When I met Joyce, she was a 19-year-old single mother of a 4-year-old who had been living in an under-resourced township in Zambia. As she was finishing a two-year agriculture and entrepreneurship certificate, Joyce confidently shared with me about her studies and her dreams. But her journey up to t
In the final months of the 1990s, I was a freshly minted student at Calvin Theological Seminary. I had recently become engaged to a Christian Reformed woman and joined the CRCNA. With a head brimming with energy, excitement, and Reformed theology pouring out my ears, I was unleashed on unsuspecting
On a basic human level we know we demonstrate our values by what we spend our time and money on. If you value education, you might spend time educating yourself or educating others, donate to educational institutions, or pay for school for your children. Indeed this truth is called out by Jesus in t
John 15 reminds us that God is the vine into whom we are all grafted. While we might undergo pruning from time to time, if we remain faithful, keep his commands, and love one another, we will bear fruit and be filled with joy. In fact, John 15:11 promises that our joy will overflow. With that in min
What is identity? For many of us, our personal identity might be bound up in vocation. For example, Belinda is a banker; she always has been and thought she always would be. But when she retires, what is she? For others, identity is bound up in a relationship—often a child (or spouse). Darryl is Tyl
The CRC has a long history of working together and pooling resources in order to further God’s kingdom work around the world. This year features a special column in each issue of The Banner that includes an interview with leaders of these shared ministries: Thrive, Resonate Global Mission, ReFrame M
The CRC has a long history of working together and pooling resources to further God’s kingdom work around the world. This year we will feature a special column in each issue that includes an interview with the directors of these shared ministries: Thrive, Resonate Global Mission, ReFrame Ministries,
ReFrame Ministries' Arabic-language ministry is reaching an important milestone as work continues toward the creation of the Today daily devotional written in Arabic.The Today devotional celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2025 and is a cornerstone of ReFrame’s English-language ministry. Starting as
Have you ever thought about how odd it is that you can spend years in school getting graded on everything with a scale of 1 to 100, or an “A” through “E,” yet the “real world” has yet to grade you the same way? Imagine being graded on your daily job. That IV you administered to a patient: B+. The pa
This year, Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary mark 150 years of shared mission and ministry. For a century and a half, God has been faithful—calling, shaping, and sending graduates into churches, classrooms, clinics, businesses, and communities around the world. That legacy is not onl
People in the CRCNA don’t tend to view Church Order as a springboard for creative expression. And yet, church plants work within its framework to fill a new church, like a canvas, with all the potential of what a church can be. The CRC is seeing that, with the guidance of leaders and coaches as well
The Canadian National Gathering will take place May 28-31, 2026, at Redeemer University in Ancaster, Ont. Held every three years, the Gathering brings together Christian Reformed churches from Canada to discern and explore what God’s call is for the CRC as a community of churches. The theme for 2026
A unique quality of modern North American Christianity is that, outside of Pentecostal circles, believers rarely report visions and dreams as experiences connecting them to God. When we have dreams and visions, we attribute them to the jalapeňo nachos we ate before bed! Not so for the rest of the wo
If you drove by one 16-acre field in rural Ontario, you might miss the blue sign with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank logo. But a bigger sign might catch your eye: “Harvest of Hope.” This plot of land is growing more than crops—it’s nurturing compassion, community, and Christ-like care for the hungry.F
The water pipes at the early childhood education center where Omar Bohorquez worked had been dry for 16 years. Training from Resonate Global Mission inspired Bohorquez to provide a solution.Venezuela’s water infrastructure struggles to keep up with the population’s needs. While some schools, homes,
My favorite kind of test is multiple choice (or, as it is sometimes called, “multiple guess”). “Fill in the blank” tests are much tougher. So here’s one for you: “_____ by itself, if not accompanied by _____, is dead.”This phrase from James 2:17 is one of the many verses in which James “fills in the
Walk As We is a small but growing urban, ecumenical, Indigenous ministry in Calgary, Alta., that is rooted in friendship, humility, and a shared journey toward reconciliation. While not one of the three official Urban Indigenous Ministry Centers supported by the Christian Reformed Church (in Winnipe
Have you ever equated the size or visibility of a church with “successful ministry”? You see the megachurch in town putting up billboards inviting people to Easter services, and you know they will have thousands in attendance. Or you hear about that new and innovative church plant that gets featured
The Christian Reformed Church has a long history of working together and pooling resources to further God’s kingdom work around the world. This year we will feature a special column in each issue that includes an interview with one of the directors of these shared ministries. This month we spoke wit
Thrive’s resource series, Ten Ways, has a new look—and is now available in Spanish and Korean. This expansion makes the series more accessible to congregations, communities, and leaders across the CRCNA.“The growth of Spanish- and Korean-speaking congregations in the CRCNA is something to be celebra