Restructuring Implementation Summary: Updates from General Synod 2026

The Reformed Church in America’s multi-year restructuring process is approaching the final culmination phase as middle assemblies—a condensed body that replaces the regional synod and classis—will become effective on December 30, 2026. In anticipation of that effective date and to set up the denomination well for this next chapter of ministry, the 2026 General Synod made a number of decisions related to the implementation of the denomination’s new structure. The changes primarily adjust both the General Synod meeting and the delegation and work to ensure equitable representation of middle assemblies.

Formation of middle assemblies

Regional synod executives have submitted an initial roster of 25 middle assemblies that are forming out of the eight regional synods. Next, each middle assembly will submit an initial roster of churches, pastors, and ministers to the Office of the General Synod by November 1. Churches that want to join a middle assembly that is forming outside their current regional synod simply need the desired new middle assembly to list the church on its submitted roster; no approval by the General Synod is needed at this time to transfer across regional synod lines.

Related: Executives see hope and opportunity as regional synods prepare to sunset

At General Synod, delegates adopted recommendations from commissions with encouragement for middle assemblies as they form and become established:

• To appoint and compensate a pastoral support person to serve as a discipleship resource for leadership
• To establish equitable, culturally supportive leadership structures by December 2026

Additionally, a task force called for by General Synod 2025 studied and found that the formation of middle assemblies on the basis of race or ethnicity is in conflict with the RCA’s antiracism policy. In response to the report, General Synod affirmed the findings and encouraged middle assemblies to establish non-governing race- or ethnicity-based networks—consistent with the denomination’s history of racial and ethnic councils—in order to support belonging, advocacy, and mutual accountability. The synod also urged middle assemblies to provide translations of meetings and materials.

Changes to the General Synod meeting

General Synod 2026 gave the declarative vote to a constitutional amendment that permits the General Synod to hold its annual meeting in a virtual format, with an in-person meeting taking place at least once every third year. The recommendation initially came from the Commission on Church Order and received approval at General Synod 2025; the amendments were then approved by the required two-thirds of classes and thus came before the 2026 General Synod for a final declarative vote in order to become effective. They will now be incorporated into the 2026 Book of Church Order.

The first-ever virtual meeting of the General Synod is being planned for 2028, the denomination’s 400th anniversary year. 

A working group of the General Synod Council (GSC) established an initial biennial rhythm for synod meetings: 2027 and 2029 will be in-person meetings, and 2028 and 2030 will be virtual meetings. The GSC has signaled intent to revisit the rhythm in 2029 and decide at that time whether to shift to in-person General Synod meetings every third year, as provided by the newly amended Book of Church Order (BCO). The initial biennial schedule is intended to preserve the relational strength of meeting in person, especially in a new structure, while also stewarding well the financial resources of a smaller denomination.

Along with the changes to the format of the meeting, General Synod in-person meetings will be shortened by one day starting in 2027. Like the 2026 meeting, the 2027 in-person meeting will be held at the Sheraton Music City Airport Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.

Due to the high level of planning involved in the possibility of a virtual meeting of the General Synod, the GSC and GSC staff have worked over the past year to plan with intention of implementation, even though the constitutional amendments were not yet final. Waiting to explore options until after the final declarative vote would have significantly extended the timeline for when it would be possible to hold the first virtual General Synod meeting. In particular, GSC staff examined financial and logistical considerations.

Changes to the General Synod delegation

Not only will the format and frequency of General Synods change, but the size of the delegation is also changing. General Synod 2026 voted to incorporate into the BCO a new formula for composing the General Synod delegation: one minister and one elder delegate for each 2,000 members or fraction thereof in a middle assembly. As a constitutional amendment (change to the Book of Church Order), the new formula was first adopted by General Synod 2025, then received approval by at least two-thirds of RCA classes, and was brought to General Synod 2026 in order to be declared effective.

Tied to the transition to middle assemblies, which become effective on December 30, 2026, this amendment could significantly change the size and composition of the General Synod body that gathers each year. The new formula will first be applied for General Synod 2027.

Previously, the General Synod delegation was composed of “two minister delegates and two elder delegates from each of the classes having four thousand or fewer confessing members on the roll of its churches, and one minister delegate and one elder delegate from each of the classes for each two thousand confessing members, or fraction thereof, from each of the classes having more than four thousand confessing members” (Book of Church Order Chapter 1, Part IV, Article 1 [2025 edition, p. 65]). Approved amendments also remove a designated delegate from each of the eight regional synods.

A recommendation to weight votes by middle assemblies on constitutional amendments was adopted at General Synod 2025 but did not receive the required approval by two-thirds of classes. The change, which missed the required approval rate by two classes, would have weighted a classis’s (middle assembly’s) vote to carry the same weight as the size of its voting delegation. Without adequate approval, each classis (middle assembly) will continue to have one vote.

Changes to ensure equitable representation

General Synod 2026 also took steps to ensure equitable rotation in middle assembly representation on the General Synod Council (GSC) and the Commission on Nominations. Both bodies currently designate eight seats for one representative from each regional synod, so the shift to middle assemblies “significantly affects the provision for representation,” stated the GSC in their report to General Synod. With a greater number of middle assemblies (25) than regional synods (8), an equitable rotation of representation needs to be established without drastically increasing the size of the bodies.

To that end, the Commission on Nominations developed a proposal, consulted with the Commission on Church Order, then presented the proposal to the GSC. The GSC then brought the proposal to General Synod in a recommendation, which includes two parameters and three principles that will be used to develop, implement, and maintain a clear policy for equitable representation. Essentially, a randomly ordered list of middle assemblies will be created to establish a rotation, with the goal to “minimize the number of years between a middle assembly’s opportunity to nominate or appoint a member or delegate” and to “maximize the number of middle assemblies that are represented across the council, the commission, and the corresponding delegates in any given year.”

The recommendation was approved by the General Synod with an amendment that instructs synod officers to provide an additional check to ensure balances, such as geographical diversity of middle assemblies. The GSC will now work to establish such a policy by the time the middle assemblies go into effect.

The General Synod also adopted BCO amendments that adjust the terms of office for members of the Commission on Nomination to make them consistent with GSC terms and to remove a loophole that provides for a subsequent full-term after a partial term of less than two years, which could be problematic for ensuring equitable representation. The amendments change the terms of membership to be a single, non-consecutive four-year term; any partial term served will be considered a full term. As a constitutional change, the amendments now go to classes (middle assemblies) for approval; if approved by at least two-thirds, the amendments will be brought to a subsequent General Synod in order to be declared effective.