Korean Translation of Church Order under Review

A revision of the Korean translation of the Church Order is currently under way. The Church Order and Its Supplements is a publication that shows how the congregations of the Christian Reformed Church in North America have decided to organize and govern themselves. It outlines the roles, rules, and procedures that various synods have decided on for Christian Reformed congregations to function in their covenant together as a denomination. Congregations agree to abide by these regulations and to work together to change them when necessary.

A PDF of this booklet can be found on the Synod Resources page at crcna.org and is available in English, Spanish, Korean, and Chinese.

Since an initial Korean translation was produced decades ago, subsequent editions have consisted mainly of translation updates to specific sections whenever synods made changes to the Church Order text. While these updates provided necessary information, the overall consistency and quality of the Korean translation diminished because of piecemeal revisions. As a result, Korean ministry leaders have raised concerns regarding consistency in terminology and overall readability.

With this in mind, the Office of General Secretary decided that a review and revision of the Korean version of the Church Order is necessary. This project began in 2025 with Prof. Jay Shim providing an initial round of updates. The document was then sent to Catheryn Jo, the CRCNA’s staff Korean translator, for review.

Jo gathered a Translation Review Task Force, commissioned by the Korean Ministers Association (KMA) Steering Team, to complete a final review. This task force consists of Jo,  Rev. Insoo Oh, Rev. Ed Yoon, and Rev. Ezra Jang. They had their first meeting Dec. 16 and have since begun the final editing and terminology review process.

This revised Korean edition of the Church Order seeks faithfully to reflect the denomination’s theological identity and the Church Order’s legal and pastoral significance while also ensuring that the text is presented in clear, natural, and accessible Korean for its users.

The revised edition is expected to be available to Korean-speaking congregations by April-May, and it is hoped that this effort will significantly enhance both the understanding and practical use of the Church Order within Korean-speaking church communities.