General Synod Daily Recap: Friday, June 6, 2025

Middle assemblies to be implemented by the end of 2026

The final step to approve merging regional synods and classes into middle assemblies took place on Friday morning. Following last year’s adoption of the recommendation and a subsequent approval by more than two-thirds of the RCA’s classes, General Synod delegates voted “yes” to declare the change effective. This will take place with a delayed implementation date of December 30, 2026.

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General Synod president encourages the RCA to become a “we/us” community

During the afternoon session on Friday, June 6, Rev. Joshua Scheid, General Synod 2025 president and pastor of Massapequa Reformed Church in Massapequa, New York, offered words of gratitude, hope, and encouragement. 

As Scheid reflected on his gratitude for all Jesus’ disciples who have gathered together at General Synod, he acknowledged the challenges within the Reformed Church in America, and reflected on the words of former RCA missionary Samuel Zwemer, who said, “we must have our Calvary before we can have our Pentecost.”

“Like Holy Saturday, it’s a time for us not to pause, but to prepare and to pray,” Scheid said. “A time to plant. A time to dream. A time to build. … Don’t lose heart. For Sunday has come, and our hope is alive.”

In order for the hope to remain “alive,” Scheid said we must be more Christ-like. We must become a we/us community, instead of an I/me community.

“We’re Christ’s church,” Scheid said. “Where the gospel is at work, the church becomes, in pastor and author Rich Villodas’ words, ‘a diverse community that embraces the unique gifts and acknowledges the distinctive sins of their ethnic-racial-social makeup while experiencing loving communion with others under the lordship of Jesus.’”

Scheid encouraged the delegation to put others before themselves and the ministry of the RCA before their own agendas and desires, leaning into the Holy Spirit for wisdom and guidance.

General Synod worship

On Friday, June 6, the General Synod began the day with worship hosted by the African American Black Council. Worship will be led by the Reformed Church in America (RCA) racial and ethnic councils throughout the week, highlighting the fullness of ministry leaders throughout the denomination.

RCA colleges moves to “affiliated” relationship with the denomination

Central College, Hope College, and Northwestern College asked General Synod to change the relationship between the colleges and the General Synod from “officially related” to “affiliated.” General Synod adopted the proposed affiliation agreements with each college. 

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The Center shares resources and opportunities

The Center for Church Ministry and Multiplication shared their mission to provide hope by strengthening and growing Christ’s church in a presentation to General Synod on Friday. The work of the center is a collaborative effort of RCA ministry staff to serve and equip regional synods, classes, and local churches so they may thrive and minister in their unique contexts. This work will shift to equipping middle assemblies as they form. The ways the center will serve and equip is through areas of discipleship, church innovation, church multiplication, and guidance on becoming a Revelation 7:9 church. 

Delegates heard from the center staff members on several opportunities available to them and their congregations, including the following: 

• The Flourishing Churches grant invites congregations to discover where God is leading with grant funds to support the work in a way that will strengthen churches and leaders now and into the future.
• Sankofa journeys are scheduled for 2025 and are being planned for 2026. Sankofa is a concept that emphasizes the importance of understanding our past to navigate our future. General Synod 2022 commissioned RCA staff to implement up to three sankofa journeys as expanded racial justice experiences for RCA leaders and congregations. The RCA’s sankofa journeys are designed to explore historical narratives, foster racial reconciliation; build authentic multicultural, multiethnic communities; and inspire heart transformation leading to meaningful action. The trips in 2025 include a She is Called trip to Mescalero, New Mexico, in August, and an African American Black Council (AABC) Freedom Ride trip in Georgia and Alabama, in September. 
• Church multiplication is providing new churches with resources for developing strong reformed theological foundations, as well as allocation of funds for new plants and revitalization.

The report closed by honoring nine RCA churches that organized in the last year.

Equity-based hospitality

In the second session of equity-based hospitality training, delegates had the opportunity to consider the differences between equality and equity. Facilitator Rev. Liz Testa described that the key difference is that equality takes place when each person receives the same thing, even though that thing might not be fully useful to each person. Conversely, equity is when each person receives what they need to be successful. 

Co-facilitators Israel and Karla Camacho shared part of their story and experience in the church, and how it connects to equity-based hospitality. Israel shared the story in Spanish, and Karla translated the story in English. Karla said, “What we know is that the body of Christ is a church that does not have one color, one language, or one way of being. In reality it is the family of God expressed in different forms.”

Covenant shares rate to be maintained at 2.5 percent for 2026

This Friday morning, the General Synod voted to maintain a covenant share rate for the financial needs of denominational life in 2026 to 2.5 percent. Covenant Shares represent a recent change to how the RCA collects operating revenue for its shared life together. Under the covenant shares model, each classis pays a flat percentage of the contributions received by each church within its bounds. 

This recommendation builds upon the discussions from General Synod in 2024, when the synod considered the restructuring team’s recommendation to cap covenant shares at 2 percent. While many of the restructuring recommendations passed, the recommendation for the covenant share cap was not adopted. Because no cap was established, it is now the responsibility of each General Synod to determine the covenant share percentage rate each year. 

Preliminary calculations indicated a covenant shares rate of 2.5 percent will generate approximately $3 million of assessment revenue. Of that revenue, $2,740,000 will be allotted to the General Synod Council (GSC) and $207,500 to theological education. 

Since 2024, the GSC staff leadership continues to work diligently to identify ways to be more efficient and strategic with the budget in order to meet the goal of a balanced budget, ensuring that available resources are aligned with the General Synod’s priorities. The GSC’s total expenses increased from the prior year by $26,000. The 2025 budget was prepared assuming a draw on reserves of about $820,000, which is an improvement over the prior year by $300,000. The general secretary and chief financial officer both expressed a commitment to achieving a balanced budget over the next few years. 

As detailed in the finance report, personnel costs, including salaries and benefits, make up 69 percent of the total budget. The remaining 31 percent of the budget is used for meeting and travel costs for General Synod, the General Synod Council, and General Synod commissions; office costs, including rent and utilities; and other costs necessary to carry out the work of the GSC.

After some discussion around budgetary statistics for church multiplication within the framework of the 2026 covenant shares, as well as policies surrounding and availability of financial reserves, the 2025 General Synod Council approved F 25-1, the recommendation to approve a General Synod 2026 covenant shares rate of 2.5 percent, of which $207,500 would be provided to theological education. 

To find out more about covenant shares and how they provide funding to the ministry and mission of the Reformed Church in America, please review the following resources on the RCA website: www.rca.org/assessments-and-financials and www.rca.org/assessments-and-financials/why-pay-covenant-shares. 

Other business

• Reports from the racial and ethnic councils: Voices from the denomination’s rich cultural diversity took center stage Friday afternoon as each of the four racial and ethnic councils offered their reports. From the Council for Native American and Indigenous Ministries to the Global Council for Hispanic Ministries and from the Council for Pacific and Asian American Ministries to the African American Black Council, each shared powerful reflections, challenges and hopes rooted in the lived experiences of their communities. These reports were more than procedural updates—they were vivid reminders of the church’s multicultural identity and the ongoing work of justice, equity, and inclusion within the Reformed Church in America. Watch the reports from the racial and ethnic councils
• Recommendation EC 25-9 was declared effective by the synod, finalizing a change to the Book of Church Order (BCO) that will allow elders to supervise churches without an installed minister. For a consistory to function, the three offices of minister, elder, and deacon must be present. Some regions have found it difficult to provide ministers as supervisors for vacant churches. This change will allow qualified elders to act as supervisors of the consistory, after being trained and appointed by the classis or future middle assemblies. This enables the consistory to function with an elder supervisor until the church calls or contracts with a minister. Today’s declarative vote was the final step in enacting the change that was adopted at last year’s General Synod and approved by two-thirds of classes. 
• General Synod also heard a report from the Church Growth Fund.