Over the winter season, I asked fellow congregants what safe church questions, concerns, and/or opinions they had to better understand what resources could be beneficial to them. One of these...

Context and Pastoral Response Over the past several weeks, Thrive has received numerous inquiries from Christian Reformed congregations across the U.S. whose members have been directly or indirectly...

I prefer the “straight” times! I like to be able to see how everything is fitting together. The “crooked” times are difficult, not just because they’re crooked but because we can’t see how God is...

In Canada, the United States, and across the world, newsreaders are being inundated with stories about our most vulnerable neighbours who are being persecuted. In particular, it is migrants with...

Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. (Psalm 30:5) As this past week came to an end, my heart has been full of overwhelming emotions. I do not know if I feel joy, hope...

I know you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are...

I met Martha at church. We both attended the same small group bible study that was near where I lived. It was challenging to build real friendships in Malawi with Malawians. Most of the women my age...

I really dislike singing the Christina Rossetti hymn “In the Bleak Midwinter” during Advent, both because I find it lacking in theological content, and because the final stanza makes me cry. In fact...

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am...

Every week, a group gathers at the Lantern CRC Church to offer a light lunch, coffee, peppermint tea, and meaningful conversation. Every other week, through Cree Nation and Iksook, this hospitality...

I “attended” two funerals this month: I followed President Jimmy Carter’s funeral service on TV, and a funeral for a two month old infant was held in our church the following week. Superficially, they...

“Faith is a footbridge that you don't know will hold you up over the chasm until you're forced to walk out onto it.” ― Nicholas Wolterstorff, Lament for a Son Congo Rwandan-backed rebel faction M23...