Christian Reformed Church in North America

The Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA or CRC) is a Protestant Christian denomination which follows Reformed Calvinist theology. The church promotes the belief that Christians do not earn their salvation, but that it is a gift from God despite our failings and that good works are the Christian response to that gift.

This small denomination of nearly 300,000 members in the United States and Canada has its roots in the Dutch Reformed churches in the Netherlands. The church was founded by Gijsbert Haan and Dutch immigrants in the mid 1800s. Its churches are predominately in areas of heavy Dutch settlement, including western Michigan, Chicagoland, British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta and Iowa. The denomination has about 1,000 congregations and developing congregations located in the United States and Canada. The church has grown more ethnically diverse with some congregations predominantly Native American, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, African-American and Hispanic. Many churches, particularly in more urban areas, are becoming much more integrated. Emerging from its role as primarily an immigrant church, it has become more outward focused.

Theology

The denomination is considered evangelical and Calvinistic in its theology. It places high value on theological study and its application to current issues. It generally studies issues in-depth and is cautious about changes. Its theology is founded in Calvinism and influenced by the other great reformers, such as Martin Luther. A more recent theologian of great influence on this denomination was Abraham Kuyper in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Kuyper promoted a belief of social responsibility for Christians to actively engage in improving all aspects of life and society. Current scholars with growing reputations, such as philosopher Alvin Plantinga, Nicholas Wolterstorff, Lewis B. Smedes have associations with this denomination and Calvin College.

The Christian Reformed Church belongs to the Reformed Ecumenical Council and the National Association of Evangelicals.

The denomination runs Calvin College as well as Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where the denomination's North American headquarters are located. Other colleges associated with the denomination are Trinity Christian College, Dordt College, Kuyper College, Redeemer University College, The King's University College, and the post-graduate Institute for Christian Studies.

History

USVA headstone emb-26.jpg|thumb|The Christian Reformed Church emblem appoved for U.S. military gravestones.]] The Dutch Reformed churches have a long history of mergers and schisms, and the Christian Reformed Church has not escaped these. The Christian Reformed Church split from the Reformed Church in America in the 1857 Secession, a theological dispute that originated in the Netherlands. Some churches merged with the CRC, most notably the True Protestant Dutch Reformed Church in 1890. Other churches later split from the CRC, including the Protestant Reformed Church (1924) and the United Reformed Churches in North America (1990s).

In the closing decades of the twentieth century, the CRC enacted changes that were troubling to the more conservative members of its constituency, especially its 1995 decision to ordain women to ministerial positions. One result of this decision was that the Presbyterian Church in America and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church broke fraternal relations with the CRC in 1997. The membership of the CRC in the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council, the single largest gathering of conservative Reformed denominations in the United States, was suspended in 1999 and terminated in 2001. This gradual doctrinal shift has spurred more conservative congregations to leave, and a significant number of these have ended up in either the PCA, OPC, or the United Reformed Church mentioned above.

Notable Members

Richard DeVos businessman, co-founder of Amway
Vern Ehlers U.S. Representative from Michigan
Peter Hoekstra U.S. Representative from Michigan
Cornelius Plantinga noted theologian, President of Calvin Seminary
Jay Van Andel businessman, co-founder of Amway

Theology

History

Notable Members

See also

References

External links

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Theology

History

Notable Members

See also

References

External links