Synod Task Force Reports Available

Two task force reports are now available online and will be discussed at Synod 2026 in June. The reports of the Defining Membership Task Force and the Task Force to Study Multisite
Churches are posted at crcna.org/SynodResources. Church councils and classes can review these reports and send feedback to synod with their classis delegates.

The Defining Membership Task Force met in response to a request from Synod 2024. That synod had received an overture requesting advice on how the confessions and their interpretations apply to confessing members who are not officebearers (Overture 17, Agenda for Synod 2024, pp. 456-58). In response, synod tasked the Office of General Secretary “to provide theological reflection and advice on the historical, biblical, and theological aspects of membership.” In assigning this task, synod observed a need for clarification in the “difference in the relative commitment to the confessions between a member and an officebearer” (Acts of Synod 2024, pp. 866-67). 

Following that request, a small staff group of Zachary King (general secretary), Joel Vande Werken (director of ecclesiastical governance), and Jul Medenblik (president of Calvin Theological Seminary) gathered as a task force to review past synodical guidance on the matter of church membership. Over the course of several months this task force also met with a number of CRC leaders throughout North America to discuss ways in which congregations are implementing decisions about church membership in their own contexts. 

Their report provides biblical and theological reflection on membership, background on what it means to be a confessing member in the Christian Reformed Church, an exploration of the role of the local consistory and current practices in CRC congregations, and an outline of some practical implications for membership issues. 

The Task Force to Study Multisite Churches was also appointed in response to an overture to Synod 2024 (Agenda for Synod 2024, pp. 427-28). Recognizing that CRC Church Order and synodical regulations do not presently envision multisite church arrangements, synod appointed a task force with a mandate to provide the following information (Acts of Synod 2024, pp. 884-85):

• direction, advice, and guidance on what models best fit Reformed theology and polity 
• direction, advice, and guidance on what models should not be employed in Reformed churches 
• a roadmap for how churches might become a multisite campus or enfold a church as part of a campus
• recommended changes to Church Order supplements to facilitate such arrangements and provide clarity for how such churches should properly function in relation to each other, the classis, and synod.

A task force of eight people, including five church representatives and three CRCNA staff members, was appointed to explore this topic. They met via video conference and email a number of times and met in person in December 2025. 

The task force report explains that the term multisite describes a variety of models ranging from “one church in many rooms” to one church in multiple locations to a decentralized church network or family of churches. The report affirms the rationale for multisite churches but also offers some cautions and limits. An executive summary of this report is available in English and will soon be available in Spanish and Korean as well.

These task force reports will be presented to Synod 2026 in June for discussion and decision. In the meantime, Christian Reformed churches and classes are asked to review the documents.

If councils or classes have an opinion about how Synod 2026 should respond to these reports, they are invited to send suggestions in an overture or communication for consideration via the Agenda for Synod 2026 Supplement, following the guidelines laid out on this webpage.