Synod 2026 agreed to have certain parts of the supplement removed from Church Order Articles 4 and 7, pertaining to Classis Red Mesa’s calling of officebearers (deacons and elders) and a previously used category of service that now is covered by the Church Order article for commissioned pastors.
Synod is the annual general assembly of the Christian Reformed Church in North America. It is meeting June 12-18 in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Classis Red Mesa requested the changes.
Explaining the reason to pull the supplement “Special Advice for Classis Red Mesa” from Art. 7, Caleb Dickson, Classis Red Mesa, said gifted workers within their classis now more typically use Article 23, for commissioned pastors, to prepare for ministry. “Right now we have four commissioned pastors which have gone through the training and curriculum. … We have more commissioned pastors in Classis Red Mesa than we have ordained ministers of the Word, and that's because of retirements” as well as the death of two pastors over the past few years. Dickson affirmed the commissioned pastor pathway “has worked out very well for us.”
Synod 2026, the annual general assembly of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, is meeting June 12-18 on the campus of Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Mich. Go to crcna.org/synod for the livestream, photos, reports, and a live blog of synod proceedings and decisions. Find daily news and our video Synod Recap at thebanner.org/synod.
About the Author
Isabelle Brown is a writer from Brampton, Ontario and a student at Redeemer University, where she is a reporter for The Crown. Her non-writing interests include painting and sketching.