Gather is a series of events in 2024 and 2025 intended to inspire, encourage and bring together CRC leaders from across North America. At each event, five classes will come together to celebrate how God is moving in our communities and our churches. We’ll pray and worship, share our stories and challenges, and discern where God is leading us in our mission. The format of Gather is unique, in that the focus is on the participants and small groups, rather than on speakers.

Synod 2023 talked openly about the membership challenges our churches are facing. Gather events are the first steps in encouraging and assisting CRC congregations in their renewal. God is not done with us. We have much to offer, and he has a vision for our mission and our future.

The first Gather event took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota from April 19-21, 2024.  It included representatives from classes Columbia, Hackensack, Huron, Lake Erie, and  Lake Superior. Additional gatherings will be held over the Fall of 2024 and Spring of 2025. See Upcoming Events. 

Thanks to generous support from several sponsors, Gather will be free to participants. Covered costs include meals, accommodations, and transportation to and from the event.

Every classis will have a delegation of about 15 people invited to attend one event. Classis Interim Committees, chairs, clerks, and/or other leaders in the classis should work together to select 10 participants to represent their classis. Where possible, this delegation should reflect diversity in terms of gender, age, race, ability, congregations, lay/ordained leadership, and location (balance of urban, suburban, and rural where possible). Ideally, this slate of names would be endorsed at a classis meeting.

Five additional participants will be selected by denominational staff to share specific stories of renewal and ministry innovation. These participants (chosen by denominational staff) will be communicated to classis to ensure coordination.

We’d love to see as many congregations as possible represented at Gather. This will allow us to hear different stories and perspectives. It will also help inspiration from Gather reach more congregations after each event ends. As a result, we would prefer that classes strive to nominate as diverse a group as possible and cap the number of attendees from any one congregation at two. If a classis has interest from more people in a certain congregation, we can add those names to a waitlist and potentially add them if space is still available. 

Our goal is to see as many congregations as possible represented at Gather. This will allow us to hear different stories and perspectives. It will also help inspiration from Gather reach more congregations after each event ends. As a result, we would prefer that participants come without their spouse and make space for attendees from another congregation. However, if the classis decides to use two of their spaces for a couple, that will be permitted. We request that there not be more than two such couples per classis. 

Gather is intended to bring together five classes at a time for worship, fellowship, and mutual sharing and encouragement. In an effort to ensure that classes hear stories happening in a variety of locations within the CRCNA, we tried to bring together classes that weren’t necessarily right next to each other. However, we also wanted to try our best to avoid making people cross multiple time zones to attend an event. With the exception of the first event (that included classes from across North America), we tried to divide North America into vertical slices and bring together classes from North to South. Wherever possible, we tried to have at least one Canadian classes in each event, and to avoid having neighboring classes at the same gathering.

Yes! Non-English speaking churches are a vital and important part of the Christian Reformed Church in North America. We want to hear your stories, and also have you be inspired and reinvigorated in your ministry context. When you register to attend, please let us know if translation will be required and we will make sure it is available to you.

Gather will be a time for us to truly listen to each other and hear what is happening in our unique congregational contexts. We hope that people will share their challenges and find comfort in knowing that others are going through something similar. At the same time, we also want to help people find next steps for facing the challenges in their midst. We hope that by sharing some stories of innovation and renewal, we will spark creative imagination in all participants about what might be possible, and where God is leading them.

No. Gather events are not spaces for making denomination-wide decisions. The focus is on prayer and corporate discernment. With that said, we hope that all participants will be inspired with new ideas to take home to their congregations and regions. We also anticipate that denominational staff will listen for trends – both in what churches are facing, as well as the innovations being tried. A report will be developed from each gathering and the gatherings as a whole in order to fulfill the request from Synod 2023 to create a report or pathway for congregational renewal. This will be processed in subsequent ecclesiastical gatherings and shared with classes and congregations for feedback.

CRCNA leaders are working with private donors and foundations to support this work. Much staff time will come through ministry shares support.

We hope that participants will share what they learned in these events with their classes and congregations. We hope that a significant number of participants will want to go back to their own churches and organize something like Gather on a congregational level. Participants will also meet with and connect to other CRCNA resources and people to walk with them in a journey toward congregational renewal. In this challenging time God is inviting our members and congregations to be renewed for ministry and mission. Come and see what God is doing!