Prayers Requested for RCA Vision Team

The Christian Reformed Church in North America is asking its members to pray for the Reformed Church in America as it deliberates and considers possible scenarios for its future.

At its General Synod 2018 meeting in June, the RCA recognized “deep division” within its denomination. It recommended forming a Vision Group to consider three possible scenarios for the future: staying together, radical reconstitution and reorganization, or grace-filled separation.

According to rca.org, twelve group members who “reflect the wide diversity of the RCA, including all regional synods and racial/ethnic councils,” were chosen to make up this Vision Group. This group met in August and again in September to begin their work.

“In their September meeting, the team acknowledged that while each of these scenarios is disruptive and involves change and loss, there is yet the possibility for a hopeful way forward,” rca.org reports.

Thus far, the group has primarily worked on discussing their mandate, processing their anxieties about the task, and discussing how they will make space within the broader RCA community for people to express their thoughts and opinions.

In November, they will begin a more in-depth look at the scenarios, including a five- to ten-year projection of how each decision could affect congregations, classes, mission partners, and the denomination at large. They hope to build consensus around a single scenario that they can bring to their General Synod 2020 with recommendations.

“This is weighty and important work,” said Steven Timmermans, executive director of the CRCNA. “The RCA is not alone in dealing with division. It is often the case that denominations face such challenges. I applaud the RCA for recognizing their current situation, and I encourage us all to pray for them as they strive to find a way forward that holds Christ as their center and allows people of differing points of view to treat one another with patience and respect.”

Despite this large task, Eddy Alemán, the general secretary of the RCA, is hopeful that the work of the vision team will lead the RCA denomination to a positive outcome.

“I believe that the Spirit is anointing these people to see things differently,” he said.

The Vision Group agrees. They recently released this statement: “We are mindful of the weight of the task we have been given, the conflicted views that are held across our beloved denomination, the short timeline we have to work with, and the high expectations for an acceptable outcome. Each of us feels a call to this team because of our love for God and our love for the church, but enters into the work with trembling. That said, we are also mindful that Christ is the head of the church, that God is at work in the RCA even in this moment, and that the Spirit will lead us forward into a faithful future . . . if we but listen. We plead with you to pray for us and for this work. To God be the glory.”

Please keep this team and their work in your prayers.