Delegates rising to their feet with applause after a synod speech is rare in the Christian Reformed Church, but that’s how Synod 2026 reacted to general secretary Zach King’s address this year—one where he encouraged the church to embrace its moment for mission.
“I think they said ‘thanks,’” synod president Chad Steenwyk said, following the address. “Thank you for your passion for the gospel and for your leadership.”
In his 40-minute speech, referring to parallels in the book of Acts and the miraculous spreading of the gospel in Antioch, King addressed what he called four pivot points where he sees change—becoming closer aligned with God’s vision—in the CRC.
“The Holy Spirit is pivoting us to embrace communal prayer and spiritual practices for communal transformation,” King told delegates, sharing the flourishing of one student-led prayer group at Calvin University as an example.
“God is pivoting CRC congregations to embrace intergenerational discipleship to grow leaders,” King said. “It happened in Antioch and it is happening today in our churches. That vision includes younger disciples connecting to older, but it also includes newer believers being discipled by mature disciples.”
Reminding delegates that “70 years ago the CRCNA was monoethnic and monocultural but today 25% of our congregations are primarily non-white, and another 10% percent identify as multiethnic,” King said, “With a biblical view of diversity, we don’t need to ‘burn our wooden shoes’” (a reference to a controversial 1980 editorial, and accompanying graphic, flaming-shoe image, by then-Banner editor Andrew Kuyvenhoven to lay aside the denomination’s Dutch roots). People signaled agreement as he continued, “But we can’t leave them laying out at the front door for people to trip over. They belong on the rack, along with all of the other kinds of shoes that make us God’s diverse and unified family.”
“God is pivoting the CRC to embrace a biblical vision of diversity to shape our identity,” King said. “By God’s grace we are becoming a community of churches that is a tapestry of all tribes and nations like John’s vision in Revelation 7.”
Introducing the fourth pivot point, “towards holistic mission,” King said, “It is amazing how God uses everyday churches in his kingdom mission, but let’s name the reality that many CRCNA congregations experience ministry through a lens of ‘survival.’ … With empty pulpits, aging membership, navigating conflict, struggles to find volunteers, it would be easy to say, ‘Let’s just take care of our own,’ and leave this holistic mission, sharing the gospel and planting churches, to others.”
But, he said, “we confess that ours is a church called to mission whatever age or lifecycle moment you’re in, God has given you a calling.”
In the conclusion of his address, King invited delegates to envision what God might do in the CRC, if all congregations embraced the four pivots he described. Repeatedly asking, “What if, in each of our congregations...?” King imagined churches renewed through prayer, generations discipling each other, deeper unity across cultures, and lives transformed through the gospel. Pointing to Antioch–a church born amidst conflict and struggle that became a center of mission– King asked, “What could God do with the congregations of the Christian Reformed Church?”
“Is God’s vision too small to change us? Is his arm too short to reach us?... Is this the Antioch moment for our congregations?” King asked. “I believe it is. God’s Holy Spirit stands at the pivot with hands on the lever.”
“I believe that the Spirit of God is renewing our congregations for his mission for this hurting world,” King concluded. And synod got to its feet in agreement.
Michael Ten Haken, outgoing chair of the CRC’s Council of Delegates, the ecclesiastical board that serves as an interim committee of synod, followed King’s speech, the fourth of three change- and renewal-focused presentations in the same evening. He joked about the unfortunate placement after the exciting encouragement for the future.
Pointing out several items in the Council of Delegates’ report to synod—about 50 recommendations—Ten Haken emphasized the Council’s endorsement of “the hard work of an interagency team with Resonate and Thrive to establish a vision and plan for church planting and church renewal within the CRCNA per synodical instruction from last year’s synod.”
“I would ask that you take note of the comprehensive nature of their recommendations, the collaborative approach they engaged in to develop it and the exciting opportunities and challenges it presents to us to come together as a denomination to grow and strengthen diverse leaders and congregations all with the goal of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ to all,” Ten Haken said.
Synod will work through the Council of Delegates’ recommendations, along with all the other elements of the synod agenda, in plenary sessions June 15 to 18.
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
Alissa Vernon is the news editor for The Banner.