In a “State of the Church” address to Synod 2009, CRC Executive Director Rev. Jerry Dykstra told delegates that the economic downturn is a “difficult situation for the denomination and its agencies, and even more so for local churches.”
However, “I am convinced that God will use this time in the history of our churches and the CRC to make us stronger, not weaker,” he said. “In hard times we have opportunities to really evaluate what it is that God has called us to do.”
Dykstra said he has made a point to listen carefully to what churches need. “We as a denomination need to hear what it is that the local churches need because we are the CRC—it is not an office,” he said.
About the Author
Roxanne VanFarowe is a freelance writer who claims both Canadian and American citizenship and grew up in the Christian Reformed Church. She is a member of Blacknall Presbyterian Church in Durham, North Carolina.
