Defunding Grants for Church Planting Spurs Passionate Conversation

The Council of Delegates of the Christian Reformed Church, which met May 7 to 9 in Grand Rapids, Mich., accepted a communication to pass on to Synod 2025 by way of a right of comment to Overture 29, a request on synod’s agenda related to “the anticipated decrease in funding for church planting within Resonate Global Mission’s budget and the decision to reduce/eliminate all grants for church planting” (Acts of Synod 2025, p. 402).

Resonate director Kevin DeRaaf said, it could be easy for church planters to question, “with the grant funding no longer being available, ‘Does the church still care about us?’,” but he said grant funding—about $75,000 over five or more years to a single church plant—has always been a small part of what Resonate offered in church planting support, and the change is part of an approach to be sustainable while emphasizing “the importance at a local level of wrap-around support” for fledgling churches.

In discussion, delegates generally supported the right of comment, which will be included in the supplement to the Agenda, and several also expressed a desire to see church planters across the denomination continue to receive funding.

Lloyd Hemstreet, Classis Zeeland, wanted “to come up with a way to at least make this need known,” to “compile those numbers (of current plants anticipating the possibility of grants) and broadcast and put it out to our classes so people can respond and try to fill this gap.”

Roberta Vriesema, Canada at-large, discouraged that approach. “I hear the suggestion, and I really appreciate the intent—we don’t not want to fund this. The concern I have is that as an organization our churches are underfunding everything, so setting up new mechanisms outside of what we already have is not a great message. We’re underfunding our commitments. Let’s be really wise stewards of our money using the mechanisms we have built up.” She continued, “We are directly affecting the things we value most” by retracting on ministry shares to the denomination. “Our passion in one area is diverting us from what we need to do,” Vriesema said.

Steve Bussis, Classis Yellowstone, asked about how Resonate discerned what was the best thing to emphasize in church planting support. “What I hear the overture asking, in simplified form, is ‘please make financial assistance a priority,’ and what I hear the comment saying is, ‘That kind of financial assistance isn’t sustainable; we’ll provide relational support.’”

DeRaaf said he thinks “church planting should be relational at every step,” a big change from the old model where home missions planted churches that could be cheered on locally. “No. Churches plant churches,” DeRaaf said. “Where God is giving opportunities for the church to grow, Resonate is a key partner to bring expertise, process for discerning, coaching for church planters, and more that adds value to the vision that lives locally. This is the lane that Resonate can take.”

Christian Sebastia, at-large U.S. delegate, said, “I appreciate all efforts to support church planting. I stay with the hope that God provides for continuing works in our area.” He started a 2015 Houston, Texas, plant and a second one in 2020, anticipating 18 churches for the next 20 years. Sebastia, a Spanish-speaking pastor, said, “Right now we have three in Houston, one in Dallas last fall, and this January plans for a new Anglo church in the Houston area, but our reality is different” because of a small existing CRC population in the area. Admitting, “I don’t know how this can happen,” Sebastian said, “It’s the reason I stand here to try to discern the best way to accomplish the mission.”

DeRaaf said he’s convinced that “if God has his way with the CRCNA in the next 10 years, our church is going to look very different.” He said it “feels like a watershed moment for the church to hear the prophetic call and to recognize and embrace our call to church planting. But we can’t do this ourselves as your mission agency. We have to talk.”

Jae Young Kim, Classis Hanmi, agreed it could “be the game changer for our situation” to emphasize the “model that church begets the new church.”

Mike Johnson, Classis Rocky Mountain, who worked as a church planter in the early 1990s, reminded the Council of the depth of experience in the denomination. “Resonate had to make a hard decision, (needing to make) deep cuts, but we have other resources in the denomination,” he said, including experience, knowledge. The president of the seminary, Jul Medenblik, started out as a church planter. “Lets keep church planting part of the CRC and not just part of our past but part of our future.”