United Reformed Churches in North America

The United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA) is a theologically conservative federation of Reformed churches founded in 1996. Many churches joined the URCNA after splitting from the Christian Reformed Church in North America denomination.

United Reformed Churches
in North America
AbbreviationURCNA, URC, or URCs
ClassificationProtestant
TheologyConfessional Reformed
GovernancePresbyterian
AssociationsNorth American Presbyterian and Reformed Council, International Conference of Reformed Churches
RegionUnited States and Canada
Origin1996
Lynwood, Illinois
Separated fromChristian Reformed Church in North America
AbsorbedOrthodox Christian Reformed Churches (2008)
Congregations112 (2011)[1]
Members23,505 (2011)[1]
Ministers159 (2011)[1]
Official websitewww.urcna.org

Origin

The URCNA has grown from the earlier Protestant movements in Europe of the 16th and 17th century, and also from Reformed churches in Belgium and the Netherlands. The URCNA subscribes to three confessions of faith: the Canons of Dordt, written in 1618 and 1619 by an international group of Reformed churches, the Belgic Confession, written by Guido de Bres in the mid-1500s, and the Heidelberg Catechism, written by various scholars in the city of Heidelberg, Germany. Collectively, these statements of faith are called the "Three Forms of Unity." In addition to these forms, the URCNA holds to the three ecumenical creeds: the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed.[2] One of the distinct fundamental doctrines the URNCA describes is forensic justification, according to which Christ offers a double benefit: one's sin is imputed to Christ and he suffers for it on the cross, while His perfect obedience is credited to believers who receive its benefits, including eternal life.

History

The URCNA was founded as a federation of Reformed churches in 1996 at Lynwood, Illinois CRC. Most of the members that founded the URCNA left the CRCNA, due to disagreement on several issues like women's ordination, evolution cases, and biblical inerrancy. Conservative reformed believers were also concerned that the Christian Reformed Churches were departing from Scriptural teaching to accommodate modern social trends. Some 36 churches with 7,600 members joined the federative unity, held their first Synod, and adopted the name United Reformed Churches in North America.

Statistics

URCNA churches can be found in 22 US states, mostly in the Upper Midwest (Iowa and Michigan) and California, and in six Canadian Provinces, mostly in Ontario and Alberta. As of 2008, the churches have grown, mostly through additional members leaving the CRCNA in the late 1990s, to approximately 105 congregations spread across the United States and Canada, with 22,495 members, 146 ministers, and 9 Classes (Michigan, Central US, Eastern US, Southwest US, Pacific Northwest, Southern Ontario, Ontario East, Southwestern Ontario, Western Canada).[3][4]

Congregations

The URCNA has congregations in 22 US states, mostly focused in the US. There are currently 112 URC's in 8 classes around North America.

Classis 1 - Central US

Classes 2 - Eastern US

Classis 3 - Michigan

Classis 4 - East Ontario

Classis 5 - Pacific Northwest

Classis 6 - Southwest US

Classis 7 - Southwestern Ontario

Classis 8 - Western Canada

Missions

The URCNA supports many missions in the US and around the world. Mission churches can be found in Ecuador, Costa Rica, the Philippines, Mexico, and other third world countries.

Training of ministers

The United Reformed Churches do not have a denominational seminary or college; rather, Candidates for Ministry are extensively examined by their Calling Church and Classis regardless of seminary prior to their ordination or installation. Most of the ministers of the URCNA have been trained at Calvin Theological Seminary (Grand Rapids, Michigan), Mid-America Reformed Seminary (Dyer, Indiana), or Westminster Seminary in California (Escondido, California) but the number of other seminaries represented is growing.

Mergers

The Canadian and American Reformed Churches are currently pursuing federative unity with the URCNA. The Orthodox Christian Reformed Churches, another breakaway from the Christian Reformed Church, voted to join the URCNA in 2008 upon the latter's invitation.

Interchurch relationships

The URCNA has dialogue with the Reformed Churches of New Zealand, Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Korean American Presbyterian Church, Canadian and American Reformed Churches and other confessional Reformed churches. It is a member of the International Conference of Reformed Churches[5] and the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council.[6]

References
  1. Bill Konynenbelt (2011). "Directory of the United Reformed Churches in North America" (PDF). United Reformed Churches in North America: 10. Retrieved Feb 20, 2017. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. www.urcna.org/What We Believe
  3. Bill Konynenbelt. "Directory of the United Reformed Churches in North America" (PDF). United Reformed Churches in North America. p. 3. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
  4. https://www.service-life.com/sysfiles/member/family/urcna_report.cfm?memberid=303&public=1
  5. www.icrconline.com/member.html
  6. www.naparc.org/member-churches/
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