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Back-to-back Hurricanes Unusual for Bradenton, Fla.
10/17/2024

After two hurricanes hit their region only 15 days apart, members of Bradenton (Fla.) Christian Reformed Church are cleaning up and thanking God for his protection.On Sept. 24, a 5- to 7-foot storm surge from Hurricane Helene flooded homes on Anna Maria Island (near Bradenton) and filled them with s

Preparing for Retirement from Ministry
10/16/2024

Thrive, the CRCNA’s congregational support ministry, recently compiled a guide to help those in pastoral ministry think about and prepare for retirement. What follows is an adapted excerpt from “Retirement from Pastoral Ministry: Guidance for a Healthy Transition,” which can be found at crcna.org/Pa

Sustainable Change in Cambodia
10/16/2024

Only 3% of Cambodia’s population identifies as Christian. Resonate Global Mission missionaries Ly Chhay and Navy Chann-Chhay are working with local pastors, churches, and ministries to grow that percentage to at least 10% by 2033—2,000 years from the year in which many Bible scholars put Christ’s re

Demon Copperhead
10/15/2024

It’s the late 1990s, and a redheaded boy named Damon—quickly nicknamed Demon Copperhead—is growing up in the Appalachian mountains. He’s got a single mother, a best friend, and a world of problems heading his way.It’s not hard to grow attached to this boy as we the reader follow his journey of growi

No One Knows Me Like You
10/15/2024

Salt Lake City Utah-based The Rock Music offers an up-tempo style focused on the beauty of Jesus in its five-song EP called “No One Knows Me Like You.” “There are two messages that I hope resonate with listeners,” Caleb Yetton says of the title track and overarching theme of the EP. “First, we are f

Pastors' Callings
10/14/2024

The Church Order Review Task Force in its report to Synod 2024 noted some big changes in the ways pastors in the Christian Reformed Church serve the denomination. The number of ministers of the Word serving outside of congregational ministry in 2023 is more than nine times greater than in 1950. Here

Lake Effect
10/14/2024

Those of us living near the Great Lakes often hear the term “lake effect” or “lake-effect snow.” The lakes have a huge effect on the weather. They can temper storms or make them worse.To understand how the lakes affect weather, it’s important to know that heat means vibration. The faster something v

9 Words That Can Cause Division (and How to Approach Them)
10/14/2024

Editor’s note: This article is the second in a three-part series by Todd Pheifer, the author of Let's Talk!: A Guide to Awkward Conversations and Unifying Dialogue in the Church. Pick up the book on Amazon and follow along on The Banner's Facebook and X pages for discussion of the book and its impor

Am I Morally Obligated to Vote?
10/14/2024

Am I Morally Obligated to Vote?It is election season in the United States. Many Christians know whom they are going to vote for. Others feel torn, viewing the choice as between the lesser of two evils. And some simply want to sit the election out. Yet we are constantly told that voting is our civic

Back Home: Story Time with My Father
10/11/2024

Young Lune is sure her daddy tells the best stories. They all begin with “lakay,” which means “back home.” Originally from Haiti, Daddy has vivid memories of his homeland, which he’s eager to share with Lune. Some of the stories are funny—about a boy who climbs a mango tree and meets with a mishap.

Receiver
10/11/2024

One could argue that the most important player on an NFL team is the Quarterback. But the position is incomplete as articulated by Gisele Bündchen (Tom Brady’s former wife) after the New England Patriots lost to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI: “My husband cannot throw the ball and catch the

Massachusetts Church Plant Boosts Discipleship With Surge School
10/11/2024

Emmaus City Church in Worcester, Mass., is in its second round of Surge School, an eight-month discipleship and spiritual transformation program that empowers people of all stages of Christian faith to seek shalom in every area of their lives.Emmaus City, led by commissioned pastor Mike Sullivan, wa

Alberta Church Plant Building ‘Commons’
10/11/2024

Bridge Church in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., celebrated moving its worship services to the gymnasium of Fort Saskatchewan Christian School in September, a step toward community-engaged ministry from a future site called the Bridge Commons. The first phase of construction for the five-year-old church p

Learning with World Renew
10/09/2024

Most of us learn best by doing. Sometimes a thing we’ve learned doesn’t seem real until we’ve done it in practice. The work of World Renew can seem distant and unclear to those of us who haven’t spent time in the midst of it, but opportunities abound to literally get our hands dirty. And you’re invi

All of My Days
10/08/2024

Singer-songwriter Ellie Holcomb’s latest offering, All of My Days, is an EP (a short album) of songs based on the Psalms. We get the idea in the first song, also the title track and a reflection on Psalm 23, that Holcomb intends to track quite closely with the Psalm as she sings, “lead me by the qui

Across So Many Seas
10/08/2024

Author Ruth Behar was inspired to write this novel for middle school readers by the few details she knew about her Spanish grandmother’s life. In an author’s note, Behar explains that she set her story in the larger context of Sephardic history, starting in 1492, the year the Jews were expelled from

God’s Calling to the CRC
10/07/2024

In June, I attended a presentation by Colin Watson, the former executive director of the Christian Reformed Church in North America and the first graduate of the D.Min. program at Calvin Theological Seminary. His presentation, part of the Theory and Practice: Doctorate of Ministry discussion series,

Shovels Galore
10/07/2024

The best Mother’s Day present I ever received was a garden shovel. It’s the gift that keeps on giving: digging up our perennial flower gardens in the spring and again in the fall has become a ritual.As I turn over the earth, mostly I relish the exercise, the rich soil and earthworms, and the sun or

The Banner Team
10/07/2024

Wonder who makes up the team putting together the news, features, media reviews, and ads that make up The Banner in print and online each month?CHONG: Shiao Chong (who goes by “Chong”) has been The Banner’s editor in chief since 2016, after 15 years in campus ministry. Born and raised in Malaysia, C

What To Read During Hispanic Heritage Month
10/04/2024

National Hispanic Heritage Month (NHHM) is celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 each year to honor the history, culture, and contributions of Hispanic and Latine (a new term that encompasses both Latino and Latina) Americans. The month begins in the middle of September and ends in the middle of Octob