In Lisa See’s novel The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, an early and defining moment of the story occurs when the main character assists her birth attendant mother with labor and delivery for a woman in their rural mountain village. But when healthy twins are born, there is no rejoicing. Instead, the
Synod’s mandate to Thrive, the Christian Reformed Church’s congregational support agency, calls the agency to equip and encourage CRC congregations “to practice lifelong faith formation and missional discipleship from a Reformed perspective, across all ages and stages of life, with particular attent
I had a good laugh recently when I learned that one of my teenagers was peppering her teacher with unwelcome “whys” about mathematical formulas and theorems. When worn down by their pupils’ questions, even the most patient pedagogues will eventually concede: “Because they are!” For a person like me,
Since 1983, the Christian Reformed Church’s Loan Fund has provided low-interest loans for church building improvements. In recent years, these loans have supported collaborative projects such as a renovation at Madison Church: South Hill (Grand Rapids, Mich.) that included space for a licensed early
One of the five goals of the Christian Reformed Church’s Our Journey ministry plan is to “cultivate practices of prayer and spiritual discipline.”As individuals and congregations across the CRC work toward this milestone, they are renewing a commitment to prayer and spiritual practices that deepen o
It’s Friday night at Casa Adobe, a ministry house in Costa Rica, and the loudest chess club ever is meeting.Resonate Global Mission missionary Micah Schuurman and his friend, José Mario, just explained how to checkmate with two bishops. As the kids start their games, birds chirp in the garden, a Ger
As Calvin Theological Seminary looks forward to its 150th anniversary celebration, it asked alumni and supporters, “What is important to your continued development and growth?”The response, said President Jul Medenblik, was an overwhelming desire for easier access to Reformed teaching and content th
In Engineering 333 at Calvin University, students spend the entire semester answering a single question. For this semester’s class, that question is, “What should be the design of a Calvin Solar Farm?”Professor Matt Heun teaches Engineering 333 alongside physics professor Larry Molnar, structural en
Is God with us? This is perhaps the greatest question we face. It is often a question born out of our deepest pathos: at the bedside of our dying loved one, as the dust settles from an earthquake, or when we get a late-night call about a car accident.Some might ask whether God even exists. But for t
“The Bible presents God as the one who pushed back the darkness with this first light.”—Today devotional, Dec. 2, 2024Although much of the world is shadowed by fear, division, and uncertainty, the light of Jesus Christ offers a beacon of hope. During Advent, the Today devotionals offered by ReFrame
In Proverbs 4:13, Solomon pleads with his son to hold instruction firmly in his grip and not let go because “it is your life.” World Renew understands that learning can transform one’s life. In communities where World Renew works, limited or no access to opportunities to learn simple life skills or
Jodi Koeman recently had an opportunity to visit The Table, an organization in Denver, Colo., that is part of the food justice and community growing project Koeman oversees in her work as Church With Community mobilizer for World Renew.The food justice and community growing project is a grant progra
I’m both captivated and confused by Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field” (Matt. 13:31). Really, Jesus? Are you telling us that the sovereign rule of eternal God—spanning from before the creation of time to the e
Over nine days in July, a group of 14 volunteers from Almond Valley Christian Reformed Church in Ripon, Calif., caravanned 900 miles to the Navajo reservation in New Mexico to help a fellow CRC in need. The group blessed Crownpoint CRC by fixing windows, renovating a bathroom, and restoring water to
Food security means knowing where meals are coming from today and into the future. For families around the world who experience hunger, food security is a challenge. World Renew works to end hunger globally by offering opportunities to farmers and families to grow healthy food. Through training in c
Thrive, the CRCNA’s congregational support ministry, recently compiled a guide to help those in pastoral ministry think about and prepare for retirement. What follows is an adapted excerpt from “Retirement from Pastoral Ministry: Guidance for a Healthy Transition,” which can be found at crcna.org/Pa
Only 3% of Cambodia’s population identifies as Christian. Resonate Global Mission missionaries Ly Chhay and Navy Chann-Chhay are working with local pastors, churches, and ministries to grow that percentage to at least 10% by 2033—2,000 years from the year in which many Bible scholars put Christ’s re
Most of us learn best by doing. Sometimes a thing we’ve learned doesn’t seem real until we’ve done it in practice. The work of World Renew can seem distant and unclear to those of us who haven’t spent time in the midst of it, but opportunities abound to literally get our hands dirty. And you’re invi
I am a city boy, but I love green and growing things. At one time, my wife and I had more than 150 potted and garden plants. We had many delicate orchids, several types of colorful hibiscus, palm trees, a wide variety of cacti, massive creeping pothos plants with plate-sized leaves, lilies, variegat
Both the denomination and the Christian Reformed Church Loan Fund are at a difficult transition point. After almost 40 years of operation, the Loan Fund experienced a sharp decline in loan requests in 2021 due in part to COVID, and it remained without a director for two years after the sudden retire