Church Leaders Taste and See

The common theme of young people and leadership was on the minds of many church leaders who attended the final Taste and See event put on last weekend in Hamilton, Ontario by co-leaders Barb Van Giessen and Rev. Marijke Strong of the Reformed Leadership Initiative (RLI).

“We found that there was a lot of interest in raising up the next generation of leaders,” said Rev. Denise Posie, co-director of the RLI, a two-year pilot project involving leadership development for a select group of CRC and Reformed Church in America congregations across North America.

“People were talking about how to help young people find a place as leaders in their churches. These young people want a clear path so they can use their God-given gifts.”

Other Taste and See events, which are essentially the introductory phase of the two-year initiative, took place earlier this year in Iowa, New Jersey and California. One event in New Jersey was held for Korean-speaking pastors and leaders and another in California was for those who speak Spanish.

About 40 pastors and leaders from nine churches had the chance last weekend in Hamilton to learn more about the RLI, discuss challenges in their congregations and decide if they want to participate in the next phase of the RLI.

“It was wonderful to sit around tables with one another and listen to what people had to say about leadership and about the challenges they face in their contexts,” said Posie.

Funded by a grant from the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation, the RLI is a result of the continuing work of the Reformed Collaborative, an ongoing partnership in which the CRC and RCA are working together in a number of areas.

In addition, the RLI arises out of the Joint Resolution — calling on churches to work together whenever possible — adopted by the CRC Synod and the RCA General Synod in 2014 during simultaneous meetings held in Pella, Iowa.

“There is such a wonderful opportunity here for us to come together as two denominations in the common area of leadership development,” said Posie.

“This initiative is about relationships, about building trust as we respond to similar challenges and opportunities.”

In coming months, CRC and RCA pastors and church leaders will be meeting in the six areas around North America in what are called Congregational Leadership Learning Networks to continue discussing challenges and finding ways to address them.

They also will be provided with individual coaches to help them through the process. And, as the initiative unfolds, they will have the chance to use leadership resources and, if needed, have leadership resources created for them by Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Mich. or Western Theological Seminary in Holland.

The goal is for the resources to be geared to each church, helping it to focus on whichever areas of leadership development that it sees as important.

“The point of this initiative is to help congregations in the CRC and RCA to reflect and discern where God already is working, or is leading them, in terms of leadership development,” said Posie.

Out of the initiative, she said, will come a base of resources and best practices that churches in both denominations should be able to use as they seek to respond to leadership challenges.

“There is a lot of potential for good leadership to come out of this initiative,” said Posie.

Rev. Ken Eriks, director of Transformational Engagement in the RCA, is also co-director of the RLI.