Synods Celebrate Our Shared Ministry

Delegates of the synods of the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) and the Reformed Church in America (RCA) came together on Friday night to celebrate the many ministries the two denominations do together.

Rev. Denise Posie led the group through some of the history of that new cooperation, highlighting the “Pella Accord”, a commitment signed by both denominations in 2014 following a joint session of both synods in Pella, Iowa. This commitment states, “the principle that guides us, and the intention that motivates us, is to ‘act together in all matters except those in which deep differences of conviction compel [us] to act separately.’”

Delegates heard about the increasing work being done together by both denominations:  Disability Concerns ministry; Reformed Benefits Association; Reformed Leadership Initiative; Clinical Pastoral Education at Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services; Faith Alive Christian Resources; World Renew; social justice work.

Revs. Randy Weener and Kevin Schutte spoke of their work in church planting and multiplication. They have several areas of North America where the RCA and CRC are working on church multiplication together . They call these regions “Kingdom Enterprise Zones”.

“Our culture is shifting. No longer is the church at the center of every small town,” Schutte said. “In a world that is increasingly divided, the illustration of our churches working together is appealing and hopeful to the next generation.”

Following this presentation, a group of five took the stage to talk about justice and mercy. It is something to which both denominations are called and is something that we’ve been doing a good job of working on together.

Rev. Kate Kooyman from the CRC Office of Social Justice and Scott Engelsman from the RCA’s Global Mission and Engagement, for example, spoke about the global refugee crisis and how the two denominations are working together to equip churches to respond using a resource called “Churches Without Borders.”

Similarly, Stephanie Soderstrom who works with RCA volunteer engagement took the stage with Kellie Scholma from World Renew to speak about disaster response. Recent years have seen several major hurricanes and disasters across North America. By working together through World Renew, the denominations are able to stretch dollars further and help more people.  

Carol Bremer-Bennett, U.S. director of World Renew, concluded this portion of the evening by praising God for the great work that has been and continues to occur to help the world’s most vulnerable.

“And yet, what if we could do even more together,” she asked. In many ways, “We have only just begun.”

The last presentation of the evening was focused on noting and honoring the role of women in both denominations. This year marks the 40th anniversary of women’s ordination in the RCA. It is also the 21st year since women were ordained in the CRCNA.

Two videos documented these historic occasions but also highlighted many other ways that God has used and continues to use women to lead and serve his church.

“God needs all of our gifts raised up and sent out into the world today,” said Rev. Liz Testra, coordinator for women’s transformation and leadership in the RCA.

One of the most poignant moments from the evening, however, came at the very beginning with a tribute to Rev. Ed Mulder, general secretary emeritus of the RCA, and Rev. Peter Borgdorff, executive director emeritus of the CRC. Mulder and Borgdorff both died in May.

The tribute was delivered by Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, recently retired as general secretary of the RCA who worked closely with both men and witnessed first hand how both worked tirelessly for unity.

“How blest we are to have been served by these two humble giants of our faith,” Granberg-Michaelson said. “Both of our denominations have lost formative leaders. Both had a passion for unity.”

He noted that for Borgdorff, unity began close to home. Their discussions about how the two [churches] could come closer together led to Pella.

And that year’s accord is what led to the celebration at this event.

For continuous coverage of Synod 2018 including the live webcast, news, video recordings, photos, liveblog, social media links, and more visit www.crcna.org/synod.