sex attraction may not be denied community acceptance solely because of their sexual orientation and should be wholeheartedly received by the church and given loving support and encouragement. . . . Homosexual practice, however, is incompatible with obedience to the will of God as revealed in Scripture.” In practice, that means the CRC welcomes LGBTQ members and encourages them to choose celibacy or heterosexual marriages if they haven’t already. All officebearers (ministers, elders and deacons) must agree to this position.

While Synod 2026 focused on church planting and renewal, it did not dismiss the pain of these disaffiliations. While presenting a ten-year church planting plan, Tim Sheridan recognized the awkward timing: “Aren’t we a broken body still struggling to heal? I see the pain. I feel it.” Sheridan confessed that he has asked: “Is there hope for this denomination?”

Synod delegate Andrew Aukema, pastor of Inglewood CRC in Edmonton, Alberta, says expressions of grief over disaffiliations mostly happened informally over mealtimes. “Everyone has had people leave their congregation over the last few years. So we have lots in common to talk about. But it is okay to put the emphasis on moving forward. As one person at Synod reminded me, ‘We’re allowed to be happy in our churches.’”

“I went to Synod with the goal of networking like crazy,” says Mark Verbruggen, pastor of Grace Community CRC in Ancaster, Ontario. “I wanted to get to know as many people as I could – even the ones with whom I knew I was not in agreement.”

On June 17, during the approval of the new editor of The Banner magazine, Lora Copley, Verbruggen pointed out that different ways of being reformed have always been part of the denomination, only now the balance of power has shifted: “Right now I feel like the doctrinalists are in the driver’s seat, the pietists are riding shotgun, and the transformationists like myself have been relegated to the back seat, and that’s okay.”

“I am happy to ‘be in the car,’” said Verbruggen in a follow-up email to CC, “and go along for the ride because the direction is as it has always been: to make Christ and his kingdom known while declaring ‘salvation is by grace.’”

Charting a new course

As Synod 2026 looked to move forward, several noteworthy decisions showed the CRC’s new path. Greater powers were given to higher ecclesiastical bodies to discipline local churches that stray from the denomination’s theological or covenantal commitments. A change was also made to the church order, the CRC’s written constitution, to explicitly emphasize psalm singing during worship. This change will have to be ratified by next year’s synod.

Synod also voted in favour of writing new mission and vision statements to place a greater emphasis on reformed identity. These were last updated in 1997 and 2005, respectively.

“It is probably a healthy exercise for us to explore anew what it means to be the CRC, what our calling is, and how we do so on both sides of the border,” says Al Postma, executive director for CRCNA-Canada, noting that the denomination is navigating an identity crisis.

Synod decided to dismiss the Dignity Team, a group of five ministry leaders who support victims of abuse of power. This decision was made despite the fact that nine out of the twelve delegates who spoke were in favour of the team’s work continuing.

“There is no agency that does this work,” said Willem Delleman, pastor of Christ Community Church in Victoria, B.C. “Increasingly, people are distrustful of the organized church. So the need for the Dignity Team, at least where I live, is only increasing.” Delleman was on the advisory committee that initially created the team in 2022.

The nearly 200 delegates were largely united on their decisions.But Synod did receive a formal protest and nine negative votes when the delegates decided to immediately discontinue the CRC’s membership in the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) over concerns that “the positions and the materials promoted by this organization are not Christian.” The WCRC is an ecclesiastical organization that the CRC helped found in 2010 and it represents more than 230 churches in 109 countries.

Postma says the abruptness of this decision was uncommon. “I do think the deliberations on the withdrawal from WCRC will be seen as some of the most difficult in this past synod,” says Postma. But he also mentioned that the CRC is right to reassess ecumenical relationships, and this process was already happening before Synod 2026. Synod chose to enter into a new ecumenical partnership with a Dutch denomination, Nederlandse Gereformeerde Kerken (NGK), with the stated hope that they will “guide, mentor and disciple the NGK on the issue of human sexuality.”

Feeling hopeful

Postma says he knows he’s an “irrepressibly hopeful person,” but he did feel encouraged during his time in Grand Rapids. “I would describe the general mood at Synod as an aspiring hopefulness,” says Postma. “The people I met and the conversations I had left me feeling optimistic.”

Aukema says, “There are definitely signs of renewal going on in the CRC, and especially in the ethnic minority communities.”

According to data that King shared during his talk, 65 percent of congregations are still predominantly Anglo or Caucasian, but that number is dropping as the share of multiethnic and non-Anglo/Caucasian congregations is increasing. Only 17 percent of church plants in the CRC are Caucasian with the majority being Korean, Latino or multiethnic.

Dai (Luke) Shi, Mandarin ministry pastor at Immanuel CRC in Richmond, British Columbia, says he would love to see the CRC enter a new season characterized by growth. “When you go to local CRC churches and find out some of them have beautiful buildings, and most of the members are senior people, you know the church is facing a serious challenge.” Shi says he is grateful to serve in the CRC and hopes that discipleship will bring renewal.

“The CRC is a very exciting place to be right now,” said Curtis Meliefste in an email to CC. He, along with Shi, is one of the 36 new candidates for ministry that synod approved this year.

Meliefste says he believes the CRC is in the midst of renewal because of “increased faithfulness to Holy Scripture, our confessions and our reformed tradition.” Referring to the high number of candidates for ministry (last year there were only 19), he added, “I believe God is doing what he has promised: to raise up faithful men for the work of ministry.”

Postma says he’s grateful that church planting was a central focus for Synod 2026 and that Sheridan, who is leading this effort, is a Canadian who knows the context here well. “I believe the CRC has been in a deficit mindset for some time, with just trying to limit decline,” says Postma. “This willingness to try new things, innovate as a community, and reach people more effectively can have a positive impact on existing churches as well. That is, if we are willing to support one another and learn from one another.”

Verbruggen is feeling optimistic about the future of the CRC too: “The young voices at Synod spoke passionately for the gospel and the reformed confessions. I was impressed also with the Young Adult advisors. These people are looking for clarity and vision.”