Episode 268: Classes Need a Plan for Dying and Planting Churches in the CRC — Denominational Structure Roundtable
“Every church is an outpost of the kingdom. So are we doing a good job supporting the outposts of the kingdom? That’s the challenge we really face today.” — Matt Haan
Summary of This Episode
Welcome back to part 2 of the Messy Reformation Roundtable with Rev. Dan De Graff and Rev. Matt Haan. The guys have been talking statistics of pastoral vacancies and declining church sizes that raise the need for someone to do something. The theme throughout this episode is challenging classes to be that that someone. Matt brings up the necessity for classes to live into Church Order Article 75a—classes are to have ministry plans. He goes beyond just looking ahead, though; we also need to know why our classis came into existence and what the churches in that classis exist for.
Dan brings up that this work of involving classes in the lives of their congregations in such strategic ways is not easy. People often do not want to change because of legacy, which can take the shape of family, classmate connections, “how things have always been.” Particularly in small communities and small churches, he and Matt agree the pride in a survivor-mentality—“we can make it through anything”—is an admirable quality but it can also bring up distrust to those outside. Dan highlights that classes may need to designate, if not employ, people to do this work—“It’s really hard to pastor your own church and come alongside one or two other churches and be…involved in revitalizing them.” If we’re shifting to multi-site ministry/pastoring, that’s a mindset shift for CRC ministers and churches.
The conversation turns to important points in the lifespan of churches. Matt shares he sees churches hitting the 50-year and 100-year marks and struggling to have vision at those points. The founders or planters are aging or have died, what next? The current group has to discern what they exist for? Jason shares his experience is a little earlier—the 40-year mark can be tumultuous. Dan points out when you think of the last 40 years in the CRC, it’s been tumultuous and unsettling. We have the women in church office decisions and splits in the 1990s, the HSR in the early 2020s, and classis renewal efforts were kicking off in the 2010s but go sidelined by that as well as COVID. To think about not just one’s church but being part of the CRC with all this going on, it’s a difficult reality.
Dan and Matt both see the importance of pastors, along with elders, deacons, and lay members, understanding they have a duty. They share, “You have this duty to help the other churches around you…You have this duty…to the classis [and] to the Lord…Every church is an outpost of the kingdom…Are we doing a good job supporting the outposts of the kingdom?...Classes are territories for us to care about.” Jason reminds listeners that anyone can get a demographic study of a community through Resonate Global Mission (MissionInsite in the U.S. and Outreach Canada in Canada).
The group highlights that in planting new churches and revitalizing old ones, we need to look at resources, passionate individuals, and strategy—all while trusting God to be at work. We can look to partner or trust other denominations and churches to do good work in communities, but where there is weakness or dysfunction in our churches or classes, we can’t be afraid to ask for and receive help. Dan shares the need to continue building trust and recognizing the support of people who have been successful in something, including as Jason shares, the importance of people providing vision. Matt closes it out challenging classes to take honest looks at themselves and see where work is needed.