On February 18, 33 ministers from the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) were officially received into the Reformed Church in America (RCA) during a meeting of the North Grand Rapids Classis at The Community Church in Ada, Michigan. This group represents a variety of ministry roles, including congregational ministers, chaplains, retired ministers, seminary faculty, and other ministry personnel.
The evening began with dinner, providing an opportunity for the incoming ministers and current classis members to get to know each other and build relationships. This time of fellowship emphasized community and hospitality. Following dinner, the group gathered for a worship service and the formal classis meeting, which included the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, symbolizing shared unity in Christ.
Rev. Dr. Mara Joy Norden, pastor of the host church and a member of the classis’s executive committee, set the tone for the evening by reflecting on Isaiah 43:16-19. Her message focused on the theme of God doing new things and inviting God’s people into that work. “A new thing is happening here tonight,” she said, highlighting how God continues to do transformative work in the present, just as God has in the past.
The process for receiving these ministers was designed to prioritize care and relationship-building, while also following the requirements of the RCA’s Book of Church Order for receiving new ministers from another denomination. Given the number of incoming ministers, the classis chose to review written exams submitted by the CRCNA ministers ahead of time, rather than conducting individual examinations during the meeting. This approach reflected the classis’s emphasis on welcoming these new ministers into the RCA family with gentleness and trust, and also demonstrates the flexibility given to each RCA classis in overseeing the ordination of ministers and elders.
At the meeting, in lieu of formal examination, the opportunity was given for questions from the floor for any incoming minister. In the end, only one question was asked: “In one word, how would you express how you are feeling at this moment?”
Each of the 33 ministers responded in turn.
“When the mic came to me, only four or five people in, the word ‘peaceful’ came out of my mouth,” says Rev. Kathy Smith, senior associate director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and one of the transferring ministers. “And that’s truly how I feel: peaceful. … And that can only be the peace of Christ working in me and extended to me by the North Grand Rapids delegates on Tuesday night.”
The classis meeting culminated with each new minister signing the classis register and reading a shared declaration of faith. As a tangible symbol of their new communion in Christ, they were each given a loaf of bread, made by someone in the classis.
“This gesture was rooted in the instinct to make this new communion tangible and to share it with others,” says Norden.
The welcoming of these 33 ministers significantly expanded the North Grand Rapids Classis roster, bringing renewed energy and enthusiasm. It also underscored the long-standing ecumenical relationship between the RCA and CRCNA, both of which share a deep commitment to the gospel and serving Christ’s church.
“Somebody from the outside who was observing and didn’t know what was going on would have thought this body had been together for a long time,” says Rob Teitsma, clerk for North Grand Rapids Classis.
Katie Musick-Reynhout, president of the North Grand Rapids Classis, expressed hope that these ministers would find a fulfilling place to continue their ministry.
“In the planning process, it was important for us to emphasize as plainly as possible that we are united first and foremost by God through Christ,” she says. “We know that it will take time and continued creativity to help blend the family as we move forward together … but I continue to be grateful for the ministers and elders within our classis who bring with them either a CRC background or that of another denomination.”
Rev. Dr. Sue Rozeboom, professor of liturgical theology at Western Theological Seminary and one of the newly received ministers, praised the hospitality of the event, saying it made her feel immediately welcomed into the classis. Rozeboom, on behalf of the entering ministers, also added to the call for unity among this new North Grand Rapids Classis body:
“In our conversations and our deliberations may we always move toward the unity of fellowship sealed to us at the Lord’s Table; and may our final longing be as is prayed at the Lord’s Table: As grain has been gathered from many fields into one loaf, and grapes from many hills into one cup, grant, O Lord, that your church may soon be gathered from the ends of the earth into your kingdom. … We love Christ Jesus, and we love the body of Christ, the church.”
The welcoming of these ministers reinforces that the future focus of the RCA is not on doctrinal differences but on the calling of Jesus to make disciples, both locally and globally. This celebration marks another step in deepening the familial bond within the RCA, focusing on members’ shared commitment to the gospel and unity in Christ.
“We are finding a common ground where the focus is on the ministry of the gospel, and not about who is right or wrong, not who has a better understanding of the Bible,” says Rev. Eddy Alemán, the general secretary of the RCA. “The future focus of the RCA is on the calling of Jesus for ministry, the calling of the gospel to make disciples who are committed to gospel ministry in North America and in the rest of the world. In the RCA, Revelation 7:9 is a foundational Scripture, where we see people from all nations, tribes, and tongues gathered around God’s throne in worship.”
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Photo courtesy Rev. Billy Norden
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