The first plenary session of Synod 2026 opened with worship, thanksgiving, and the opening exercises familiar to the Christian Reformed Church’s annual general assembly: roll call, speeches, and welcomes. Synod president Chad Steenwyk, elected in an online convening two weeks ago, along with three o
Host Lora Copley, The Banner’s interim editor-in-chief, and guest John Hoekema, pastor of Horizon Community Church (Downers Grove, Ill.) and the denomination’s prayer shepherd, talk about the foundation of prayer laid before and during this year's synod.
Jerry Dykstra, a pastor who served congregations in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Walnut Creek, Calif., before working in denominational leadership, lived, worked, and served in lay ministry in Arizona after leaving CRC service in 2011. He died April 27 after a 19-month illness. He was 76.Dykstra was bor
Pastor and chaplain Peter W. De Bruyne is described as a compassionate, humble, and selfless man with a pastoral heart who blessed all who knew him. He saw the brokenness and suffering around him and stepped into it, walking alongside and loving people through difficult journeys. De Bruyne, 93, died
The Banner has a subscription to republish articles from Religion News Service. This story by Yonat Shimron, was published May 29, 2026, on religionnews.com. It has been edited for Banner style. The fifth paragraph, with context for the Christian Reformed Church, has been added.(RNS) — Samaritan’s P
“There’s a ‘u,’” a chorus of voices rang out from the back of the room, wanting to be clear on the Canadian spelling as notes were jotted down from reporters sharing wisdom and challenges from their particular focus area to the gathering of Canadian Christian Reformed Church in North America members
In this first episode of The Banner Synod Recap, host Lora Copley talks with guest Nate Van Denend about the officers chosen for the Christian Reformed Church’s Synod 2026, what the officers’ roles are, and what to look forward to at this year’s annual gathering.Van Denend was Synod 2025’s president
The Evangelical Press Association and the Associated Church Press, two professional organizations for Christian publishing, had their annual conventions in May, distributing awards for work produced in 2025. This year the ACP hosted its convention jointly, in Toronto, Ont., with the Canadian Christi
The Banner has a subscription to republish articles from Religion News Service. This story by Fiona Murphy, was published April 27, 2026 on religionnews.com. It has been edited for length and Banner style. The Banner added the last three paragraphs to provide context for the Christian Reformed Churc
Three experienced officers and one new clerk will serve Synod 2026 of the Christian Reformed Church in North America as the assembly comes together in June in Grand Rapids, Mich.Delegates to Synod 2026 convened by Zoom video conferencing May 27 to elect the officers, test out the meeting tech, and p
Mount Hope (Ont.) Community Christian Reformed Church celebrated 150 years of gospel proclamation in its location at the end of May, even though only eight of those years were as Mount Hope Community CRC.The congregation, formed in 1952, used to be known as Mount Hamilton Christian Reformed Church a
Seven volunteer fabricators from Bethel Christian Reformed Church in Sioux Center, Iowa, are helping to increase production of Hope Haven International’s tiltable wheelchair, a tool developed in 2020 by engineering students at Dordt University.“Each wheelchair is carefully selected and tailored to m
The Banner has a subscription to republish articles from Religion News Service. This story by Tonny Onyulo, was published May 5, 2026 on religionnews.com. It has been lightly edited for Banner style.GOMA, Congo (RNS) — As gunfire and explosions echo across eastern Congo’s hills amid the ongoing viol
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