“Participating with God in God’s mission in the local church or supporting renewal throughout the denomination requires discernment,” said Elaine May, ministry consultant with Thrive, the Christian Reformed Church’s congregational support agency. “The capacity to see God’s redemptive activity in the world and to align ourselves with what God is doing can grow as we learn together in community.”
In fact, renewal is a key facet of the Christian life. The Holy Spirit works in us individually and corporately to transform us through Christ to do good work for God’s kingdom. As we look at the ministries of the CRCNA, we see renewal happening in countless ways at multiple levels.
Take Gather, for example. In February 2024, the CRCNA announced a new initiative to host a replicable grassroots storytelling forum to help churches learn from one another. The Gather initiative includes 10 regional events with lay and ordained leaders throughout the United States and Canada. Each event is prayerfully designed with the hope of fostering a spirit of fellowship, encouragement, and renewal—celebrating the ways God is actively working within Christian Reformed congregations and providing a platform for members to learn from each other and share their journeys.
“This project will strengthen our corporate discernment practices so that together we can evaluate, clarify, and align the churches of the CRCNA with God’s ongoing missional purposes,” explained May, Gather’s project manager.
Since then, a pilot event took place in Minneapolis, Minn., gathering one classis from each region of the CRCNA. There were also events in Vancouver, B.C., and Calgary, Alta., in September, with several more planned for later in 2024.
Collective Discernment
Gather intentionally emphasizes the importance of worship, prayer, and discernment. In contrast to classis or synod meetings, which often are centered around decision making and operate with more formality, Gather’s meetings encourage open sharing and deep reflection, allowing leaders to draw strength from one another and from their collective faith.
After Gather Minneapolis, one attendee said, “I had hoped that it would be a unifying, rejuvenating, inspiring event, and it was all of that. I loved that there was not a sense of polarization. … I love that we could celebrate how much we have in common and how our journeys can be both so similar and so different. We all have similar goals and dreams for our churches.”
Shared Experiences and Camaraderie
Gather also aims to highlight the common threads running through the joys and challenges churches face. Through facilitated storytelling in small groups, participants discuss how God is bringing life into their congregations, explore methods to encourage greater participation, and discern where God is leading them in the coming months and years. This collaborative approach ensures that attendees not only gain insights but also feel connected to a broader community that understands their experiences.
Another attendee shared that they left Gather Minneapolis feeling “a deeper connection to (their) classis, appreciation for regional challenges, new friends, and gratitude for all God is doing in the Christian Reformed Church!”
These feelings were widely echoed among participants. A post-event survey showed that 79% of respondents left with feelings of thankfulness, highlighting the gratitude that emerges from such enriching encounters. Additionally, 74% reported feelings of encouragement, and 71% departed with a renewed sense of hope.
To learn more and to watch video stories about Gather, or to find out when members of your classis have been or will be invited to attend, visit crcna.org/Gather.
Fully Engaged in Mission
God also is using and renewing congregations through engaging mission—including through supporting missionaries around the world. When Ebenezer CRC in Leduc, Alta., was looking for missionaries to support, they connected with Resonate Global Mission, the CRC’s mission agency.
Resonate sends missionaries, plants churches, and equips established congregations to join God on mission in their neighborhoods and throughout the world.
“Our desire as Resonate is to see churches fully engaged in mission—and part of that is supporting a missionary. When you support a missionary, that’s an extension of your church’s ministry,” said Carolyn Meraji, who works in donor relations with Resonate and sees how support for mission can renew and revitalize congregations.
Many members of the rural Ebenezer congregation work in and are passionate about agriculture. That’s why Meraji connected the church’s mission committee with Resonate missionaries Jesse and Jari Rodriguez, who work with farmers in Jinotega, Nicaragua.
Nestled in the mountains, Jinotega is rich in vegetable farming and coffee production, but the community lacks access to training, new technology, and healthy seeds. The Rodriguezes meet those needs by providing biblically based training for farmers, entrepreneurs, and pastors as well as access to farming equipment and seeds. They also encourage farmers to see their business as a way they can share their faith.
“Jesse and Jari are very involved with the farming community in Jinotega and have a passion to share their Christian faith through different programs,” said Monique Tolsma, Ebenezer’s secretary of deacons. “Their love for their farming community was exciting to hear about.”
When members of Ebenezer connect with the Rodriguezes, they are able to easily understand one another’s work and share ideas. Ebenezer makes the ministry in Jinotega possible, and they know firsthand how important it is, for instance, to provide and maintain equipment like a threshing machine.
“It’s really important,” Jesse Rodriguez said. “It makes it possible for farmers to harvest a crop in one day rather than five days. (Ebenezer) is a congregation of farmers. They share a heart for what we’re doing here. … It’s an encouragement for the people who work here in Nicaragua, and I know it’s an encouragement for the church as well that we can be sharing the same love for the gospel and mission.”
While providing financial support is an important way for churches to partner with missionaries, such relationships involve much more: “It means praying for them, visiting them on the field, and when they’re here in the region, hosting them, and welcoming them,” Meraji said.
Ebenezer and the Rodriguezes are often in touch and pray for one another’s ministries.
“Ebenezer CRC is just one small church in this big world,” Tolsma said. “(But) by being part of the greater church, by supporting Jesse and Jari in Jinotega, we are contributing to furthering God’s kingdom.”
And while the church is making a difference in Nicaragua, Tolsma added that hearing about the Rodriguezes’ daily work is an encouragement to the members of Ebenezer. It reminds them that church members can make a difference in their own community by living out their faith.
“Their mentorship in helping churches create a marketplace ministry and disciple Christians to witness the gospel wherever they find themselves working is a good reminder for us all to take into our own daily lives,” Tolsma said.
“Our God doesn’t know any borders or cultures,” Jesse Rodriguez said. “His Word transcends everything.”