The CRC is Facing a 'Kairos Moment'

Andrew Ryskamp says he believes the Christian Reformed Church is facing a "kairos moment," a time when the Holy Spirit is drawing near to do a special work in and through the denomination.

Confronting a wide range of challenges, from a loss of denominational identity to an uncertain future for local churches, the CRC could turn inward, hoping to preserve the status quo, says Ryskamp, chair of the CRC’s Strategic Planning and Adaptive Change Team (SPACT) and U.S. director of World Renew.

SPACT was formed more than a year ago by the CRC's Board of Trustees, which asked the team to draft a new ministry plan for the denomination.

As part of this process, SPACT has just released an interim report to the BOT and to members of its team that details several of the adaptive challenges in front of the church.

"An adaptive challenge is one where the direction forward is not clear and one where we must practice our way into new thinking  in order to address it," says Ryskamp.

SPACT came up with a list of these adaptive challenges by preparing an overview of these challenges, gleaned from a variety of sources, and then by discussing them in visits with churches all over North America last year.

Besides a loss of denominational identity and the uncertainty local churches feel over the future, these adaptive challenges include younger people leaving or not joining the church; slow progress in the denomination becoming more multicultural; lay leadership and the gifts of women being under-emphasized, and difficulties that many congregations, classes, and denominational ministries are feeling over the process of continuous change.

"The direction and overall focus of the CRC are no longer clear; our sense of a shared identity is no longer self-evident," says the SPACT report.

Ryskamp says he realizes these are sober findings. The adaptive challenges are many, but they are no reason for pessimism.

"We have a chance, by looking at this report, to discern where we are and to be creative as we move forward as a church body," he says.

"We have so much going for us as a church... God has given us many gifts so we can be a powerful witness to the world. This is a kairos moment."

After further discussion on the interim report, the goal is to send a comprehensive document from SPACT to the BOT in September, says Ryskamp.

"SPACT is working closely with the Ministry Leadership Council of the CRCNA to note what is already being done on addressing the challenges, identifying new initiatives that can be tried, and continuing to frame the journey/plan," writes Ryskamp in a letter accompanying the interim report.

"The key focus of this journey is to build better linkages between denominational agencies with the churches across Canada and the United States," he says in the letter.