Founded in 1996, the United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA) arose out of dissension within the Christian Reformed Church that began in the late 1980s.
Before that time, its history was that of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC). Among the issues leading to the split was a concern that that much of what the CRC was teaching was not clear Reformation doctrine, and that some of these contradicted the Three Forms of Unity, such as a drift away from the inspiration and authority of the Scriptures, with some CRC leaders arguing that some parts of the Bible were not the Word of God and that the Genesis account of creation was not to be taken literally. CRC colleges began teaching theistic evolution. Within the CRC churches, there was a move toward the adoption of an Arminian view of the love of God. Additionally, some within the CRC began to argue that women should be able to hold ecclesiastical offices.
Over the years, these concerns added up until a group of CRC clergy and laypeople felt the need to react. In November of 1994, sixty-two congregations met to discuss a solution. These included some congregations that had already left the CRC and were independent, while others were maintaining a Reformed voice within the CRC, and there were a few congregations that didn't have a CRC background. Between 1994 and 1996, thirty-six of these congregations had united. Holding their first Synod, they formed the United Reformed Churches in North America.
Today, there are more than a hundred member congregations in twenty-two US states and six Canadian provinces, most of them former CRC congregations. In the United States, the denomination is concentrated in the Upper Midwest, largely Iowa and Michigan, and in California. In Canada, most of the URCNA congregations are in Ontario and Alberta. In August of 2008, the Orthodox Christian Reformed Churches in North America voted to join the URCNA, although some member churches joined the Protestant Reformed Churches in America instead, while some others are currently independent. The Canadian and American Reformed Churches, although an independent denomination, are in close fellowship with the URCNA.
The United Reformed Churches in North America do not have a denominational seminary or college. Instead, candidates for URCNA ministry are examined by their calling church and classis regardless of which seminary they might have attended. Most URCNA ministers have attended Calvin Theological Seminary, Mid-America Reformed Seminary, or Westminster Seminary.
The URCNA holds to the Three Forms of Unity, these being the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, and the Canons of Dort, as well as the ecumenical creeds, the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed.
The URCNA recognizes three offices in the church: minister, elder, and deacon. The minister is responsible for continuing in prayer and the ministry of the Word, administering the sacraments, catechizing the youth, and assisting the elders in the shepherding and discipline of the congregation. The duties of the elders include continuing in prayer and ruling the church according to the Scriptural principle, and seeing to it that fellow elders, the ministers, and deacons faithfully discharge their offices. They are to assist in catechizing the youth, promote God-centered education, visit members of the congregation according to their needs, exercise discipline in the congregation, promote the work of evangelism, and ensure that everything is done in good order. Deacons are to continue in prayer and to supervise the works of Christian mercy in the congregation, gather and manage the offerings, distributing them according to need. They are also to encourage and comfort with the Word of God those who receive the gifts of Christ's mercy.
There are three assemblies of the federation: the Consistory, the classis, and the synod. Only the Consistory is a continuing body, as the others exist only when meeting by delegates.
During worship, the Psalms are the chief source of singing in the church, although other hymns that faithfully and fully reflect the teachings of Scripture may be sung if approved by the Consistory.
The children of confessing members in good standing are baptized, while adults who have not been baptized should be baptized upon a public confession of faith, and accepted as members. Marriage is between one man and one woman and is intended to be a lifelong, monogamous covenantal union. Ministers are not permitted to officiate marriages that conflict with Scripture.
The focus of this category is on the denomination known as the United Reformed Churches in North America. Although websites representing local churches are properly listed in the Local & Global category corresponding to the locality in which the church is located, those with significant information about the denomination itself may be listed in both.
Recommended Resources
The program began as a mission work of the United Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington, and is currently operated as a non-profit organization, still based in Lynden, but carried by radio stations in Washington, California, Colorado, and British Columbia. Its chief radio teacher is introduced, along with AGR contributors, program schedules, audio archives, and live broadcasts, as well as a list of stations carrying its broadcasts, and contacts.
https://agradio.org/
Ecumenical Creeds, Confessions, & Catechisms
Presented by the United Reformed Churches in North America, the ecumenical creeds, confessions, and catechisms adopted by the URCNA are posted, including a general introduction to the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed, and the Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, and Canons of Dort, which contain the doctrinal standards, or publicly confessed faith, of the denomination. The text of each is provided, with links to other informational sites.
https://threeforms.org/
Maintained by the United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA), the site features the liturgical forms that are part of the Reformed faith, teaching the proper understanding of the URCNA’s sacraments and to guide faithful practice, such as baptism, the Lord’s Supper, ex-communication, readmission, ordination, and marriage. Prayers and meditations are also included, as offered as aids and examples for those who are called to lead in public prayer.
https://formsandprayers.com/
United Reformed Churches in North America
The official website of the United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA) denomination presents a history and profile of the denomination, an overview of its beliefs and practices, the Ecumenical Creeds, the Three Forms of Unity, and the text of several documents adopted or recommended by the URCNA churches in common. Synod schedules and a Synodical archive are available, along with the denomination’s classes, a schedule of events, and a church directory.
https://www.urcna.org/
Created as a joint project of four local congregations of the United Reformed Churches in North America, the site was created to help religious and non-religious people to answer important questions, which are answered, in part, in special episodes of their talk show, Sinners & Saints. Highlighted on this site are the podcast, Sinners & Saints, free curricula for Christian growth, a statement of belief, audio recordings of sermons preached by contributing pastors, and a church locator.
https://urclearning.org/
The foreign, domestic, and extraordinary missions of the United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA) are featured here, with reports from each of the mission fields, contacts, and links to additional resources, when available. URCNA prayer requests are published, including reports from places where the church is persecuted. Past issues of The Trumpet, the URCNA monthly missions newsletter, are available, and readers may sign up for upcoming publications.
https://www.urcnamissions.org/
