The annual synod of the Christian Reformed Church will take place June 14-20, 2024, at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Mich. (The in-person gathering will be preceded by two sessions held virtually on May 29 and June 5.)
Welcome to the Guide to the Agenda for Synod 2024. This guide will condense what is in the Agenda down to 8,000 words for those who want to know what’s coming but don’t want to wade through all of the Agenda’s 614 pages.
Produced by the CRC’s Office of Synodical Services, it is a kind of life boat to keep you afloat in a sea of words, rules, and practices for what is expected to be a stormy synod.
If you want to know everything that will be on this year’s synod agenda, hop on over to the actual Agenda. If you prefer a concise review of items on the Agenda, check out The Banner’s “What to Watch” by Alissa Vernon.
You can follow along with synod by subscribing to a daily synod news digest written by CRC Communications. CRC Communications works with The Banner’s onsite news team to bring you the facts of synod decisions, along with the history and context around synod’s deliberations. Find ongoing coverage at thebanner.org, or download the Banner app on your mobile device. Synod’s proceedings will be webcast live as in previous years.
As you read this guide, we hope you will appreciate that the ministry of the CRC is broader than navigating the pressing issues of the day. Please pray for all who are participating in this year’s synod, that they may have traveling mercies, calmness in their hearts, kindness in their words, and openness to the Lord’s leading.
—Gayla Postma
Written for CRC Communications
Human Sexuality and Unfinished Business
A Short Recap
Confessional-Difficulty Gravamina (CDG)
The Advisory Committee Reports
The Majority Report (Communication 2)
The Minority Report (Communication 3)
The Overtures
2023 overtures
2024 overtures
About Noncompliant Churches
Church Order Review Task Force Report
Ministers Serving in Noncongregational Roles
Recommendations regarding pastors in noncongregational settings
Transitions and Release from Ministry
It’s All in the Details
The Scarlet Number
Reinstatement
Other Recommendations
The Council of Delegates
Assignments from Synod 2023
Ecclesiological Communication
Ecclesiastical Marriage
Strategy to Reverse Trend of Membership Decline
Virtual Churches
Ministry Shares Reimagined
Alliance of Reformed Churches
Resources for ministry with and to LGBTQ+ members and neighbors
Race Relations
Assisted Suicide
Clergy Couples and Pension Benefits
Global Vision Team
Our Shared Ministries
Calvin Theological Seminary and Synod 2022’s Decision on Same-Sex Marriage
Pensions and Insurance
Standing Committees
Candidacy Committee
Vacancy Rate
Commissioned Pastors
Ministers from other Denominations (Church Order Article 8)
Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations Committee
Reformed Church in America
The Alliance of Reformed Churches
Christian Reformed Church of East Africa
Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Nederlandse Gereformeerde Kerken)
Christian Reformed Church in Liberia
How to Use This Guide
This guide is a jumping-off point to the Agenda for Synod 2024 and to the Agenda Supplement for Synod 2024 (some of which is available at this time of writing).
This is a digital document and does not contain references to page numbers in the printed Agenda. Instead, hyperlinks will take you to the page being referenced in the electronic version of the Agenda.
The parts of the agenda that most synod-watchers usually focus on are the following:
- reports and recommendations from synod-appointed study committees and task forces
- overtures (requests) coming from church councils and classes, and sometimes from individuals (see Rules for Synodical Procedure, pp. 9-12)
- how the Council of Delegates has fulfilled assignments given to it by previous synods
Gravamina and Unfinished Business
Much of synod’s energy this year will be in discussions of confessional-difficulty gravamina and how to handle disagreements on confessional issues. By way of confessional-difficulty gravamina, officebearers express concerns about a confessional teaching to their supervising body (see explanation below). At Synod 2024, this conversation especially relates to the CRC’s position on same-sex sexual relationships and the interpretation of Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 108 (see recap below).
There is an added twist this year. Delegates will have to finish some of the agenda from Synod 2023. In an unprecedented action, the officers of Synod 2023 adjourned the synod before its agenda was finished, stating that there wasn’t enough time to discuss the remaining agenda items related to human sexuality, the confessions, and gravamina. (A summary of what happened at Synod 2023 on this matter can be found in The Banner: “Synod 2023’s Discussion of ‘Confessional Difficulties Cut Short; Delegates Protest; Matter Pushed to Synod 2024.”)
A Short Recap
In 2022, after receiving a study committee report known as the Human Sexuality Report, delegates voted by a large majority (74%) to uphold the CRC’s traditional position regarding homosexuality and same-sex relationships, written in 1973. That position states that being same-sex attracted is not sinful but that acting on that attraction is sinful.
That same synod affirmed that the Heidelberg Catechism’s definition of “unchastity” (Q&A 108) includes homosexual acts, which means that CRC officebearers and faculty at church-owned schools would be subject to church discipline if they do not subscribe to that belief.
Confessional-Difficulty Gravamina (CDG)
Many of the overtures (requests) to Synods 2023 and 2024 are about officebearers seeking to file a confessional-difficulty gravamen.
When officebearers sign the Covenant for Officebearers, they affirm the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort as Reformed expressions whose doctrines fully agree with the Word of God. They further agree that they heartily believe and will promote those doctrines.
But what if, in this case, an officebearer disagrees with the inclusion of same-sex relationships in the definition of “unchastity” in Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 108, as was done by Synod 2022? That is when gravamina come into play.
A confessional-difficulty gravamen (CDG), described in Church Order Supplement, Article 5, can be used by an officebearer to express a personal difficulty with a confession. It is submitted to the local church council for examination and judgment. It is not open for discussion by the whole church but, rather, a personal request “for information and clarification,” to be dealt with pastorally and personally.
In a Summary of the History behind the Guidelines for Gravamina, Rev. Kathy Smith wrote that a confessional-difficulty gravamen provides “an opportunity for officebearers to make known their conscientious concerns and difficulties so that those matters can be confidentially and pastorally judged, clarified, and adjudicated by the council. There is an expectation that the officebearer will continue to uphold the confessions of the church and the interpretations of the confessions.”
She noted that the church council decides whether the officebearer’s difficulty can be resolved or if the person’s difficulty is such that he or she can no longer serve.
Synod 2024 will receive all of the deferred 2023 overtures plus 14 new overtures related to the Covenant for Officebearers and gravamina.
The 2023 Advisory Committee Reports
Synod 2023’s Advisory Committee 8 addressed the 2023 overtures related to the Covenant for Officebearers and gravamina, but their reports were left undiscussed by that synod. Those reports are now presented to Synod 2024 as communications for information. While the 2023 advisory committee agreed on several recommendations, they differed on the handling of confessional-difficulty gravamina (CDG) and therefore split into majority and minority groups on those items.
The Majority Report (Communication 2)
The majority report, in its introduction, said that a CDG should be time-bound and time-sensitive and should result in a final decision whereby some terminal action takes place. It recommended that synod amend Church Order Supplement 5 to provide a timeline for the CDG process noting that it is temporary.
The majority report recommended adding a point stating that a CDG is not a request for an assembly to tolerate a subscriber’s settled conviction that a doctrine contained in the confessions is wrong.
The majority report recommended that those who refuse to adhere to the definition of “unchastity” reflected in the church’s standards are guilty of a serious deviation from sound doctrine and should be subject to special discipline.
The Minority Report (Communication 3)
The minority of the committee disagreed, recommending instead that synod add to Church Order Supplement, Article 5 that “the officebearer is expected to submit to the church’s confessions and judgments and must not teach, disciple, care, or counsel against the doctrine for which they are filing a gravamen.” Further, the minority recommended that the gravamen “be revisited yearly by the council (from date of filing) so that the officebearer may both (1) continue to serve in faithful ways—including but not limited to delegation to larger assemblies—and (2) work actively toward full realignment with the confessions.”
The Overtures
The overtures from 2023 and 2024 on this matter are many and varied. Some ask that a confessional-difficulty gravamen have an expiry date. Others want them to be long-term. Still others request discipline for churches not in compliance with decisions of Synod 2022. Here is just a sampling.
2023 overtures
Overture 50 (2023) requests that synod establish a timeline for resolving a CDG.
Overture 55 (2023) asks synod to declare that a CDG is not to be used when one has settled convictions or objections to a confession.
Overture 60 (2023) asks synod to declare that if an officebearer “cannot resolve this difficulty and his or her conscience bars him or her from signing the CRCNA confessional documents without reservation, he or she may not serve as an officebearer in the CRCNA.”
Overture 63 (2023) asks synod to declare that officebearers who have submitted a CDG may not be delegated to broader bodies (classis, synod, Council of Delegates, and agency boards).
2024 overtures
Overture 20 asks that any current CDG by a delegate to synod be disclosed during the roll call at that synod.
Overture 23 asks that synod instruct that if councils and officebearers publicly refuse to comply with the CRC’s views on “unchastity” in word or life, their classes place them on limited suspension including loss of all privileges at broader assemblies, on denominational boards, and on the Council of Delegates.
Overture 27 requests that synod leave matters of discipline in the hands of local churches, including the amount of time a CDG gets processed locally. It notes that the Covenant for Officebearers and the Church Order Supplement do not state how long a person with a confessional difficulty should be allowed to serve. “While there has never been an official judgment on whether or not CDGs are time-bound, there is evidence that the practice of allowing officebearers to continue serving even when they have differences is well established, so long as those officebearers don't preach and teach against the church’s confessional judgments.”
Overture 36 asks synod to preserve Church Order Supplement 5 as is. This overture notes that the restrictions being asked for “would leave many local churches with very few people eligible to serve as officebearers and thereby seriously impede their ability to function.”
Overture 41 asks synod to refrain from imposing any time limits on the CDG process because doing so would fail to “recognize that grappling with complex theological matters requires wisdom, integrity, support, and time.”
About Noncompliant Churches
Quite apart from the gravamina issue, there are other overtures that request synod to follow up on its instructions for churches that are not in compliance with Synod 2022’s decisions.
Overture 25 asks synod to call all noncompliant churches to either repent or disaffiliate. It includes templates for such declarations of repentance.
Overture 26 wants synod to require a letter of repentance from the consistory of Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., for treating a homosexual union as if it were a legitimate and permissible marriage when it baptized the daughter of two women in a same-sex relationship.
Overture 29 wants synod to declare that any officebearer who denies that Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 87 or Q&A 108 addresses a salvation issue and/or denies that unchastity and sexual ethics are salvation issues is worthy of special discipline in accordance with Church Order Article 83.
Overture 31 asks synod to instruct classes that have churches who reject the biblical guidelines affirmed by Synod 2022 to provide a written update of the efforts made to guide their officebearers into compliance, referring particularly to Classis Grand Rapids East and the steps it has taken to discipline Neland Avenue CRC in Grand Rapids, Mich., for ordaining as a deacon a woman in a same-sex marriage.
Related to that, in Communication 8 Classis Grand Rapids East provides Synod 2024 with information about its new Alignment Committee formed in January 2024. The classis noted that the Alignment Committee will meet in person with the councils of classis, beginning with Neland Avenue and Grace CRCs, guided by advice published in the Synod 2023 FAQ Document. The classis wrote, “These guidelines recognize that doing this work well will take time. The decisions of Synod 2024 may also factor into our discussions in important ways. We recognize that there is an appropriate urgency to our mandate, but also agree with the denominational guidelines that we need to proceed with patience.”
Overture 32 asks synod to clarify what the decisions about “unchastity” in Q&A 108 mean for church members who are not officebearers. For members who may be uncertain or may disagree with Synod 2022’s interpretation, may they make a profession of faith? Remain members of the CRC? Present children for baptism? Serve as officebearers in the CRC while signing the Covenant for Officebearers, pledging to live within the bounds of that covenant?
Overture 18 asks synod to review the Covenant for Officebearers for greater clarity about the relationship between confessions and interpretations of specific provisions in a confession as requirements for membership and/or serving in any positions of leadership. The overture states that the Covenant for Officebearers was designed to encourage, not discourage theological discussion. “The way the Covenant for Officebearers is being used in the wake of Synods 2022 and 2023 is shutting down discussion instead of encouraging it.”
Church Order Review Task Force Report
The Church Order Review Task Force report is a sprawling report of more than 100 pages, including several addenda. It’s included in the Agenda as Appendix B of the Council of Delegates report. This guide to the Agenda touches on only some of what is included in the report. (The Church Order governs our shared denominational life. Changes to the Church Order may be made only with the approval of two synods.)
The CRC has seen an increase in concerns related to the calling and supervision of ministers in noncongregational ministries, ministers who leave congregations, and ministers who leave ministry in the denomination altogether. The report’s authors point out that a career as a minister of the Word is no longer always a lifelong career. Today adults may change jobs a number of times, ministers may seek higher education, or life circumstances may necessitate transitions. All these changes bring new challenges for ministers and their church councils.
As a result, Synod 2022 created the task force to review Church Order articles related to those concerns: 8, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, and 42, along with their supplements.
Ministers Serving in Noncongregational Roles
The task force authors wrote, “When combining the numbers of missionaries and of pastors who have no call with the number of ‘other called positions,’ the result is that almost a third of all active CRC pastors have their primary responsibilities outside the ministry of a local congregation.”
Those include chaplains in various institutions, missionaries, church planters, ministers serving churches in the Reformed Church in America, ministers on loan to other denominations, specialized transitional ministers, pastors serving two congregations, interim professors, theology professors, Christian school teachers, university campus ministry leaders, denominational employees, employees of Christian nonprofit organizations, bivocational pastors, and pastors without a current call.
Because of this increase in noncongregational positions, the Church Order material addressing them has developed into a patchwork of regulations. The task force lists some of the inconsistencies and makes recommendations to attempt to standardize the material in Articles 12-13 as much as possible.
Other concerns related to noncongregational roles include determining what is or is not a ministerial calling. Which areas of service qualify for “ordained ministry of the Word,” and which ones do not?
A minister in a noncongregational role can have his or her position terminated or changed at the decision of an employer with no consultation with the calling church, even though Church Order Article 14-a requires that a minister seek permission of the calling church to leave a position. Awkward.
Some congregations are hesitant to extend calls for non-congregational ministry positions due to concerns over finances such as housing allowance, pension, insurance, or financial liability, should the ministry position be terminated by the employing institution.
The increase in noncongregational ministry positions increases the complications for joint supervision. Calling churches face a growing number of potential scenarios to navigate as they carry out the responsibilities inherent in the calls they have extended. The task force authors wrote, “This requires wise consideration as churches develop systems of joint support and supervision for pastors in noncongregational positions, and it calls for diligence on the part of churches and pastors to live out the commitments they have made for support and supervision.”
Recommendations regarding pastors in noncongregational settings
One of synod’s instructions to this task force was to provide suggestions for more effective oversight for pastors in noncongregational ministries.
Among the task force’s recommendations:
- In Articles 12-17, clarify the distinction between the “work” of a minister and the “position” to which the pastor is called.
- Rearrange material in Articles 12-13 (and their Supplements) to provide clarity and consistency related to the supervision of pastors in noncongregational settings.
- Propose a formal definition of the concept of “consistent with the calling of a minister of the Word.”
- Require a Covenant of Joint Supervision for all pastors in noncongregational positions.
- Commend resources to celebrate and support the ministry of pastors in noncongregational settings.
This section of the report contains more material regarding loaning pastors for service beyond the CRC, guidelines for participating in major assemblies by ministers in noncongregational roles, and encouragement by the local church for those ministers.
Transitions and Release from Ministry
The task force was also asked to focus on the release of ministers of the Word from a ministry position or service to the denomination as a whole, addressed primarily by Church Order Articles 14-17.
Synod has recognized that situations exist that warrant the separation of a pastor and a church without requiring discipline. Church Order Article 14 deals with pastors leaving CRC ministry for ministry outside the denomination or for a nonministerial vocation.
Article 17 deals with pastors who separate from their local congregation and possibly a departure from ministry in the CRC. The task force included a chart detailing the dramatic increase in both Article 17 and Article 14 separations in recent decades.
The report notes that there are many reasons for separations. A pastor may need to step away to care for children or elderly parents. A pastor might leave to pursue higher education. A pastor’s giftedness and the church’s context might not align. God may be leading the pastor to a new vocation. A pastor’s spouse’s career or education might necessitate a move. These and more situations can be considered what the Church Order calls “weighty reasons.”
The task force reported that the majority of the overtures assigned to it by Synod 2022 were related to releases from congregational ministry (Article 17-a). Ministers thus released retain their ordination, are not under discipline, and are expected to return to active ministerial service.
Article 14 is used when a longer absence is expected. A minister might resign to enter a non-CRC ministry or a nonministerial vocation.
Article 16 is used for a temporary leave of absence processed by the local council. The task force stated that “in no case was this article intended to offer an indefinite or terminal leave of absence.”
The task force noted that Articles 14 and 17 address situations where no discipline is involved, but it also recognized that churches have sometimes used those articles to circumvent formal ecclesiastical discipline. Synod 2022 specifically stated that concern, observing that “when doctrinal or ethical behavior is not recognized and addressed openly and honestly, the church as a whole suffers, and in particular future congregations served by the pastor may be affected by a failure to apply discipline where it is required.”
It’s All in the Details
The task force explained that the process for separations under these Church Order articles is relatively straightforward. A request for a pastor’s release goes to classis along with a proposal for the support of the released pastor; the classis and the synodical deputies consider whether the arrangements meet their approval; and consideration is given to whether the minister or the congregations require an oversight committee for a period of time.
But, said the task force, the details of the separation can be much more challenging. The pastor and congregation may not agree on specifics of the separation agreement under Article 17, or on the reasons for the separation. Pastors and councils may come to classis in general agreement but with lingering frustrations about the terms or the reasons for the separation.
The severance agreement can be a real sticking point. And some of the guidance in the Church Order may not be relevant in today’s context. For example, a minimum severance may no longer be adequate considering that the calling process today takes more time than in the past. But more severance may place undue strain on a church, especially if the church has to pay a specialized transition minister. And not every situation calls for a severance package.
When a minister leaves a church under Article 17, he or she is eligible for call for the following two years, and annual requests for an extension of eligibility are allowed. Some ministers need longer eligibility for educational purposes or due to family circumstances. However, the task force encouraged pastors to keep in mind that “eligibility for a call” indicates the intention to actively seek a call. Where an extended period of eligibility is anticipated, conversation regarding what it means to do the work of a minister during that transition is helpful.
The Scarlet Number
Whenever an Article 17 separation is discussed, the task force noted, there remains a perceived stigma attached to it. Its association with situations of conflict has led to it sometimes being referred to as “the scarlet number,” even though many separations are not due to conflict.
The task force weighed some options for dealing with that stigma. It recommends changing the term “weighty reasons” to “valid reasons.” Beyond that, it believes that the best way to overcome the stigma is to emphasize the variety of situations covered by Article 17, including many that have nothing to do with conflict.
While many circumstances are covered by Article 17, the task force named the reality that sometimes there is conflict or incompatibility involved that can require a permanent separation to bring about healing.
Reinstatement
A separation through Article 17 carries the hope that the pastor will eventually be called to a new ministry.
Under Article 14, if a minister moves to another denomination, his or her release includes a declaration reflecting the resigned minister’s status, “appropriate to the way and spirit in which the minister acted during the time up to and including the minister’s resignation.” Those declarations are as follows: honorably released, released, dismissed, or in the status of one deposed.
A departure of a minister to pursue a nonministerial vocation doesn’t include a declaration.
However, pastors released to a nonministerial vocation can only be readmitted to ministry by the classis that released them, and that process includes an interview that examines the circumstances surrounding the release.
A minister released to another denomination reenters the CRC under Article 8, which involves the Candidacy Committee, even if the minister was previously ordained in the CRC. And the admission to CRC ministry can happen in any classis.
This, noted the task force, creates an inconsistency in how the “manner and spirit” of the minister’s conduct leading up to a release is considered during the reinstatement process. An important step, therefore, would be to require an examination of the circumstances surrounding the release of a minister seeking to return from another denomination, the same as for a pastor who resigned to enter a nonministerial vocation. Similarly, the task force noted that the best place for that to happen would be within the classis that released the pastor, since they would presumably have the best access to local leaders with memory of the circumstances as well as to any records or classis executive session minutes regarding the release.
To that end, the task force recommended that all who have left ordained ministry in the CRC, either for service in another denomination or for nonministerial work, seek reinstatement through a single consistent process via Article 14-e, including a discussion surrounding the release, in the same classis where the release was granted.
Other Recommendations
In response to instructions from Synod 2022, the task force also recommended the following:
- additions to Church Order Supplement 17-a to clarify how requests for a release from a call are to be processed and to require separation agreements in all situations
- guidance for a release from a call issued jointly by congregations in different denominations
- changes to the separation agreement template that clarify process questions
- principles for determination of severance for consideration by synod
This is a brief overview of some of what is contained in the task force’s report. The full list of recommendations can be found here.
The report’s addenda provide related materials as follows:
Addendum A: The wording of proposed updates to Articles 12-13 and their Supplements.
Addendum B: The wording of proposed updates to Articles 8, 14-17, and 42 and their Supplements.
Addendum C: The Covenant of Joint Supervision for ministers of the Word and commissioned pastors serving in noncongregational ministry positions.
Addendum D: The separation agreement template.
Addendum E: Guidelines for pastors and congregations in times of conflict.
Addendum F: Resources and forms related to the calling, supervision, and release of ministers.
On to the work of the Council of Delegates!
Judicial Code Review
The Judicial Code of the CRC is a specific process that provides a framework to adjudicate written charges about many issues. In the Church Order Supplement 30-c, Section 1, the scope of the JCC is "disputes arising from allegations of offenses against the Word of God, doctrinal standards, or the Church Order...In particular, the Judicial Code governs the procedure for filing written charges and conducting judicial hearings before a council, classis, or synod, and appeals from a judicial hearing."
In recent years growing awareness of abuses of power in various churches has led to ongoing synodical discussions within the CRCNA about how to address and curtail abuse situations in our own denomination. In connection with these matters Synod 2019 considered how widely the CRC’s Judicial Code functions and how it also functions more particularly in cases where abuse has been alleged.
Synod 2019 asked the Council of Delegates to review the Judicial Code every five years, seeking input from the Judicial Code Committee, the Office of Safe Church Ministry, and Church Order experts, to ensure that the Judicial Code continues to function as intended and to assess whether updates and/or modifications are needed.
The COVID-19 pandemic and a review of the appeals process in Church Order delayed the implementation of the first review, but that work began in January 2023 and is now coming to Synod 2024 with a report.
Along with some “fine tuning” to language throughout the code, the taskforce that reviewed the Judicial Code is recommending a few major updates:
- Adding content that would outline a process of appeal for individuals who have been suspended by a consistory.
- Recommending the creation of a roster of volunteers to provide procedural advice and technical recommendations to the parties of a Judicial Code proceeding, since persons without legal training may find it intimidating.
- Providing flexibility in how witnesses may be interviewed
- Clarifying language around the burden of proof that is necessary to determine guilt
- Clarifying recusal requirements
- Addressing confidentiality requirements
- Recommending that unless synod conducts its own original judicial or appeal hearing, synod shall give deference to the factual findings made by the Judicial Code Committee.
The Council of Delegates
The Council of Delegates (COD) is an ecclesiastical body accountable to synod. The U.S. delegates on the COD make up the U.S. corporation, the legal entity governing the ministry activities in the U.S. The Canadian delegates make up the Canada corporation, the legal entity governing ministry activities in Canada.
Each year, synod gives assignments to the COD to accomplish on its behalf related to matters of concern that have been discussed at synod.
Assignments from Synod 2023
Ecclesiological Communication
Assignment: Specify how and when the CRC comments or makes statements on social, economic, or political matters not previously addressed by synod, and exercise discretion when responding to social, economic, and/or political matters.
Response: The Council of Delegates adopted a statement in May responding to this assignment. It explains why the CRCNA chooses to speak into such matters, and it details the process used for making these decisions, also noting the difference between being political and being partisan. It also notes that staff restructuring has reduced the number of staff working in the area of social justice, the quantity of statements being made, and the number of ecumenical letters being signed. Social justice staff are now focusing on helping churches incorporate justice into their mission as part of faith formation. “We still believe that there is a role for the church in speaking out about social, economic, and political issues,” reads the statement. “As part of our calling to pursue justice, the CRCNA has tasked its ministries with interpreting the positions of the denomination, together with the instructions of synod, to advocate for and with those who suffer injustice, and to make determinations about how to raise the CRCNA’s collective voice in a nonpartisan way.”
The full statement is available in the supplement to the Agenda for Synod 2024.
Ecclesiastical Marriage
Assignment: Disseminate the report and a letter of warning to pastors and councils “regarding the potential legal ramifications of solemnizing an ecclesiastical marriage.”
Response: The letter and information about the report were distributed this spring.
Strategy to Reverse the Trend of Membership Decline
Assignment: To develop a comprehensive strategy and plan to reverse the trend of decline and bring about a positive trend of membership growth.
Response: The COD responded to this instruction with a plan to develop a “replicable, grassroots, storytelling process to help our churches learn from one another how to move faithfully into the future. The plan includes convening 10 regional gatherings, called Gather, throughout the U.S. and Canada. These two-day events are to include prayer, worship, fellowship, storytelling, and facilitated dialogue. The hope is to identify what is happening on the leading edge of missionary ministry and to watch for barriers to renewal being experienced by churches. “Most importantly, churches will listen to and learn from each other.” A final report will be written and shared after the 10 Gather events have taken place.
The full document is found in Appendix A of the COD report: Conversational Gatherings 2024-2025: An Overview for the Council of Delegates. Recommendation D of the COD report proposes that synod receive the plan for information.
Virtual Churches
Assignment: Create a report that gives thought to and a theological framework for the possibilities and parameters of a virtual church – “a church which, by design, meets only online.” The report should address the marks of the true church articulated in the Belgic Confession and perhaps address similarities between online ministry and a virtual church. Synod 2023 acknowledged that online ministry remains an emerging mission field and that an entirely virtual church remains an untested area of exploration within the CRCNA.
Response: The COD received a progress report in February 2024 and expects a draft report in February 2025.
Review of Ministry Shares Reimagined
Assignment: Continue the Review of Ministry Shares Reimagined with a survey of similar denominations to compare ministry-share requests toward a new vision for future ministry funding, and make recommendations about the current ministry-share program based on those findings.
Response: The Council of Delegates has shared the progress related to this assignment: “Staff have begun categorizing churches that are not participating in the ministry-share system. This will enable surveys that are more likely to engage these churches. COD members may also be asked to contact specific churches in their classes. Information has been gathered from the Reformed Church in America, the Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians (ECO), and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church on how their funding mechanisms are planned and how well they are utilized. More information may still be gathered from additional denominations.” A report on this topic is included in the COD Supplement.
Alliance of Reformed Churches
Assignment: Appoint a team to work with the Alliance of Reformed Churches to address matters related to church in communion status with the CRC and to address Church Order matters related to the orderly exchange of officebearers. (The Alliance is made up of more than 120 churches that left the Reformed Church in America and is currently designated as a church in cooperation with the CRCNA.)
Response: The team’s report in Appendix C notes that it has reviewed benefits and pension matters to address any challenges to having an orderly exchange of officebearers, should the Alliance of Reformed Churches (or other former Reformed Church in America congregations or networks of congregations) become a church in communion with the CRCNA. In the team's view, no changes are necessary regarding benefits or pension matters until the Alliance of Reformed Churches might become a church in communion with the CRCNA.
The Reformed Benefits Association (RBA) is an independent organization that serves as the benefits provider for CRC and RCA pastors, and it has extended service to pastors from the Alliance of Reformed Churches, most of whom were already enrolled with RBA before they and their congregations moved to the Alliance. CRC ministers on loan or in an orderly exchange with other denominations remain in the CRC’s ministers’ pension fund.
Further matters related to the CRC’s formal relationship with the Alliance are found in material from the Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations Committee (EIRC).
Resources for ministry with and to LGBTQ+ members and neighbors
Assignment: Develop resources or endorse existing resources that align with our Reformed doctrinal standards to equip congregations for pastoral ministry.
Response: The general secretary released a video communication to all CRC congregations restating the pastoral positions of Synod 2023 regarding human sexuality. A curated list of resources can be found at crcna.org/SexualityResources.
Race Relations
Assignments: (1) An ongoing assignment for the Council of Delegates is to provide an annual report on denominational efforts to address ethnic diversity and racial justice.
(2) A report to Synod 2022 noted that many classis participants from non-Caucasian backgrounds feel they are treated as guests rather than members. The general secretary was tasked to facilitate a “one family conversation” asking how the gifts and challenges of living in a diverse community can be fully included in our classes, and how to structure listening sessions to find out what is really happening with regard to the inclusion of ethnic-minority leaders, among other things.
Responses: (1) The COD reported to Synod 2024 that of the presently 161 denominationally appointed board members, 18 percent are people of color, an increase of 1 percent but still falling short of the denomination’s goal of 25 percent.
(2) The plan for the “one family conversation” was included in the COD’s report to Synod 2023.
Related to this topic, three overtures are coming to Synod 2024:
Overture 8 asks synod to reaffirm the declaration from 1996 (subsequently published as God’s Diverse and Unified Family) “that to be in Christ is in principle to be reconciled as a community of racially and ethnically diverse people and that to ignore his calling to turn this principle into experienced reality is sinful according to God’s Word and the Reformed confessions.” It says that “the truth of the statement has not changed, and we need to be reminded of the necessity for reconciliation.”
Overture 9 asks synod to encourage observance of the 1996 declaration by all classes and congregations, “repenting of past sins and diligently pursuing paths of reconciliation and obedience."
Overture 2 asks synod for the opportunity for Consejo Latino to report on its work and share its resources with the church. Consejo Latino is a group of Hispanic ministry leaders who have met together for more than 10 years and who organized into a formal working group in 2017. The overture states that the learning of Consejo Latino has matured and should be shared with the larger church for reasons of accountability and feedback. Stories from Consejo Latino as well as from the Korean Ministers’ Association will be highlighted during the Synod 2024 banquet.
Assisted Suicide
Assignment: Create a position statement on assisted suicide based on the work of previous synods.
Response: Staff created a statement for the Synod 2023 FAQ and included it in the CRCNA’s Position Statements. Synod 2023 also appointed a task force to make a definitive and comprehensive report, expected to be included on the agenda for Synod 2025.
Clergy Couples and Pension Benefits
Assignment: work with the pension boards, in consultation with clergy couples, to find a just and equitable solution that recognizes the ordination of both spouses who are ministers of the Word
Response: Staff and pension plan trustees have carefully considered this situation and have produced a report that outlines relative benefits for different situations. Generally, they found that the most beneficial solution remains to recognize all ministers of the Word who work at least 20 hours per week as being eligible for full participation in the plan upon the full contribution by their employing church. The group also identified several concerns related to compensation that exist for clergy couples, bivocational pastors, and others. The COD created a binational task force and asked it to produce a toolkit applicable to various contexts in which our churches operate. The task force anticipates completing this work no later than June 2025 to include the information/resources in the Church Administration and Finance Guide, which is updated annually in July.
Global Vision Team
Assignment: In the past several decades, ethnic minorities in the United States and Canada, with many immigrants among them, are responsible for new CRCNA affiliations, church plants, and congregational growth. Such developments are enhanced by international travel, the worldwide internet, and the spectacular rise of Christianity in the Global South. Together these dynamics create a historic opportunity for the CRCNA to embrace God’s vision of the church from and for all nations, tribes, and languages. Within this context, in 2022 a cluster of Venezuelan congregations joined Classis California South of the CRCNA. Subsequently, the Council of Delegates instructed the general secretary to “gather a discussion group to study the integration of international churches into the composition of the CRC.”
Response: The general secretary assembled a binational team of globally experienced and connected CRC leaders (named the Global Vision Team) and developed “a conceptual framework for a global Christian Reformed Church.” The framework includes general principles/models of partnership, shared ministry, organization, governance, and communication to respond to the Council of Delegates’ instructions. Their report was included in the Agenda supplement.
Our Shared Ministries
The reports of the ministry agencies and institutions cover many reasons to be thankful. In these reports you can read about new initiatives, encouraging results of current work, and administrative matters.
Synod advisory committees usually discuss each of these ministries in depth. In the broader plenary sessions, the reports are generally received for information unless there are specific recommendations to be addressed, and then prayer is offered for all who do the work of these ministries.
Here are a couple of items to note:
Calvin Theological Seminary and Synod 2022’s Decision on Same-Sex Marriage
Following Synod 2023's discussion, Calvin Theological Seminary decided to clarify its position on Synod 2022’s decision “regarding the confessional status on same-sex marriage.” Earlier in 2023, the seminary faculty approved A Statement on Our Confessional Commitment. That statement noted the faculty’s commitment to the Covenant for Officebearers and its commitment to teach, preach, counsel, and write within those covenantal bounds in the classroom, the church, and beyond. It noted that the faculty members hold a variety of opinions and ideas on many matters, including past and possible future decisions of synod, and that “we are encouraged to express these views via official channels such as through overtures or communications from the congregations and classes to which we belong, through raising thoughtful questions for the church to ponder in future deliberations, or through theological conversations as a faculty, with the understanding that such communications will not undermine our good standing with one another as faculty.” The CTS board of trustees approved the statement.
Pensions and Insurance
The advisory committee on finance will parse this report and discuss two overtures regarding the pension plan.
Overture 3 asks that the final average salary calculations for a minister’s pension be raised to 100 percent of the average minister’s compensation because using the full 100 percent of the final average salary calculations “honors the full contribution of ministers through their years of service.” The COD provided a response to this overture in the Agenda supplement.
Overture 4 asks synod to close the current pension fund to new members and to appoint a task force to create a new, more flexible retirement plan that supports full-time, part-time, bivocational pastors as well as pastors who take leave for a time from ministry. It notes that the challenge of keeping the pension solvent will only increase as average life expectancy increases. It also states that the pension as a defined-benefit plan presumes (even requires) that pastors be in full-time ministry for the plan to function. The COD provided a response to this in the Agenda supplement.
Standing Committees
The CRC has three standing committees that report directly to synod: the Candidacy Committee, the Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations Committee, and the Historical Committee.
Candidacy Committee
The Candidacy Committee’s mandate is “to oversee the processes of ordination in the CRCNA and to ensure that paths to ministry are accessible, accountable, and equitable.”
Vacancy Rate
One of the items included in this year’s report to synod is what is known as the vacancy rate, the ratio of churches without ministers to ministers eligible for call. Existing records did not yield sufficient or accurate data, so the committee sent out a survey. Through that, they determined that approximately 128-154 churches were vacant at the time of the report. The number of ministers available for call was 86. Further, 40 percent of churches searching for a pastor have been searching for more than two years.
Survey respondents noted that some reasons for the difficulty in finding a pastor were as follows: high cost of living in some rural contexts or urban contexts; a reported lack of quality, quantity, or willingness of candidates to serve; challenging dynamics within the congregation; and the need for a bivocational pastor to serve.
The Candidacy Committee report included additional causes, noted by Thrive consultant Sean Baker:
- boomer retirements
- pastors staying longer in a congregation, due in part to owning their own homes, having a spouse who is working, prioritizing needs of families
- pastors being much more particular about finding a perfect fit for their gifts, and churches being much more particular about finding just the right pastor
- perception of pastoring as less attractive as a profession
- specialized roles outside of congregational ministry
- stress and uncertainty about the Human Sexuality Report
- prevalence of churches with multiple pastors on staff. Some churches within a classis have multiple pastoral staff while others have no ordained pastor.
- potential strains of ministering in a denomination that holds in tension two opposing positions on women in office. Some have voiced concerns about the security of their place in the CRC or have wondered if women ministers in the CRC receive adequate support to sustain them in ministry.
The Candidacy Committee noted, as it has for many years, that leadership development starts before individuals reach seminary, when ministry gifts may be recognized by a teacher, a pastor, or a family member. Eventually, a person’s gifts and passion for ministry leads them to connect with their classis to inquire about seminary training support. Many classes report a high level of support for leadership development, but only 22 percent report having a specific program in place. The Candidacy Committee encourages classes to hold conversations about how to create clear, consistent, accessible pathways for contextual, preseminary leadership development
Commissioned Pastors
As the office of commissioned pastor becomes more widely used, there are situations that aren’t addressed by the Church Order or the Commissioned Pastor Handbook. For commissioned pastors released from a call with no new call in place, there is no mechanism for reentry to ministry. So the Candidacy Committee is proposing a change to Church Order Article 24 to put in place a similar process to that used for ministers of the Word reentering ministry in the CRC (see Church Order Article 14-e).
The report noted that many commissioned pastors are now serving as solo pastors in established or emerging congregations. Most of those scenarios involve bridge ordinations, wherein the commissioned pastor is working to ordination as a minister of the Word. The report listed both benefits and shortcomings of that scenario for synod’s reflection and discernment.
Synod will also receive Overture 13, asking synod not to adopt the proposed addition of Church Order Article 23-d: “Each church through its council shall attend to the proper support of its commissioned pastor.” The overture states that while the proposed change is well intentioned and aimed at developing a parity in terms of the ways churches support ministers of the Word and commissioned pastors, it obscures the very real differences between these offices, particularly in the distinct ways in which these two offices serve the denomination. It states that further conversation is needed to determine the impact on the ministry and financial situations of smaller churches, particularly in immigrant and other nonmajority culture communities within the CRCNA.
Ministers from other denominations (Church Order Article 8)
The Candidacy Committee reported that ordination through Article 8 is the least-used route to ministry in the CRC, and that some of the reasons for using Article 8 include a need for Indigenous leadership in an ethnic-minority context, an urgent need for a pastor after a long search, a need for extraordinary qualifications held by a minister from another denomination, and a need for church planters.
Competencies especially evident in pastors coming in through Article 8 are spiritual/emotional readiness, knowledge of Reformed creeds and confessions, and a confessionally Reformed biblical hermeneutic that shapes preaching. Competencies most notably lacking in some of those pastors are proficiency in CRC polity, familiarity with CRC ministries, and knowledge of CRC history. The report notes resources available for this avenue to CRC ministry, including many developed through the Korean Institute in Ministry (KIM) program.
Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations Committee
The annual report from this committee reminds us that the CRCNA is just a small part of the church worldwide. This report is the place to go for an update on all the many ecumenical organizations and Reformed denominations with whom we have relationships.
The CRC’s relationships with other denominations are classified as churches in communion or churches in cooperation. The former include 24 denominations with whom the CRC has a particular affinity and with whom the CRC may be engaged in joint ventures. The latter include 19 denominations/partners with whom CRC has ties that may include mutual interests, mutual ministry, historic cooperation, or other connections. A complete list of church relationships can be found on the relationships page of the EIRC’s website.
Reformed Church in America
The EIRC notes in its report that the CRC’s closest ecumenical partner is the Reformed Church in America. This relationship is defined in part by what has become known as the Pella Accord of 2014, which states the intent to “act together in all matters except those in which deep differences of conviction compel [us] to act separately.”
However, that relationship has come under considerable strain as both denominations experience significant upheaval, resulting in decreased collaboration. The EIRC reported that CRC leaders have been in ongoing discussions with RCA leaders about efforts to engage in an ecumenical relationship with the Alliance of Reformed Churches (the majority of which are former RCA congregations) in response to directives from Synods 2022 and 2023. “CRC leaders have appreciated the gracious approach of RCA leadership, which characterized the RCA General Synod’s own decisions with regard to congregations who desired to depart the denomination,” the committee wrote.
Overture 15 to Synod 2024 requests that synod reexamine its ecumenical relationship with the Reformed Church in America due to “inaction in the RCA to defend its stated positions” regarding human sexuality. The authors of the overture state that the RCA of 2024 is no longer the RCA of 2014. The overture asks that the CRC provisionally declare inoperative synodical decisions regarding the orderly exchange of ordained ministers between the CRC and the RCA, including relevant parts of Church Articles 8 and 36 as well as article 20 of the joint resolution of 2014 (Pella Accord), until 2025 after a review of the ecumenical relationship with the RCA.
The Alliance of Reformed Churches
As mentioned previously in this report, parts of the discussion about the Alliance of Reformed Churches are engaged by the EIRC. This new denomination is currently designated as a church in cooperation with the CRCNA, but with an eye toward designating it as a church in communion. As mentioned, the EIRC has had significant conversations with the Alliance leadership.
The task force assigned to work with the Alliance addressed several matters regarding the status of CRC pastors serving in Alliance churches. However, matters related to church in communion status for the Alliance are assigned to the EIRC. The committee reported that, due to ongoing change in the Alliance, its status as a church in cooperation will be maintained at this time.
Christian Reformed Church of East Africa
The EIRC noted with lament its confusion about a conflict within the Christian Reformed Church of East Africa. At this point, the EIRC is waiting to discern how it might connect with this denomination in the future.
Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Nederlandse Gereformeerde Kerken)
This is a new denomination formed from the merger of the Reformed Churches, liberated (GKv) and the Dutch Reformed Churches (NGK). The CRCNA had an existing church in communion relationship with the Dutch Reformed Churches (NGK). The EIRC will continue to maintain contact with representatives of the newly merged denomination and provide updates to synod.
Christian Reformed Church in Liberia
The EIRC is recommending that this denomination be declared a church in cooperation.
Other Overtures
Three additional overtures to highlight are the following:
Overture 1
This overture asks synod to amend the Council of Delegates Governance Handbook to clarify the COD’s role in the nomination process for delegates. It wants synod to note that assistance to the classes from the COD’s nominating committee is administrative and advisory only, and that it is the domain of the classis to select its own nominee. The COD included a response to this overture in the Agenda supplement.
Overture 7
This overture asks synod to appoint a task force on multisite churches to provide guidance on what models should or shouldn’t be used in Reformed churches and how a church might become a multisite campus. It also recommends changes to Church Order regarding such churches.
Overture 45
This overture asks synod to “appoint a Gentle Pathway Task Force for the purpose of providing support for those departing the CRCNA, with a focus primarily on supporting both congregations and pastors who have discerned a need to leave the CRCNA”. The overture goes on to make a number of specific requests to support pastors, churches, and CRCNA employees who might desire to leave the denomination. The COD included a response to this overture in the Agenda supplement.
What Is Synod?
Let’s talk a minute about some basics. Synod is the annual leadership meeting, or general assembly, of the CRC. It is the broadest authority in the denomination. It is a deliberative body, not a representative body. In other words, delegates are sent by their classes not to represent particular views but rather to walk in the Spirit, pray, and deliberate with others to find the will of the Lord as best they can.
Synod meets annually in June, most often in Grand Rapids, Mich. Each of 49 classes (regions) are invited to send four delegates to synod, where they will learn, celebrate, and make decisions about matters that concern the denomination.
For a few more details about how synods operate, see “Synod: What It Is and How it Works.”
Church Order
Delegates and leaders are guided by the Church Order – the rule book, so to speak – that guides the denomination, its classes, and its congregations. Christian Reformed congregations have all covenanted together to follow these rules, making decisions “in a fitting and orderly way” (Art. 1). The rules have been made over the years by people with long experience and for good reasons. The rules can be changed through extensive deliberation and consensus. Changes to the Church Order generally require the action of two synods. Changes to the Church Order Supplement can be made by one synod).
(The Church Order is also available in Spanish and Korean; see the Synod Resources section of the CRC’s website.)
The Rules for Synodical Procedure govern how synod is run.
The Delegates
The agenda lists the delegates to synod from all of the various classes. You can see who is coming from your classis! Pray for all of them! You’ll also see some blank lines, meaning that classes could not find the full number of people to be delegated or to serve as alternate delegates. This gives us all the more reason to be thankful for all who are participating.