Classis Toronto Catches Renewal Wave

by Sophie Vandenberg

As classis ministry coordinator, it’s Elizabeth Guillaume-Koene’s job to bring the 23 churches of Classis Toronto together for ministry. That’s no small feat, considering that the congregations together represent more than 7,000 members.

Classis Toronto is one of a growing number of classes in the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) that employs staff to help the classis do its work. It’s all part of a larger denominational emphasis on “classis renewal” that began in the early ’90s—a movement intended to create networks and support systems for ministry.

A classis is a regional governing body of the CRC consisting of a group of geographically neighboring churches. There are currently 47 of these groupings. They meet two or three times a year, with each member church sending a number of delegates.

Rev. Dirk Evans, a recently retired pastor who chaired Toronto’s Classis Renewal Committee, said the committee’s aim was to streamline the business aspects of classis. “We didn’t want administration to take up all our time,” said Evans, who found classis’s tendency to focus its energy on administrative detail frustrating. “We wanted opportunity for inspirational presentations, learning, and equipping around the actual mission of the church. The most concrete thing that the committee did was to hire Elizabeth,” he said.

Classis Toronto is one of 27 classes that now have at least one part-time classical staff position. Rev. Thea Leunk, the CRC’s classis coach, said, “It used to be that a good classis was one that faithfully carried out the Church Order. But they weren’t asking if there was more they could do together. Healthy, vibrant churches need support, and area congregations can do that for each other.” Leunk said that two-thirds of the classes are taking steps to become places of renewal, encouragement, worship, and mutual support.

A presentation at a Classis Renewal Conference held at Niagara Falls, Ontario, noted that due to cultural shifts, the classis of today faces new challenges. “The CRC used to be uniform across North America. We need to be intentional about ministry to different populations now, and we need to learn what it means to be CRC,” said Guillame-Koene.

For more information about classis renewal see www.crcna.org/classisrenewal.

Author

Sophie Vandenberg