Gerard “Jerry” Lee Dykstra, a retired minister of the Word in the Christian Reformed Church of North America who served the denomination as executive director from 2006 to 2011, died April 27. He was 76.Before becoming executive director, Dykstra served one year (2005-2006) as director of denominati
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 worsh
As the Council of Delegates of the Christian Reformed Church met May 6 to 8 in Grand Rapids, Mich., the 60-member ecclesiastical board processed several items for the denomination’s upcoming synod (annual general assembly), heard about new pledges towards ministry shares, met and approved three cand
“Synod 2025 said we cannot stay where we are,” Resonate Global Mission director of church planting Rev. Tim Sheridan reminded the Council of Delegates as he presented the 10-year Strategic Plan for Church Planting for the Council’s endorsement at its May meeting. Synod asked for a plan, within a yea
The Council of Delegates of the Christian Reformed Church, the 60-member ecclesiastical board that works on behalf of synod in between meetings of synod, approved Lee Carter, a member of Bethel Christian Reformed Church in Lansing, Ill., as the next director of the congregational support ministry Th
The Christian Reformed churches in southern California gathered for a joint service of worship and thanksgiving Sunday, April 19, marking the 150th anniversary of the founding of the CRCNA’s oldest institution, Calvin Theological Seminary.Inspired by plans to celebrate the sesquicentennial in wester
Former pastor at Madison Square Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., and campus minister at Grand Valley State University in, Allendale, Mich., Rev. Darrell Delaney has been appointed new director of the Christian Reformed Church’s media outreach, ReFrame Ministries.Delaney will start work May 11, as part
The Council of Delegates of the Christian Reformed Church in North America approved Rev. Lora Copley as its candidate to present to Synod 2026 for the long-term editor-in-chief appointment.Copley is currently The Banner’s interim editor, serving since December 2025. The Banner’s most recent editor-i
ThereforeGo Ministries recently appointed Amanda Roozeboom as executive director of the organization that has long been the main resource partner for youth ministry in the Christian Reformed Church.Roozeboom comes to the position after 10 years serving other roles at ThereforeGo, most recently as di
The Banner has a subscription to republish articles from Religion News Service. This story by Fredrick Nzwili, was published April 15, 2026 on religionnews.com. It has been lightly edited for Banner style.As the war in Sudan entered its fourth year in mid-April, the bombed Episcopal Church of Our Sa
After 107 years, the original sanctuary of New Holland (S.D.) Christian Reformed Church, has seen its last service. On April 26 congregants celebrated the final service in the building before it will be torn down to make room for a new, larger construction to begin in June. A fellowship hall, connec
Calvin Christian Reformed Church in Rock Valley, Iowa, celebrated its 75th anniversary April 26. The congregation began as the Second CRC in Rock Valley and was named Calvin CRC in May 1951.The building the congregation currently uses is the church's second building, constructed between 1974 and 197
Emo (Ont.) Christian Reformed Church has been hosting a pancake breakfast during its town’s Spring Fever Days for 40 years. Cherished as a way to raise funds for missions, or community projects, the yearly outreach was first run by the church’s program for girls, then called “Calvinettes.” Helen Cat
Douglas Warners was a man who loved people and truly cared deeply for others. “When you spoke to him,” said his daughter, “you knew that you had his full attention, that he was listening and would be praying for you.” A man of integrity, Pastor Doug, as he was called by the many church members he se
In a recent Banner story about ongoing pastor training and support in Sierra Leone, a Resonate Global Mission leader was quoted: “Effective ministry … requires reliable transportation.” That’s also the understanding of a Worthington, Minn., aviation company whose purpose is “supplying people and res
Terhi Miikki-Broersma, a former full-time church musician with the Lutheran Langinkoski (Finland) Church, who now lives in Lynden, Wash., and is the executive director of the annual Lynden Music Festival, dreamed up a hymn singing marathon April 6-10 in Lynden. Six organists played through the Psalt
Did you know the Christian Reformed Church synod has approved eight specific Bible translations for use in worship by Christian Reformed congregations and one additional translation that can be used only in Bible study?The King James Version was the original accepted version. Other versions were app
Rev. Kurt Selles plans to retire in July after 14 years as director of ReFrame Ministries, the media ministry of the Christian Reformed Church.Under Selles’ leadership, ReFrame has gone through many changes. It relocated from Palos Heights, Ill., its longtime home, to Grand Rapids, Mich. It changed
As Rev. Lesli van Milligen retires as director of Thrive, a ministry of the Christian Reformed Church, she looks back on more than 30 years in ministry.Van Milligen completed a Master of Divinity at Fuller Theological Seminary in 1988. In 1995, she was one of the first women to be ordained to an off
Leaders gathering for Synod 2026 of the Christian Reformed Church in North America have a sizable agenda to discuss and discern together. For starters, there’s a 106-page report (including appendices) from synod’s interim committee, the Council of Delegates, which is responsible for carrying out the