“Renewal has been happening within the Christian Reformed Church. Right now 30% of the Christian Reformed Church ain’t white. That's a good thing,” Reggie Smith, diversity consultant with Thrive, began a presentation of the Diversity Connection Advisory Committee, near the close of Synod 2026.
Smith’s remarks ahead of the first diversity group presentations at synod echoed what the assembly heard earlier in the week as part of general secretary Zach King’s ‘Antioch Moment’ address. “God is up to something new,” expanding what had been a historically Dutch denomination. “And that's a good thing,” Smith repeated.
Synod is the annual general assembly of the Christian Reformed Church in North America. It met June 12-18, 2026, in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Synod 2026 approved changes to how data on membership diversity within the CRC is collected and instructed the Office of General Secretary to work with the Council of Delegates to provide annual reports to synod. It also approved making space to hear about and celebrate the work God’s Spirit is doing within the denomination’s major ethnic communities. Providing a formal way for these groups to share with synod was a request of Synod 2024.
Joseph Hun-Suk Bae, a delegate from Classis Lake Erie and former chair of the Korean Ministry Association, presented on behalf of that group. The association connects ethnic Korean ministers and Korean-speaking ministers within the CRC, including first-generation immigrants to the U.S. and Canada and the first-, in-between, and 2nd- and 3rd-generation worshiping communities.
The first Korean church to associate with the CRC joined in 1969. The KMA formed in 2024, a rebranding of the historic Korean Council. Bae said it continues to grow and include members who worship in Korean, in English, in multicultural settings, and in the U.S. and Canada—while still sharing one identity: being of Korean background. There are currently “more than 100 Korean churches within our denomination,” Bae said.
The Consejo Latino works in conjunction with Resonate Global Mission and with the CRC in the efforts of church planting with Hispanic Reformed leaders, not only in North America but also Venezuela, Mexico, and, in the past few years, the Dominican Republic. A Venezuelan pastor, Jose Piñero, was a delegate to Synod 2026 from Classis California South.
The Consejo has been working with Revelation University in Florida teaching online courses for ministry preparation under a program called Luke 10. Jose Rayas, first clerk, said there have been over 200 students who have gone through the program. Its purpose is to prepare church planters in Reformed theology.
There isn’t a single association for ministers and churches of Indigenous heritage in the CRC. In Canada, the denomination is served by the Canadian Indigenous Ministry Committee, and in the U.S., Classis Red Mesa connects the approximately 20 churches and missions in northwest New Mexico and northeast Arizona, which were formed as a result of the CRC’s first missionary outreach. Synod received a written report from the Canadian ministries earlier. Caleb Dickson, Classis Red Mesa, shared on behalf of the Navajo and Zuni classis. They work actively together on various projects including the Red Mesa Leadership Development Network and Cottonwood Pass Bible Conference.
Dickson shared that the classis is in a time of transition where the number of commissioned pastors outnumbers the number of ordained ministers of the Word. “In the last year and a half we have had four retirees of ordained ministers of the Word.” That leaves three ministers of the Word serving in the whole classis, a challenging reality even for mentoring of the serving commissioned pastors. Dickson asked synod to pray for the classis.
Smith presented an update from SEAPIC, a group representing Southeast Asian, Pacific Islander, and Chinese members of the CRC. Smith shared about the work that members accomplished at a recent retreat, and Thrive’s ongoing commitment to raise up young leaders within the CRC’s Asian congregations. He expressed gratitude that SEAPIC churches have been the fastest-growing group in the CRC.
Smith also presented a report on behalf of Black leaders in the CRC. “Black and Reformed has gone through a very, very tough time because of the disaffiliation of a lot of our multiracial churches,” Smith said. He acknowledged that many urban churches with a large African-American presence have disaffiliated in recent years, leading to a “loss of key leaders who were affiliated with those churches.”
At the same time, Smith gave thanks for the growth of new voices in the CRC. He gave thanks for Ericka Williams-White, who was serving as a prayer intercessor at Synod 2026, and Aaron Solomon-Mills, who was one of 36 candidates for minister of the Word received at Synod 2026.
Synod 2026, the annual general assembly of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, met June 12-18 on the campus of Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Mich. Go to crcna.org/synod for the livestream, photos, reports, and a live blog of synod proceedings and decisions. Find daily news and our video Synod Recap at thebanner.org/synod.