(RNS) — At least two dozen churches in the Christian Reformed Church of North America are in the process of severing their ties with the denomination over their disagreements with its increasingly rigid stance on sexuality.
Four Michigan churches have already sent resolutions of disaffiliation to a regional geographic body called the Classis Grand Rapids East, stating that they intend to leave. Leaders of an additional five Michigan churches, also in the regional body, said they were drafting their letters, which should be received by the classis’s next business meeting.
Outside of Michigan, 15 more churches are also planning to exit the denomination, which comprises some 1,000 churches in the U.S. and Canada.
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The exodus is part of a larger sorting of Christian congregations across Protestant denominations over the past 30 years as a growing number of churches have opened their doors to full membership of LGBTQ members.
In June, at its 2024 churchwide meeting, known as a synod, the Christian Reformed Church instructed LGBTQ-affirming congregations to repent, retract any divergent statements and comply with the denomination’s prescribed beliefs on sexuality. Church leaders who spoken or advocated for LGBTQ affirmation, including pastors, elders and deacons, were placed on a limited suspension.
The crisis dates back to 2022, when the denomination accepted a report on human sexuality that recommended codifying its opposition to LGBTQ sex by elevating it to the status of confession, or a declaration of faith. At the synod later that year, the delegates voted to do just that.
Pro-LGBT demonstrators outside the annual synod of the Christian Reformed Church at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Mich., June 14, 2023. (Photo by Grace Buller)
After waiting to see if the 2023 synod might accommodate churches with different views, Sherman Street Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids led the way to the exit. In its resolution it wrote: “Our policy of full inclusion is settled, as is our determination to allow space for a variety of views and to embrace the resulting tension.”
The church had already reallocated its financial giving or “ministry shares” away from the denominational entities as a first step, said the Rev. Jen Holmes Curran, the co-pastor. Instead, it donated to nonprofits that work with LGBTQ people experiencing religion-related trauma.
The denomination’s Church Order, a document that gives guidance and sets rules for CRC churches, outlines a process for churches wanting to break away. First, church councils must agree to disaffiliate; then they must send a letter to the classis, which in turn must try to dissuade the congregation. If that effort fails, the church must hold two membership-wide votes before it formally disaffiliates.
Among those churches that have now drafted a resolution to disaffiliate is Neland Avenue Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, which the denomination had tried to discipline for years for ordaining a deacon in a same-sex marriage.
People attend a community celebration at Neland Avenue Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., June 7, 2023. (Photo courtesy of Otto Selles for Neland Avenue Christian Reformed Church)
“It’s very sad because in 99% of our doctrines we align (with the denomination),” said the Rev. Joel DeMoor, co-pastor of Neland Avenue. “The questions raised in care for the marginalized in this way have led to such an impasse. Whatever happens, I have no doubt we will stick to our mission: extending to all the deep welcome of Christ.”
The four churches whose resolutions of disaffiliation have already been received by the classis include Calvin Church, Grace Church, Church of the Servant and Sherman Street.
