The Intercultural Table

11/11/2026

During the West Intercultural Cohort’s first in-person retreat, one host church invited the cohort to help plan an intercultural worship service. The service opened with familiar and new songs expressed in a variety of languages. An Indigenous member offered a prayer, an Intercultural Ministry leade

Editor Lester DeKoster, 1970-1980

11/11/2026

Note: This online-only article is part of a series showcasing past Banner editors. You can read all the content celebrating The Banner’s 160th anniversary here.Lester DeKoster became editor of The Banner in 1970, the first non-ordained person to sit in the chair. In his first editorial, he wrote tha

Listening Hands: Eavesdropping on the Sound of Life

11/10/2026

Martin Schleske is one of the best violin makers in the world. He has studied both the art and the science of instrument making and blends those areas together to create impressive instruments played by top performers. He is also a person of great faith, someone who thinks deeply about his craft but

Suggestions for First-time Delegates

11/10/2026

As I Was Saying is a forum for a variety of perspectives to foster faith-related conversations among our readers with the goal of mutual learning, even in disagreement. Apart from articles written by editorial staff, these perspectives do not necessarily reflect the views of The Banner.You’ve just b

Is it Better to Get a Job or Focus on Having Meaningful Experiences?

11/09/2026

Is it better to get a job or focus on having meaningful experiences?As soon as we are old enough to get a job, how much we should work becomes a question. The answer shifts as we go through life, whether it’s when we graduate high school or college, if we have children, or as we approach the last th

A Christmas Classic Helps Us See Our Own ‘Wonderful’ Lives

11/09/2026

“A man on earth needs our help.”“Is he sick?”“No, worse, he’s discouraged.”It’s a Wonderful Life, the timeless film of the 1940s, touched the hearts of millions. Narrated by Clarence the angel, it follows the life of “small-town hero” George Bailey. The film speaks about life, love, and despair and

Mixed Media Roundup: November/December 2026

11/09/2026

The OdysseyReviewed by Lorilee CrakerPenelope (Anne Hathaway), queen of Ithaca, lives in a dark palace and pines for her lost love, Odysseus, the king who left 20 years ago and never returned. Odysseus and his crew, meanwhile, face one obstacle after another on their way home.There is a surprisingly

Editor Rev. John Vander Ploeg, 1956-1970

11/09/2026

Note: This online-only article is part of a series showcasing past Banner editors. You can read all the content celebrating The Banner’s 160th anniversary here.When Rev. John Vander Ploeg took his place in The Banner’s editor’s chair in 1956, his leadership rounded out the first century of the Chris

Does God Help Those Who Help Themselves?

11/06/2026

As I Was Saying is a forum for a variety of perspectives to foster faith-related conversations among our readers with the goal of mutual learning, even in disagreement. Apart from articles written by editorial staff, these perspectives do not necessarily reflect the views of The Banner.*Editor’s Not

Deep Secrets

11/06/2026

In 1929 New York City, at the beginning of the Great Depression, 19-year-old Colette is a “prisoner in her own home” like “a porcelain doll, put on a shelf and left to collect dust.” To make matters worse, she’s haunted nightly by terrifying dreams of icy water, darkness, being suspended above the e

When I’m a Moshom

11/06/2026

Author David A. Robertson, a member of the Norway House Cree Nation, now residing in Winnipeg, Man., wrote this winsome children’s book as a companion to On the Trapline, written to honor his father and their relationship with each other and the land. As he was concluding work on that book, his fath

Churches Host Summer Interns to Encourage Exploring Pastoral Ministry

11/06/2026

For many professions, a career begins with an internship, the opportunity as a young person to explore a calling and be mentored by those with experience in the field. This summer four Chicago-area Christian Reformed churches sought to create that opportunity for hopeful future pastors with a Minist

New Kuyper College President Receives Legacy ‘In Trust’

11/06/2026

In an October inauguration ceremony installing him as Kuyper College’s seventh president, Daniel Churchwell gave an address recognizing the school’s history, calling, and continuing potential.“The potential I see at Kuyper exists precisely because generations of trustees, faculty, staff, presidents,

Illinois Church Develops Hispanic Ministry as ‘One Church, Two Cultures’

11/06/2026

Emmanuel Christian Reformed Church, which has been in the Chicago suburb of Sauk Village, Ill., since 1968, has recently developed a bilingual—English and Spanish—ministry with church planter Richard Garcia, creating what it envisions as “One Church, Two Cultures” in its demographically changing nei

Drawn to Jesus

11/04/2026

Ahmet* had seen The Jesus Film maybe a dozen times—but everything changed the night he watched it with Resonate Global Mission missionary Daniel*.Born into a predominantly Muslim country in Asia, Ahmet grew up knowing Jesus as a prophet. But he felt restless, uncertain, and unsatisfied with life and

Love Like a Mother: How the Sacred Work of Motherhood Reveals the Maternal Heart of God

11/03/2026

God is our father, and Scripture is woven through with masculine imagery to describe him. That is all wonderfully true, orthodox, and indisputable. But in this book, Elizabeth Berget gently leads readers to discover a God who also made mothers in his image and who nourishes, comforts, and protects u

My Invisible Sin

11/03/2026

As I Was Saying is a forum for a variety of perspectives to foster faith-related conversations among our readers with the goal of mutual learning, even in disagreement. Apart from articles written by editorial staff, these perspectives do not necessarily reflect the views of The Banner.How many time

The Giver is the Gift

11/02/2026

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” —1 Thess. 5:16-18I cannot thank You, Lord, for all I see.The world is broken, brimmed with loss and pain.How can I thank and praise continually?How does one trace the rainbow through

Blade and the Blessing Bag

11/02/2026

“Blade,” the disheveled man said when I asked him his name.I thought, who names their baby “Blade”? In my mind, I pictured switchblades and dangerously sharp knives.Blade was anything but knifelike. He was like a gentle breeze, his voice barely audible as he shyly looked at me.During the summer mont

Canons of Dort

11/02/2026

God’s Sovereign ChoiceThe theme of comfort has followed us from the Belgic Confession through the Heidelberg Catechism. Although the Canons of Dort (CD) are less doctrinally comprehensive, we will once again recognize the theme of comfort underlying the teachings.By the end of the 16th century, the