The annual denominational survey asks respondents to select from 28 phrases in response to the prompt “To me, the term ‘Christian Reformed’ means … .”
In 2026, 13 phrases were selected by at least 30% of respondents.
Those top terms, with the ones chosen by the highest percentage of respondents most prominent, appear in the word cloud above. If you’re curious how the top five compare to last year’s survey, here are those numbers:
83.7% of 2026 respondents selected “Christ-centered” (75.9% of 2025 respondents selected this term).
81.5% selected “Scripture-centered” (72.4% in 2025).
60.0% selected “Conservative” (56.3% in 2025).
59.5% selected “Faith formation for all ages” (54.2% in 2025).
53.7% selected “Traditional” (47% in 2025).
Surveys conducted by DataWise Consulting LLC with 1,359 respondents (1,067 in 2025).
About the Author
Alissa Vernon is the news editor for The Banner.