In North America, we have automated solutions for labor-intensive work. A cement mixer with a couple of operators, for example, can quickly pour a massive concrete slab. In contrast, much of the world works on the “principle of the ant.” There is a Haitian proverb Men anpil, chay pa lou (Many hands make light work). In Haiti I’ve witnessed a team of 100 people pour cement for an entire building in one day with shovels and buckets.
One critical reason for the existence of a denomination (or a community of churches) such as the Christian Reformed Church in North America is to “live out a collective calling” (Church Order Art. 39). Together, our churches can provide more resources for thriving ministry and can spread the gospel farther than we could on our own.
Our CRC forebears established agencies and educational institutions because they recognized that no one congregation (or classis) can provide all the resources our churches need to thrive. Today, we have four denominational agencies (ReFrame Ministries, Resonate Global Mission, Thrive, and World Renew), two educational institutions (Calvin Theological Seminary and Calvin University), and three uniquely Canadian justice ministries (Centre for Public Dialogue, Indigenous Ministries and Intercultural Ministry). These organizations assist CRCNA congregations in their work of educating young people, forming leaders, sending missionaries, planting churches, discipling believers through media, supporting congregations, and providing relief and community development globally. Working together, we Christian Reformed “ants” get a lot done.
Living out a collective calling also means aligning our resources to go further together. Collectively, CRCNA churches and members created the Our Journey ministry plan with four milestones we wish to work toward: cultivating practices of prayer and spiritual practices, listening to the voices of every generation, growing in unity in diversity, and sharing the gospel. (Check out Our Journey at crcna.org/OurJourney to learn more.) These four priority areas were discerned through a broad listening process with church leaders and members across our denomination. CRCNA staff members support the ministry plan by continuing to listen to, consult with, walk alongside, and create resources for CRCNA congregations to live out their collective calling. Walking together, ants can go a longer distance.
CRCNA regional bodies (classes) help member churches live out their collective calling through resourcing and walking together. Classes support regional work such as campus ministry, church planting, community mission, leadership development, and church and pastor health. Our classes also have ministry plans that help their churches do more together.
Living out a collective calling can be complex. Churches minister in very different contexts. There are CRCNA congregations from the concrete canyons of Manhattan to the gravel intersections of the Great Plains. We are a binational denomination, with churches in Canada and the United States (and a few in Venezuela). The languages spoken in our denomination include Korean, Spanish, Navajo, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Khmer, Tagalog, and many others. While maintaining our common convictions, we make space for our churches to minister in their contexts—Canadian or American, Indigenous or immigrant, urban or rural.
Finally, living out a collective calling can be difficult. Sometimes through conversation we discover our convictions aren’t as aligned as we hoped. Sometimes we speak to each other in ways that grieve our Father. We are sinful people living in sinful cultures, and we soak in media that can divide us and foster distrust. Our great enemy and accuser has been busy fracturing and separating our churches. It is so much easier to tear down than to build up.
Nevertheless, Scripture shows that we can live out a collective calling. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 is a great example. It explains the principle of the ant: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. … If two lie down together, they will keep warm. … A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” In Acts, we also see the early church living out its collective calling by sending missionaries and providing for people in need (Acts 4:32-37; 6:1-7; 11:27-30; 13:1-3).
Living out a collective calling has never been easy, and it seems to be getting harder. But living out our collective calling continues to be a way that we can resource our churches and go further in ministry. It is not just about learning from the wisdom of the ant (Prov. 30:25). It’s about obedience. “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Eph. 4:3-6). May God empower us to live out our collective calling.