The State of the RCA

A sigh of relief for pastors

The Board of Benefits Services’ retirement program and educational opportunities are unrivaled. They’re a “complete game-changer” for pastors and participants. Here’s one such testimony.

Grant helps Friends to Friends Community Church get people in the doors—literally

Heavy, formidable doors presented a real challenge to congregants in this church, most of whom have a developmental disability. But a CGF grant helped open the doors to accessibility.

Israel/Palestine trip shapes ongoing discipleship at Ponds Reformed Church

The She Is Called Holy Land trip last fall was an eye-opening experience that required processing and further action upon returning home. As a result, this East Coast church is further pursuing peace and reconciliation efforts in its community.

Apprentice leaders take on new ministries

Meghann DeHaan’s home is open to families in her neighborhood who are not connected to a faith community. And what is now one “fun church” may become a network of house churches in years to come.

A loving, forever family

Baby Bokamoso was brought to Setshabelo Family and Child Services (SFCS) in Botshabelo, South Africa, to escape an abusive birth father and to find a loving home. At SFCS—a partner ministry of RCA Global Mission—she received safety and shelter, and the search began for her new family. A few months later…

“I just witnessed a teary union,” said Boniswa, an adoption specialist at SFCS. “Bokamoso has found a family!”

No longer a childless couple, Bokamoso’s adoptive parents joyfully received her and promised to be a warm, loving, forever family. They gave her a new name, too: Owaratwa, meaning she is loved.

Living water along the Amazon

“It might sound controversial that thousands of families don’t have access to fresh water in the largest water basin in the world,” says RCA missionary Lia Dantas. “But it’s real.”

One woman prayed for a well for 20 years. When her prayers were answered and the boat ministry came to dedicate the well, the woman had tears in her eyes. She was grateful the people in her village wouldn’t get sick anymore.

“We talked about Jesus, the fountain of living water, and many of the others also cried,” says Lia. “Between tears and hugs, we felt that God was there—Emmanuel.”

Refugees from Ukraine receive shelter and resources

When war broke out in Ukraine, the people of the RCA wanted to respond. RCA Global Mission connected with their partners to best serve people being forcefully displaced from their homes. Initially, that included providing what Ukrainian refugees needed to live safely and securely as they left home and fled to Romania, Hungary, Germany, and the Netherlands.

This past year, RCA Global Mission has used the gifts of generous donors (over $338,150) to help sponsor improvements and programming at the Dorcas Camp outside of Debrecen, Hungary, about 50 miles from the Ukrainian border. This camp is now home to about 200 refugees who are receiving shelter, job placement, training, counseling, spiritual support, and more.

On the horizon: a resettlement strategy.

Continue to support refugees from Ukraine.

Classes raise the hospitality bar with new accessibility guidelines

Poor building acoustics, misuse and disuse of mics, and unactivated hearing loops: all barriers to hospitality. When these barriers presented themselves at Holland Classis’s last stated session—and excluded at least one participant—stated clerk Daniel Griswold knew change had to be made.

That’s why he and a small group worked with Terry DeYoung, the RCA’s coordinator for disability concerns, to establish minimum accessibility guidelines and expectations for all their stated sessions. This accessibility work is also happening in Mid-Hudson Classis, under the leadership of classis president Gloria McCanna. 

Small steps can bring significant improvement. A Mid-Hudson ad-hoc committee has proposed policy changes—some already adopted by the classis—that mandate the submission of written reports before the meeting; a minimum font size in all written materials; clear communication about parking, building entrances, restroom accessibility, and any refreshments served; and available members of the host church to assist with technology. The committee is also encouraging churches in the classis to take the RCA’s church accessibility audit, available at www.faithward.org/church-accessibility-audit. 

“It’s exhausting for people with disabilities to continually ask for what they need to participate, even when it’s become a way of life, like it has for me,” says DeYoung. “It’s so encouraging when a classis is proactive enough to establish minimum standards, and, in doing so, reaches out by asking for help. It says they’re expecting us, and it acknowledges that, as disabled people, we really are the experts in what we need.”

This work of improving accessibility and advocating for disability concerns is part of the RCA’s Center for Church Multiplication and Ministry. If your church or classis would like assistance in this area, contact equip@rca.org.

A tri-fold answer to prayer

“I have been praying three specific prayers,” says Chad Farrand, director of church multiplication for the RCA. “First, that God would raise up more women church pastors and planters. Second, that God would develop stronger and new congregations in places where we haven’t planted recently, especially in the North East. Third, that God would raise more Asian and Asian American pastors for the RCA.”

Enter Rev. Jelty Ochoton, an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), who wants to plant a new RCA church in Rochester, New Hampshire, predominantly for people like herself who are of Indonesian background.

In December, the two met to discuss details and a path forward, along with Rev. Liz Testa, RCA coordinator for women’s transformation and leadership, and Rev. Fransisca Rumokoy, president of the RCA’s Council for Pacific and Asian American Ministries. Ochoton is now in the process of transferring her ordination to the local RCA classis, as well as seeking approval as an RCA church plant.

“We had a wonderful time connecting them with the local classis leader [from New Brunswick], who also showed,” says Farrand. “God answered all three prayers at the same time!”

Resourcing the RCA—and the wider church

Faithward is more than a blog or a buzzword. It’s home to hundreds of articles and resources that are reaching online readers within the RCA and across the globe. Young and old, near and far, people are finding answers to their faith questions through this RCA ministry.