Christian Reformed Church in North America
Christian Reformed Church in North America
History
The Christian Reformed Church (CRC) split from the Reformed
Church in America (then known as the Dutch Reformed Church)
in an 1857 secession. This was rooted in part as a result of a
theological dispute that originated in the Netherlands in which
Hendrik De Cock was deposed for his Calvinist convictions,
leading there to the Secession of 1834–35. For the CRC founders Official Logo of the Christian
in America, the RCA then appeared to contain problems similar to Reformed Church
those that they had seen in the State Church in the old country.
Gijsbert Haan (January 3, 1801 – July 27, 1874) was the leader in Abbreviation CRCNA or CRC
the 1857 Secession of Dutch-Americans from the Reformed Classification Protestant
Church in America and the creator of the Christian Reformed Orientation Evangelical
Church in the United States and Canada.
Calvinist
In 1857, four churches with about 130 families (about 10 percent Theology Reformed
of the Dutch immigrant church members in West Michigan at the Polity Modified-
time) seceded. In March, the Noordeloos church of the Classis of
Presbyterian
Holland, Michigan, left the Reformed Church in America. On
March 19, some members of Second Reformed Church, Grand Associations World Reformed
Rapids, Michigan, organized a church that became First CRC, Fellowship
Grand Rapids, Michigan. On April 8, churches in Graafschap and Region United States,
Polkton also left the Classis of Holland. Two ministers, Koene van
Canada
den Bosch and Hendrik Klijn, joined the separatists, although
Klijn returned to the Reformed Church six months later. Headquarters Grand Rapids,
Michigan and
The new denomination that formed from this secession was led by Burlington,
elders and ministers from the churches in the northern Netherlands, Ontario
especially from the province of Groningen, that had organized
Origin 1857
after the 1834 secession in the Netherlands, although members of
the new denomination came from all parts of the Netherlands. The Holland,
reasons given for leaving the Reformed Church were the use of Michigan
hymns (versus Exclusive psalmody) during worship, allowing free Separated from Founded by
access to communion, lax interpretation of grace, permitting Dutch
membership in Freemasonry, and failure to provide catechetical immigrants;
instruction to young people.
split from the
Reformed
For the two years, the denomination had no corporate name. In Church in
1859, Holland Reformed Church (Hollandsche Gereformeerde America
Kerk) was adopted, which was changed to Free Dutch Reformed
Branched from Dutch Reformed
Church (no record of a Dutch translation) in 1861. Two years later,
Church
True Dutch Reformed Church (Ware Hollandsche Gereformeerde
Kerk) was approved, which was changed to Holland Christian Separations 1924–26
Reformed Church (Hollandsche Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerk) Protestant
in 1880. In 1894 congregations also could use Christian Reformed Reformed
Church (Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerk) as well. The full Churches;
adoption of Christian Reformed Church came in 1904, which 1988 Orthodox
became Christian Reformed Church in North America in 1974.
Christian
In 1875, the denomination opened a theological school in Grand Reformed
Rapids, Michigan. The Preparatory Department of the school Churches;
became Calvin College, while the Theological Department became 1996 United
Calvin Theological Seminary. By 1880 the denomination had Reformed
grown to 42 congregations. Ten years later the number had grown Churches in
to 100 located in 11 states. During the 1890s congregations from North America
the True Protestant Dutch Reformed Church (located in New York
Congregations 1,053 (2022)[1]
and New Jersey) joined the CRC. During the 20th century a
number of congregations from the disbanding German Reformed Members 204,664 (2022)[1]
Churches also joined the CRC. Official website www.crcna.org (h
ttp://www.crcna.o
By 1920, the denomination had grown to 350 congregations. At
that time an estimated 350,000 Dutch immigrants had come to the rg)
United States, some of whom were in the Dutch Reformed
tradition that since the 1880s was influenced by Abraham Kuyper, a Dutch Neo-Calvinist theologian,
journalist, and statesman (he served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands, 1901-1905). He founded the
Gereformeerde Kerken, a newspaper, the Free University of Amsterdam, and the Anti-Revolutionary
Political Party.
During the early 1920s, the CRC adopted three doctrinal points regarding common grace. Three ministers,
Herman Hoeksema, George Ophoff, and Henry Danhof were deposed for rejecting three points as being
contrary to the Reformed confessions. The dispute led to the three ministers and their followers leaving the
CRC and forming what is now the Protestant Reformed Churches in America.
After the Second World War, a new wave of Dutch Calvinist immigration occurred to Canada, most of
which were Kuyperian. By 1960, half of the denomination's new congregations (138 of 288) were in
Canada.
In the early 1950s, a division within the Protestant Reformed Churches in America led to about three fifths
of its members forming the Orthodox Protestant Reformed Church, which joined the CRC in 1961.
Ecumenical partnerships
In 1975 the CRC joined the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), Reformed Presbyterian Church of
North America (RPCNA), the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod (RPCES) and the
Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) in forming the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council
(NAPARC).
In the last decades of the 20th century, the Synod enacted innovations that were rejected by some of its
more conservative members and one-time sister denominations. Out of concern about the state of affairs in
the CRC, a group of ministers formed the Mid-America Reformed Seminary in 1981, and around the same
time a federation of churches known as the Orthodox Christian Reformed Churches (OCRC), comprising
some former CRC congregations, was formed. The 1995 decision to ordain women led to the formation of
the United Reformed Churches in North America (URC), and the severing of fraternal relationships
between the CRC and the OPC and PCA in 1997. Because of the decision to ordain women, NAPARC
suspended the CRC from membership in 1999 and expelled it in 2001. This gradual shift has spurred some
of the more conservative congregations to leave; a significant number of these have ended up in the PCA,
OPC, or URC. In 2008, the OCRC dissolved and member churches joined the URC.
The CRC was a charter member of the Reformed Ecumenical Council, which organized at Grand Rapids,
Michigan in 1946. The CRC joined the World Alliance of Reformed Churches in 2002[3] after many years
of hesitation due to what was seen as the more liberal membership and agenda of that body. In 2010, the
Reformed Ecumenical Council and World Alliance of Reformed Churches merged to form the World
Communion of Reformed Churches at a joint meeting hosted by the CRC in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The
CRC also belongs to the Canadian Council of Churches, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, the World
Reformed Fellowship, and the National Association of Evangelicals. The CRC participates in Christian
Churches Together in the United States and in the Global Christian Forum.[4]
As of 2016 the CRC has bilateral relationships with 39 denominations around the globe: 24 are in
"ecclesiastical fellowship;" 10 are "in dialogue;" and five are in "corresponding fellowship." In North
America, the CRC is denominational partners with the more mainline Reformed Church in America (from
which it had split in 1857) and in ecclesiastical fellowship with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and
ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians.[5]
Theology
The Christian Reformed Church is Calvinist,[2] confessional and evangelical in its theology. It places high
value on theological study and the application of theology to current issues, emphasizes the importance of
careful Biblical hermeneutics, and has traditionally respected the personal conscience of individual
members who feel they are led by the Holy Spirit. The Church promotes the belief that Christians do not
earn their salvation, but that it is a wholly unmerited gift from God, and that good works are the Christian
response to that gift.
Reformed theology as practiced in the CRC is founded in Calvinism. A more recent theologian of great
influence on this denomination was Abraham Kuyper (1837–1920). Kuyper, who served as the Prime
Minister of the Netherlands from 1901 to 1905, promoted a belief in social responsibility and called on
Christians to engage actively in improving all aspects of life and society. Kuyper is regarded as a founding
father of Christian Democracy political ideology. Current scholars with wider reputations, such as
philosophers Alvin Plantinga and Nicholas Wolterstorff, as well as Lewis B. Smedes, have associations
with this denomination and with Calvin College. Philip Yancey has stated, "I also admire the tradition of the
Christian Reformed Church, which advocates 'bringing every thought captive' under the mind of Christ;
that tiny 'transforming' denomination has had an enormous influence on science, philosophy, and the
arts."[6]
Doctrinal standards
The CRC officially subscribes to the Ecumenical Creeds[7]—the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and
the Athanasian Creed—as well as three Reformed Confessions, commonly referred as the Three Forms of
Unity: the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort.[8]
In 1986, the CRC formulated a statement of faith titled "Our World Belongs to God:[9] A Contemporary
Testimony" which addresses issues such as secularism, individualism, and relativism. These issues were
seen as "unique challenges of faith presented by the times in which we live".[10] While not having
confessional status, it is meant to give a hymn-like expression of CRC beliefs within the heritage of the
Reformed confessions, especially addressing issues that confront the church today.[11] The Contemporary
Testimony was reviewed and updated in 2008. The second Contemporary Testimony held by the CRCNA
is the Belhar Confession, a testimony written in Afrikaans in 1982 from Reformed churches in South
Africa.[12]
Social issues
The Christian Reformed Church has stated its position on a number of social issues. Summaries of those
positions and references to full reports with exact statements can be found at crcna.org.[13]
The CRC is opposed to abortion except in cases when the "life of the mother is genuinely threatened" by
her pregnancy. The church "affirms the unique value of all human life" from the "moment of conception".
Believers are called upon to show "compassion" to those experiencing unwanted pregnancies, even while
they speak out against the "atrocity" of abortion. In 2010, the Synod adopted a recommendation "to instruct
the Office of Social Justice and Hunger Action (OSJ) to boldly advocate for the church's position against
abortion, and to help equip churches to promote the sanctity of human life" (Acts of Synod 2010,
p. 883)."[14]
Unlike many other Christian denominations, the CRC does not have an official stance on euthanasia. Their
Acts of the 1972 Synod, however, can be interpreted as also a condemnation of euthanasia, since it opposes
"the wanton or arbitrary destruction of any human being at any stage of its development from the point of
conception to the point of death". (Acts of Synod 1972, p. 64)[15] The CRC already expressed its official
opposition to legal euthanasia both in Canada and the United States.[16]
The CRC has a moderate stance on the death penalty: "The CRC has declared that modern states are not
obligated by Scripture, creed, or principle to institute and practice capital punishment. It does, however,
recognize that Scripture acknowledges the right of modern states to institute and practice capital punishment
if it is exercised with utmost restraint."[17]
The stance of the CRC is that homosexuality is "a condition of disordered sexuality that reflects the
brokenness of our sinful world". Christian homosexuals should not pursue "homosexualism", defined as
"explicit homosexual practice", which is "incompatible with obedience to the will of God as revealed in
Scripture". Christian homosexuals should be given "loving support" within the church community,
compassion, and support "towards healing and wholeness".[18][19] Christian homosexuals, like all
Christians, are called to discipleship, holy obedience, and the use of their gifts in the cause of the kingdom.
Opportunities to serve within the offices and the life of the congregation should be afforded to them as to
heterosexual Christians.[20]
Political involvement
The CRC educates its constituency and mobilizes member advocacy on a wide range of social justice
issues in Canada and the United States.[22] It does so primarily through its Office of Social Justice and
Hunger Action[23] (OSJ) and the Centre for Public Dialogue[24] (CPD) in Canada. Major issues on which
the CRC has clear, biblically rooted positions and an active advocacy effort include: Reducing or ending
abortion, comprehensive reform of the U.S. immigration system, ending global poverty and hunger,
fighting systemic racism in both Canada and the U.S., achieving more justice for aboriginal groups in the
U.S. and Canada, organizing for a stronger governmental and private sector response to care for God's
creation – including climate change, refugee protection and resettlement, and standing in solidarity with
those who are persecuted for their faith.
Missions
The CRC has mission efforts and ministries in Nigeria, South
America, Southeast Asia, and the Navajo reservation. Among the
most prominent reservation churches are the Zuni and Rehoboth
missions. Rehoboth was founded in 1903 and has grown
significantly into a large church and has an independent school
with over 500 students in grades K-12; Zuni has experienced the
same in its community. The Rehoboth hospital moved to the
neighboring town of Gallup in 1970. Rehoboth built a high-school
in 1951, and a new high school, funded by the DeVos family, was
built in 2018. The first Rehoboth church was built in 1908, though
the congregation moved to a new building in 2005.
Governance
Church polity refers to the form of governance and organization of
a church. The CRC follows a Presbyterian form of church polity A CRC church on the Navajo
organized under governance by elders, as compared to Episcopal reservation
polities organized under governance by bishops (Roman Catholic,
United Methodist, and Episcopal denominations) and
Congregational polities organized under the governance of the local
congregation (Congregational, Baptist, Disciples of Christ). Governance by
elders is assumed throughout the Christian Reformed Church Order, but CRC
polity is not exactly like that of Presbyterian denominations. Two particular
differences include the fact that the CRC has limited tenure for officebearers
(so elders and deacons serve terms, not forever), and ministers are ordained
and credentialed by a local congregation, not the regional classis or presbytery.
Another key difference is that church polity in the CRC does not have
confessional status and, therefore, the Church Order does not have the same
authority as the creeds. The Church Order is subordinate to the creeds and The Christian Reformed
confessions, which are subordinate to Scripture.[25] Church emblem
approved for U.S.
The Christian Reformed Church has three levels of assembly: the church military gravestones.
council (local assembly, composed of a congregation's deacons, elders, and
ministerial staff), the classis (regional assembly, of which there are 48: 37 in
the United States and 12 in Canada, with one straddling the international border), and the synod (bi-
national assembly.)[26] The church's Synod meets annually in June, with 192 delegates: a minister, an elder
and a deacon from each classis, plus one other officebearer.
Central offices of the church are located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Burlington, Ontario. The CRC in
North America has sent missionaries to many countries around the world where Christian Reformed
churches have been established, but these have organized on their own and are independent from the North
American denomination.
The denomination owns and supports Calvin University as well as Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand
Rapids, Michigan, where the denomination's U.S. offices are located. Historically most ministers ordained
in the CRC were trained at Calvin Seminary. Other colleges associated with the denomination are Kuyper
College (also located in Grand Rapids), Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, Illinois; Dordt
University in Sioux Center, Iowa; Redeemer University College in Ancaster, Ontario; The King's
University in Edmonton, Alberta, and the post-graduate Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto,
Ontario.[28]
Elim Christian Services in Palos Heights, Illinois, offers a school devoted to the education of those with
special needs.
Agencies
Back to God Ministries International – (formerly The
Back to God Hour until 2008) media ministry of the
CRCNA that utilizes radio, television, internet and text
messaging to reach nearly 200 countries, with 34
websites in 10 languages: Arabic, Chinese, English,
French, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Portuguese,
Russian, and Spanish[29] The logo of The Back to God Hour
Calvin University – the oldest and primary college of the radio program, which gave Back to
CRCNA God Ministries International its
Calvin Theological Seminary – the CRCNA seminary for original name
training ministers and those doing ministry work
Resonate Global Mission (https://www.resonateglobalmi
ssion.org/) - Formed by the joining of Christian Reformed Home Missions and Christian
Reformed World Missions, Resonate Global Mission, trains leaders, guides new churches,
and forges partnerships to proclaim and live out the good news of Jesus Christ worldwide.
World Renew (https://worldrenew.net/) – World Renew, formerly the Christian Reformed
World Relief Committee (CRWRC), is the relief and development organization of the
Christian Reformed Church. It responds to the needs of people around the world who are
suffering from poverty, hunger, disaster, and injustice.[30][31]
Demographics
CRC churches are predominantly located in areas of Dutch immigrant settlement in North America,
including Brookfield, Wisconsin, Western Michigan, Chicago, the city of Lynden in Washington State,
British Columbia, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Alberta, Iowa, suburban
southern California, Ripon, California, and northern New Jersey.[50] About 75% of the CRCNA
congregations are located in the US, while the remaining 25% are in Canada.[2] The church has grown
more ethnically diverse with some congregations predominantly Native American, Korean, Chinese,
Vietnamese, African-American and Hispanic. All together, Christian Reformed Churches speak around 20
languages and over 170 congregations speak a language other than English or Dutch.[50] Many churches,
particularly in more urban areas, are becoming much more integrated. Emerging from its role as primarily
an immigrant church, the church has become more outward focused in recent years.[51]
Membership trends
After a time of steady growth during the period of 1963–1992, Year Membership churches
membership totals have declined, even though the number of churches
1963 256,015 585
has grown. In 1992, at the height of its membership, the Christian
Reformed Churches had 316,415 members in 981 churches in the United 1964 263,178 597
States and Canada. In 2019 membership had dropped to 222,156 1965 268,165 610
members in 1072 churches, marking a loss of 78,164 members (or 26%
of its membership) in the last 25 years.[49] 1966 272,461 624
References
Bratt, James H. Dutch Calvinism in Modern America: A History of a Conservative Subculture.
Eerdmans, 1984.
Doezema, Linda Pegman. Dutch Americans: A Guide to Information Sources. Gale
Research, 1979.
Kroes, Rob, and Henk-Otto Neuschafer, eds. The Dutch in North America: Their Immigration
and Cultural Continuity. Amsterdam: Free University Press, 1991.
Kromminga, John. The Christian Reformed Church: A Study in Orthodoxy. Grand Rapids,
Mich.: Baker Books, 1949.
Schaap, James. Our Family Album: The Unfinished Story of the Christian Reformed Church.
Grand Rapids, Mich.: CRC Publications, 1998.
Sheeres, Janet Sjaarda. Son of Secession: Douwe J. Vander Werp. Grand Rapids, Mich.:
Eerdmans, 2006.
Smidt, Corwin, Donald Luidens, James Penning, and Roger Nemeth. Divided by a Common
Heritage: The Christian Reformed Church and the Reformed Church in America at the
Beginning of the New Millennium. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006.
Swierenga, Robert. Faith and Family: Dutch Immigration and Settlement in the United
States, 1820–1920 (2000)
Zwaanstra, Henry. Reformed Thought and Experience in a New World: A Study of the
Christian Reformed Church and Its American Environment 1890–1918. The Netherlands:
Kampen, 1973. 331 pp.
Witteveen Fred, rehoboth christian school 1903-2003.
External links
Official website (http://www.crcna.org/)
Book of Church Order for the CRCNA (https://web.archive.org/web/20081029120650/http://w
ww.crcna.org/site_uploads/uploads/2006_churchorder.pdf)
Searchable Database of All CRC Ministers (http://www.calvin.edu/library/database/crcmd/)
Detailed church history (https://web.archive.org/web/20031002200629/http://www.crchurche
s.net/resources/crcstuff/WhoWeAre/history/index.html)
Asian-American CRCs (https://web.archive.org/web/20070929014259/http://asiancrc.org/pa
ge7.html)
The Banner. The monthly publication of the CRC (http://thebanner.org)
Profile of the CRC on the Association of Religion Data Archives website (http://www.thearda.
com/Denoms/D_921.asp)