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In conducting what Chair Paul DeVries called the ‘material stuff’ of church work, the Christian Reformed Church’s Council of Delegates also did its best to see, hear, and care for one another at its February meeting.

The year-old process toward governance restructuring in the Christian Reformed Church is yet to be complete.

Colin Watson Sr., the denomination’s executive director, and John Bolt, director of finance and operations, are delaying planned retirements while a restructuring of the administration of the Christian Reformed Church continues. The CRC’s Council of Delegates has also authorized the appointment of a deputy to the executive director.

As the Council of Delegates of the Christian Reformed Church heard updates from ministries at its recent meeting, concerns presented from members of justice ministries staff prompted review and prayer.

For the second year in a row the ongoing difficulties and circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic have caused the Christian Reformed Church’s Council of Delegates to cancel the denomination’s annual synod.

After a Feb. 5 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a ban on indoor worship gatherings, some groups are resuming indoor, in-person worship and some continue other options in a state where COVID-19 continues to spread.

Wayne Leys, who ministered in the Christian Reformed Church for 40 years, made discipleship a priority. He died Jan. 30.

A faithful servant of God with a pastor's heart and a gift for public prayer, Phil Kok died Jan. 23.

The board of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, an organization founded by the now deceased Christian apologist, is making a public apology after an investigation verified allegations of sexual misconduct.

In January, Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa, launched the Thrive Center, a center for teaching and delivering ABA, a therapeutic approach “individualized to each client’s strengths, needs, and goals.”

The Christian Reformed Church's Council of Delegates is meeting Feb. 17-19. The heavy agenda includes continued work on the governance structure between the U.S. and Canada, correspondence about the Human Sexuality Report, and whether or not Synod 2021 will be convened as planned, modified, or canceled due to COVID-19.

Nearly half of white evangelicals in the U.S. (49%) said their faith grew stronger due to the coronavirus outbreak—more than any other group, according to a new Pew Research survey.

Ordained in 1958 and preaching throughout retirement, Garry Stoutmeyer lived his passion of preaching, teaching, and counseling. He died Jan. 5.

For many schools, including the United Methodist Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C., the Master of Divinity degree could be moving online for good.

In Phoenix, Ariz., a regional assembly of the Reformed Church in America and a classis of the Christian Reformed Church are cooperating to share resources and offer ministry in Orangewood Community Church, a joint church plant that hosted its first public worship service last June.

The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), an ecumenical group to which the Christian Reformed Church of North America belongs, is calling its Communion members into what it calls a discernment process over the COVID-19 pandemic.

Community Christian Reformed Church in DeMotte, Ind., reopened its community preschool in 2019 and has since been recognized for providing quality early childhood education.

Leverne Tanis had a lifelong devotion to serving God and others. He died Jan. 10 at Bethany Home in Ripon, Calif.

Rev. Bobby Boyd, known for his compassionate pastoral care and his passion for evangelism, died Dec. 19, 2020.

Melissa Fischer, an artist and prayer coordinator at Immanuel Church, a Christian Reformed congregation in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., has found a way to pray with her sketchbook, and she’s leading others to express how they see God this way too.

Before “At a Crossroads” was published last summer, the Christian Reformed Church’s resources for navigating a potential church closure were 20 years out of date. In this news feature The Banner looks at some of the realities, responses, and repercussions of disbanding a congregation.

Open Doors keeps an annual ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most persecution for their faith. North Korea tops the list for the 20th consecutive year.

The executive committee of the Christian Reformed Church’s Council of Delegates has approved hiring Tim Rietkerk as the next director of the CRC’s Chaplaincy and Care Ministry.