CRC Names Co-directors for Pastor Church Resources

Where can a church council turn when they are having issues with their pastor?  How can small churches find support and resources to help them flourish?  Where can pastors find opportunities to connect for fellowship and mutual learning?

With a new name and new leadership, the Christian Reformed Church’s Pastor Church Resources (PCR) team is well equipped to provide the answers.

PCR was founded by the CRC synod in 1982 to initially address problems between pastors and churches, but its role has expanded over the years.

Last year, the name of the office was changed from Pastor-Church Relations to Pastor Church Resources to better reflect the scope and nature of the work that it does, said Norm Thomasma, who has served as PCR’s director since 2009.

Now, as Thomasma looks forward to retirement in 15 months, the ministry is also getting new leadership to add to its new name.

At the December executive committee meeting of the CRC’s Board of Trustees, Lis Van Harten and Cecil Van Niejenhuis were named as codirectors to take over from Thomasma. Thomasma will continue to serve as a senior consultant to the office until his retirement.

“This new arrangement will ensure continuity of existing ministries while also capitalizing on the gifts of staff members and providing a clear way forward on the occasion of Thomasma’s anticipated retirement,” said Colin Watson, Sr., director of ministries and administration for the CRC.

Until this change, which took effect on Jan. 9, 2017, Van Harten served as director for the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence and Sustaining Congregational Excellence programs of PCR. Van Niejenhuis has been PCR’s lead consulting pastor.

“Both of them have demonstrated growing capacity and readiness for more organizational responsibility,” said Watson.

“And while both are demonstrating competency in leadership and management, their specific competencies and style in leadership are seen as complementary.”

“I’m moving into this new role with excitement. I'm eager to see what God has in store for PCR,” said Van Harten. "There have been some significant additions and changes to PCR’s work over the last year or so — all of which enable us to better serve pastors, ministry leaders, and congregations. Being able to serve our denomination in this way makes my heart sing!”

Van Niejenhuis said he hopes “to increase the ways in which organizational wisdom and advice are anchored in and informed by Scripture. This will help us to sharpen our goal of flourishing, so that both the mission and the health of churches are in view at the same time. And it will challenge us to hold loosely to those things which need changing, and hold firmly to those things which are at the core of our being the body of Christ.”

Going forward, Thomasma anticipates capturing some of the innovations that have been developed in PCR’s ministry over the past few years and developing effective ways of leveraging these practices for the benefit of congregations and classes.

He also expects to continue consulting with congregations and partnering with classis renewal efforts to resource classis functionaries such as church visitors.

Besides offering the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence and Sustaining Congregational Excellence initiatives, other initiatives and services of PCR include

• overseeing the credentialing program for non-ordained staff.
• endorsing Specialized Transitional Ministers and helping congregations obtain their services.
• providing direct consultation in times of transition or crisis.
• overseeing the Continuing Education Grants Program for pastors and church staff.
• offering assessments and consultation regarding ministry fit to pastors and other church leaders.
• engaging the healthy church process
• nurturing classis renewal and resourcing classis functionaries.
• overseeing the Connections Project — a pilot regional resourcing model that works with many CRCNA agencies and ministries.
• working with and through pastoral mentors, regional pastors, and church visitors to provide support, encouragement, and counsel to congregations and staff.
• and is reviewing how it manages ministerial and church profiles and offers assistance in the pastor-search process.