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Don’t miss these suggested articles:Faith Matters: When It Is Not Well With My SoulOn Air: Exploring Synod 2026Streaming series review: The Other Bennet SisterRead entire current print issue »
Healed Minds Bend Toward Justice
When I met Joyce, she was a 19-year-old single mother of a 4-year-old who had been living in an under-resourced township in Zambia. As she was finishing a two-year agriculture and entrepreneurship certificate, Joyce confidently shared with me about her studies and her dreams. But her journey up to t
Young Adults Writing Contest Winners Announced
The Banner editors have chosen the winners of this year’s Young Adults Writing Contest.This year, the biennial contest, with the theme “Sustaining Faith,” is sponsored by Plough Publishing HouseImage:“What does sustaining faith look like? What does it mean to be sustained in faith in today’s world?
Exploring Synod 2026, Episode 6: “The Big Word is Covenant” – So what about Church Discipline?
Discipline is often handled like a hot potato–something we’d rather not touch. Yet when Synod 2026 adopted recommendations on church discipline and accountability, it addressed questions that have existed in the Reformed tradition for centuries. Rev. Ken Benjamins joins the Banner Podcast to explain
The Correspondent
Epistolary novels rarely succeed—they’re notoriously difficult to write without feeling dry—but Virginia Evans’ The Correspondent is a striking exception. A novel written entirely in letters, it stands in the tradition of modern classics like Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead and popular bestsellers like
Grief and Prayer in Analog
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.A few months
When it is Not Well with My Soul
The hymn began just as it always does.“When peace like a river attendeth my way … .”The congregation's voices swelled, the organ warmed the sanctuary, and something familiar rose up like the tide. I’ve sung this song dozens of times, maybe more. It’s one of the great hymns of the faith, one I love d
Moon Notes
Most nights I forget the moon is there, but every once in a while it winks out from behind a cloud, and I marvel at this part of God’s good creation.The Bible and science tell us the moon was created after the earth. Genesis describes the moon as a “lesser light to rule the night” that was created o
Exploring Synod 2026, Episode 5: How Gospel Centrality Grows a Diverse Church
Reports to Synod 2026 show the CRC becoming increasingly diverse through immigrant congregations and mission. Brazilian pastor Jean Gomez joins the Banner Podcast to share his journey to the CRC and to reflect on these developments. This episode explores cultural identity, evangelism, and how remain
Watch and Wonder: Birding as a Spiritual Practice
Author Ragan Sutterfield, a priest in the Episcopal Church who serves a parish in his native Arkansas, became a passionate birder in his preteens. Over time, he began to contemplate the connection between birding and spiritual practices that draw the observer into a closer relationship with God. He
The Other Bennet Sister
My Wednesday evenings seem a dull affair indeed after the glimmers and laughter of watching 10 episodes of The Other Bennet Sister.Based on the book by Janice Hadlow, the series invites viewers to Jane Austen’s world of Pride and Prejudice and the Bennet sisters. Unlike most adaptations and spinoffs
Oscar and the Mystery of the Glowing Orbs
In this first book of three in the Sensate Saga series written for children ages 10 to 14, readers encounter 13-year-old Oscar who lives with his white father, Mexican stepmother, and Abuela. A few years ago, Oscar was in a car crash that forever changed his life. One leg is now shorter than the oth
Marathon of Hope
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.Today, if you
Reeling From Venezuela's Earthquakes, Churches Inspect Buildings, Distribute Supplies
The Banner has a subscription to republish articles from Religion News Service. This story by Aleja Hertzler-McCain, was published July 2, 2026 on religionnews.com. It has been edited for length and Banner style. The Banner added the fifth and sixth paragraphs and the last four paragraphs to provide
Over 50 Years for Volunteer-run Summer Camp
Teens in Classis Columbia, a regional group of Christian Reformed churches in the western U.S., have counted on Camp Calvin’s volunteer teachers and other professionals for opportunities in spiritual growth, friendship, and leadership since 1975.Preschool teacher Amy Toornstra, a member of Sunnyslop
Exploring Synod 2026, Episode 4: Communion, Cooperation, and Conviction—Synod on Church Relationships
When Synod 2026 considered the CRC’s relationship with other denominations and alliances, delegates asked deeper questions. Jim Hollandoner walks us through the CRC’s different levels of ecumenical partnership and the reasoning around Synod 2026’s decisions. The conversation explores the importance
God Won’t Leave You There: Joseph’s Story
This new book, by Anne Graham Lotz and her daughter Rachel-Ruth Lotz Wright, reminds readers through the story of Joseph that God has much to teach people through their experiences of suffering and hardship.God does not want people to be “pulled toward” the things of this earth because the things of
Why Do We Practice Child Baptism?
Why do we practice child baptism?The baptism debate is often framed as an either-or: either you baptize children (paedobaptism) or you baptize those who profess faith (credobaptism—either older children or adults). For some of our brothers and sisters in Christ, as in the Baptist tradition, this is
When Divorce Feels Like Losing the Church Too
“I didn’t just lose my spouse; I didn’t just lose my marriage—I feel like I lost my church, too.” That’s the heartbreaking cry of many who’ve walked through divorce. The question we as the church must ask is, “How do we respond? How do we minister to hurting people well?”Twenty years of Christian co
Exploring Synod 2026, Episode 3: The Synod and the Seminary
As the primary trainer of our denomination’s pastors for the past 150 years, Calvin Theological Seminary often found itself at the center of recent conversations about CRC identity and confessional commitments. President Jul Medenblik joins The Banner Podcast to explain how the seminary understands