CRC to Restructure Leadership Exchange

The Christian Reformed Church in North America will reassess and reconfigure The Leadership Exchange, the denomination’s current approach to leadership development, Rev. Joel Boot, executive director of the CRCNA, announced this week.

“We have concluded that the Leadership Exchange program, as it currently exists, is not achieving the purposes for which it was created or meeting the needs of the Christian Reformed Church,” said Boot.

He said the decision was made after an extensive review, and in consultation with members of the Leadership Exchange Governing Board and the executive committee of the CRCNA’s Board of Trustees.

The Leadership Exchange was started in 2009 with the purpose of finding ways to identify, train, and encourage new leaders of all ages and ethnic backgrounds in the CRCNA.

“We remain committed to that goal,” Boot said. “The Christian Reformed Church is serious about an effective leadership development initiative.”

But he said that the review, which included consulting with a number of sources, found that the Leadership Exchange was not adequately meeting the purposes for which it was founded. The review found that the program’s mission was too broad and that it was not collaborating effectively with other leadership development programs around the denomination.

In his announcement, Boot said that the Leadership Exchange Governing Board, in consultation with him and other senior denominational staff, will begin the reassessment and restructuring process immediately. Proposed revisions will be presented to the Board of Trustees for approval.

Meanwhile, the planning process for The Leadership Exchange’s Young Adult Summit proposed for this summer will continue. But all other activities of the exchange have been suspended.

As a result, staff positions associated with the Leadership Exchange — those of director Chris Pullenayegem and a part-time staff member — have been eliminated. Boot thanked the staff members for their dedication and work and wished them well in the ministries to which God may call them in the future.

He asked people to pray for the departing staff members, as well as for those persons who will be involved in the reassessment and restructuring process.