General Synod 2026: What to Expect

The 2026 General Synod will convene June 11-16 at the Sheraton Music City Airport Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. During its annual meeting, the General Synod sets the direction and tone for denominational ministry. Delegates—primarily elders and ministers but also those who represent other bodies in the RCA—come together to worship, fellowship, and discern the mind of Christ together as they deliberate and vote on many things related to the ministry of the Reformed Church in America (RCA).

General Synod is both an event and a body of people (an assembly). The General Synod is the assembly that holds the broadest authority in the denomination. Throughout the rest of the year, the General Synod functions through the General Synod Council (GSC), commissions, and agencies of the RCA.

Learn more about the RCA’s presbyterian government and structure.

Anticipated business for 2026

“Middle assemblies” may be buzzwords for this General Synod as the new, condensed assemblies (replacing regional synods and classes) go into effect on December 30, 2026, but most of the major restructuring work has already been decided upon in the past few years. A number of recommendations for the delegation to consider this year address pieces of restructuring implementation, such as ones that aim to ensure equitable rotation in middle assembly representation on commissions, agencies, boards, and at General Synod.

A few amendments to the Book of Church Order (BCO) are on the synod slate for a declarative vote after at least two-thirds of RCA classes approved them following the 2025 General Synod voting in favor of the recommendations. If approved, the following changes would go into effect:

• General Synod could meet in-person or virtually as long as it meets in-person at least once every three years.
• The General Synod delegation would be reduced to better fit the size and budget of the denomination. The scaling allows for one minister and one elder delegate for each 2,000 members or fraction thereof in a middle assembly.
• The Board of Benefits Services would hold the responsibility of setting benefit requirements instead of the BCO (Formulary 5) in order to better provide equitable benefit options for ministers working part-time or for those with employers outside of North America.
• Travel expenses for delegates traveling to General Synod from outside of the U.S. and Canada would be paid for by the General Synod.

Note that the General Synod 2025–approved recommendation to weight votes by middle assemblies on constitutional amendments did not receive approval by two-thirds of the classes and thus will not be amended in the BCO.

Synod will also consider recommendations from its commissions, boards, and agencies. The General Synod Council (GSC) is bringing a recommendation from the four racial and ethnic councils that seeks to better engage racial and ethnic constituents at the General Synod level. Task forces on international church planting and commission sizes will also present findings and make recommendations for how the denomination might proceed. Both RCA-related seminaries—New Brunswick Theological Seminary and Western Theological Seminary—are bringing recommendations: one that updates bylaws and one that recommends the appointment of a new General Synod professor.

A tentative schedule for the week of General Synod is available on the delegates’ webpage. The full agenda for General Synod, the workbook, is posted at www.rca.org/workbook; you can find individual reports or the full workbook for viewing and downloading.

How to follow General Synod 2026

Daily General Synod news summaries will be posted each day at www.rca.org/synod. 

General Synod plenary sessions will be videostreamed with a 30-minute delay. The videostream and a schedule of plenary sessions will be posted on the synod homepage. Keep in mind that Nashville, Tennessee, is in the Central Time zone.

Worship services at General Synod will be included in the delayed videostream. Worship services are held each day during synod, typically first thing in the morning but also on Thursday afternoon for opening worship and Tuesday morning for closing worship. 

Presidential vision: share stories that affirm unity and inspire continued mission

Rev. Sarah Palsma is serving as the General Synod 2026 president. She was elected to this position last year after serving as vice president and is the sixth woman to hold this role. Rev. Palsma is co-pastor of New Hope Church in Powell, Ohio. She holds bachelor’s degrees in history and religion from Northwestern College (Orange City, Iowa), as well as a master of divinity from Western Theological Seminary (Holland, Michigan).

General Synod 2026 president Rev. Sarah Palsma with her presidential bell, which will be rung to open General Synod

Brad Prince, an elder at Christ Memorial Church in Holland, Michigan, is serving as vice president.

At General Synod, Palsma hopes that delegates and participants will rediscover and reaffirm a shared “why” for being in the RCA.

“Ministry takes many forms across our denomination, but at the heart of every calling is a deep sense of purpose—a God-given ‘why’ that inspires, sustains, and sends us into the world,” she says. “Whether expressed as a mission statement, a calling, or a testimony of faith, this ‘why’ is rooted in the life and love of Jesus Christ and sustained by the ongoing power of the Holy Spirit.

“I hope we will share the ‘Stories of Our Why’ and listen deeply to the voices of those serving throughout the RCA: missionaries, chaplains, pastors, elders, deacons, caregivers, church planters, teachers, and faithful servants in every context,” she adds. “Through these stories, we bear witness to the ways God continues to call ordinary people into transformative ministry. These stories are also reminders of who we are together as the body of Christ. In moments of challenge, they remind us why ministry matters. In moments of discouragement, they remind us that God is still at work. And in moments of transition, they call us back to the heart of our shared identity and mission.”

Answering this question of “why” for herself, Palsma, who is the daughter of two retired RCA ministers, cites deep roots and ordination vows that daily shape her ministry.

“The RCA is in my DNA, and it has shaped and formed so much of who I am. I’m so grateful that this is my foundation,” she says. “It led me to the path of ordination. Those ordination vows remind me that I pledge my life and lean on Jesus Christ. Those words have power and meaning for how I show up in pastoral ministry.

“At its core, the RCA’s ‘why’ is not built on structures, programs, or traditions alone. Our ‘why’ is found in Christ—the One who calls us, sustains us, and sends us to embody his love in the world,” she adds. “We serve because we have first been loved. We continue because the Spirit continues to move among us. We remain hopeful because God is not finished with us yet. May we [through General Synod] be renewed in faith, strengthened in community, and recommitted to carrying the love of Christ into the world with humility, courage, and hope.”

Palsma affirms that the General Synod is not isolated in its work but is undergirded by faithful prayers from sisters and brothers around the world, including mission partners in Brazil, who she was able to visit recently.

“In this past year of traveling and talking with people, I’ve been reminded that there are a lot of dedicated people who care about God’s church who are working as best as they can, equipped by the Holy Spirit, to bring about this restructuring and this transition. It’s being done with intent and a lot of prayer and collegiality. There’s a global community praying for the RCA! Let’s keep asking those questions about how we stay connected and what continues to unite us.”

Palsma’s presidential report will be delivered on Friday afternoon, June 12. You can watch the address on the videostream or read it later at www.rca.org/workbook.