The Christian Reformed congregations in Pembroke and in Renfrew, Ont., both born in the flux of Netherlandic emigration after World War II, have diminished in numbers to the point that neither congregation employs a full-time pastor nor has plans to call one. Yet both congregations continue to worship each week, drawing on pastoral support from retired CRC pastors living in the area, guest pastors from neighboring evangelical churches, and pulpit-supply appointments from other congregations within Classis Eastern Canada, a regional group of CRC churches.
The shrinking experience is not unique among the congregations of the Christian Reformed Church in North America. Classis Central California formed a small church team in 2024 and is now testing a pilot support model with one at-risk-of-closure congregation (as noted in the agenda for Classis Central California, Oct. 7, 2025), and the 10-year Strategic Plan for Church Planting proposed to Synod 2026 recommends denomination-wide tracking of churches in such circumstances.
Here’s how the two eastern Ontario churches are making it work:
Members of Zion CRC in Pembroke average over 80 years old. Several years ago, when the church council surveyed the congregation to gather input for planning the future of their aging community, they found no clear consensus for change and decided to continue the “status quo”—having guest preachers lead worship each Sunday. Bernie Bakker, a retired CRC pastor, leads most communion services; several of the clergy and a retired pastor from the large Calvary Baptist Church in Pembrook are also frequent guest preachers. The Grey Psalter Hymnal provides most of the songs used in worship, and the congregation’s two capable volunteer organists alternate on the instrument. Meindart Vander Galien, one of Zion’s elders, led the church's two most recent funeral services and has been asked to lead an interment.
Between Sunday worship services, the church building is the venue for a weekly meeting of the Calvary Baptist youth group as well as a Zion ladies’ Bible study.
Although Hebron Community CRC in Renfrew has been without a pastor for the past two years, it has grown in number over that time. The congregation employs Rev. Doug VandeKamp, a retired pastor whose last charge was in Brandon, Man., on a part-time basis. VandeKamp preaches once per month. Pulpit supply appointments from the classis lead worship services four or five times per year. Volunteer worship coordinator Sandra Beimers arranges the Sunday services, with two each month without a sermon, using instead a congregation-wide Bible study on one of the weeks and a praise and worship service of song and liturgy on the other. On several occasions, the congregation has used video sermons during their worship time together.
The church hosts a Coffee Break gathering each Wednesday morning with good community involvement and has organized a GEMS (Girls Everywhere Meeting the Savior) program from October to December for the past few years. About 60% of the 35-40 worshipers who gather each Sunday morning are retired, yet the great majority of members take an active role in congregational life, Beimers said.
The congregation has responded to the smaller numbers by removing the back rows of church pews to create a social gathering area at the back of the sanctuary. That new space for visiting has encouraged the congregation to also construct a main-floor accessible washroom.