The United Reformed Churches:

   The Reformation Continues

Covenant Reformed Church of Toronto belongs to a group of Churches (denomination) known as the United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA). As of 1998, the year for which the latest figures are available, this denomination had over 16,000 members, 96 ministers, and about 700 (other) office bearers. URCNA currently has missionaries in Honduras, Toronto, South India, and plans are in place to begin a French broadcasting work in South Africa.

URCNA is itself a fruit of the Reformation, and proof that the Reformation continues even today. In our last lesson, we saw that when the Church goes astray morally, and doctrinally (the two always go together), Christians have a God-given responsibility to call the Church to repentance. And, if the Church fails to repent, a reformation may become necessary. Sometimes that reformation takes the shape of excommunication, whereby the unrepentant members are expelled from the Church; at other times, that reformation takes the form of secession (separation), whereby those members who are faithful to the teachings of Scripture choose to leave the disobedient church and regroup. Such were the circumstances which brought about the birth of URCNA. Church history, since 1517, is replete with both instances - especially the latter, i.e., secession. It should be noted however, that separation, while often necessary, is hurtful, bitter, sometimes sinful in appearance, and must always be seen as a last option.

In order to appreciate URCNA more fully it is necessary to make a few observations about the history that preceded its formation. Central to that history is the history of another denomination known as the Christian Reformed Church, hereafter, the CRC. At one time, the CRC had more than 200,000 members in North America. Its history goes back to the Netherlands, where in 1834 a group of "separatists" seceded from a previous apostate church. Subsequent to their secession a number of them came to the United States and settled in Iowa, New York, and Michigan. Upon its arrival, the New York group aligned itself with the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church in America (RCA), and later relocated to the state of Michigan. Confessional differences necessitated a separation from the RCA in April 1857. Though nameless for its first two years, the new denomination would undergo several different names including "Holland Reformed Church", "True Dutch Reformed Church", and eventually "Christian Reformed Church" in 1894. The Lord blessed this denomination and it grew both spiritually and numerically. As time went on, however, it began to feel the pressure of the spirit which held sway in the secular realm. Though it had endured internal difficulties, owing to differing theological views, conflict with the proper interpretation of Scripture, and compromises of key biblical doctrines, caused many ministers and congregations to begin issuing a call to repentance. That call would eventually turn into a mini-reformation.

In 1986 several concerned members of the Christian Reformed Churches in North America were invited and called together to discuss the spiritual conditions of the denomination. Specifically, they wanted to object to the way Scripture was handled, the ordination of women to office in the Church, and to other issues related to Church and culture. This invitation would later evolve into a series of Consistorial Conferences, joined by a growing number of dissatisfied congregations. By 1990, this growing body called itself Christian Reformed Alliance, and a set of bylaws were adopted for its government. In 1991 the Christian Reformed Church leadership (synod) made the decision to permit the ordination of women to all ecclesiastical offices. That decision evidenced further spiritual deterioration, widened the then-growing chasm between those who sought to "reform" the CRC and those who sought to accelerate its course toward worldliness, and eroded all remaining hopes of future reconciliation, or repentance. That very year, the Christian Reformed Alliance (CRA) became the Alliance of Reformed Churches (ARC). It also adopted supplementary bylaws.

This group of "reformers" was on its way to becoming another denomination. At its November 1993 meeting, a committee was formed to begin writing a Church Order. The Three Forms of Unity and the Reformed Creeds were also adopted. Finally in November 1995, following a series of meetings from the 14th to the 15th, the assembly reached the following decisions: the Church Order was to be adopted in its provisional form, and the desire to federate was formally addressed and adopted. The name of the new denomination was United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA).

It should be pointed out that not all the Churches which left the Christian Reformed Church and later joined the ARC federated with URCNA. There remain a significant number of churches that are yet "independent." At the same time, the exodus also continues in the CRC. Perhaps someday URCNA will itself be in need of reformation, but what was certain was that URCNA's mother became unfaithful to her confession of faith to the Lord. Covenant Reformed Church of Toronto joined URCNA in 1997. This Church was organized in 1953, had its first minister in 1955. The current membership represents more than 10 nationalities.

1. Those are: the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort. They are located in the back of the Psalter Hymnal. (please see 'What we Believe')

2. These are: the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. They are also located in the back of the Psalter hymnal. (please see 'What we Believe')

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