A ‘kind and humble pastor with a servant heart and a deep love for Jesus and for people,’ John Rickers died Dec. 1, at age 96.

Though they aren't mentioned in the Bible Christmas story, live animals have been part of nativity scenes since the 1200s. But sometimes things go awry.

Organizers believe that the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and a struggling economy have likely caused attendance to falter.

Bert Adema, executive director of Indigenous Christian Fellowship in Regina, Sask., received a Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal.

A former gas station turned community hub, The Garage seeks to be “a beacon of joy, hope, and recovery for our neighbors” near Terrace (B.C.) Christian Reformed Church.

Caledonia (Mich.) Christian Reformed Church has opened a baby pantry to help mothers facing financial hardships.

“When I first started coming to the camps, they thought I was an undercover cop. … When I kept coming, they thought I might be an undercover social worker. … When I took a couple people to church, they realized I was a pastor.”

Three Grand Rapids, Mich., Christian Reformed churches have been a big part of establishing and continuing their neighborhood’s Community Tree Lighting.

The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability’s 2022 State of Giving report  found that giving to the United States’ largest churches fell by more than 6.6%

The men’s cross-country team from Dordt University, in Sioux Center, Iowa, won the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championship in November, a first for the school.

A Michigan congregation raised $83,000 in three months in order to supply a modular home for a family in need and drill a well with Kenya Hope.

In Sioux Center, Iowa, a four-month-old Spanish and English church plant is co-pastored by leaders from the RCA and the CRC.

Embrace Church had two years left to live. Rather than wait for the end, the church sold its building and sought ways to revitalize.

Holland (Mich.) Christian High School won the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 3 championship, and Western Michigan Christian High School in Norton Shores, Mich., took home the Division 4 title.

Cindy Verbeek, a Christian Reformed deacon in British Columbia, is project manager for an A Rocha nature center renovation that received a $105,000 grant.

Actions of Christian Reformed classes (regional group of churches) in the past several months include welcoming candidates as ministers, disbanding congregations, and adopting procedures for handling confessional difficulty gravamina.

Sean Folkerts has ministered with North America Indigenous Ministries in the Maskwacis community in Alberta since 2016. Now Woody Nook Christian Reformed Church in Lacombe has commissioned him Minister of Evangelism and Discipleship in Maskwacis.

The former CRC director of Chaplaincy and Care, who died in 2017, has been inducted into the Michigan Military and Veterans Hall of Honor because of his “lifelong efforts to increase awareness of post-traumatic stress and ‘moral injury in war,’ and to assist veterans suffering from it.”

About half of the congregants of The Loving Church in Tucson, Ariz., live without permanent homes. On Nov. 13 the church celebrated 10 years of ministry and inducted its pastor, a recent graduate of the Christian Reformed Church’s Korean Institute in Ministry program.

Western Christian High School in Hull, Iowa, won the 2022 Class 2A state championship for girls volleyball and holds three state records.

Shirley De Vries, formerly director of Information and Technology for the Christian Reformed Church in North America, and Scott DeVries, a project manager for building congregational connection, have accepted roles as CAO and director of synodical services.

Keller said many of his fellow Christians have become afraid to say they are sorry and admit when they are wrong. Others use forgiveness to hide the truth.

Gateway Community CRC in Abbotsford, B.C., received an award, and Sonlight Community CRC in Lynden, Wash., recognized lasting positive impact after a year of aid toward flood relief.