Reformed Church in America

The Reformed Church in America (RCA)

Reformed Church in America
is a mainline Reformed Protestant
denomination in Canada and the United
States. It has about 104,921 members. From
its beginning in 1628 until 1819, it was the
North American branch of the Dutch
Reformed Church.

The RCA is a member of the National Council

of Churches (founding member), the World
Council of Churches (WCC), Christian
Churches Together, and the World
Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC).
Some parts of the denomination belong to the
National Association of Evangelicals, the Coat of arms of the Reformed Church in America
Canadian Council of Churches, and the Classification Protestant
Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The
Orientation Mainline Reformed
denomination is in full communion with the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Polity Presbyterian
Presbyterian Church (USA), and United Associations National Council of Churches;
Church of Christ and is a denominational World Council of Churches;
partner of the Christian Reformed Church in Canadian Council of Churches;
North America.[2] Christian Churches Together;
World Communion of Reformed
Names Churches;
Evangelical Fellowship of Canada;
Colloquially, it is sometimes referred to National Association of Evangelicals
loosely as the Dutch Reformed Church in
Region Canada, U.S.
America, or simply as the Dutch Reformed
Church[3] when an American context has Headquarters Grand Rapids, Michigan
already been provided. In 1819, it Origin 1628 (first Dutch Reformed
incorporated as the Reformed Protestant congregation organized in New
Dutch Church. The current name was Amsterdam);
chosen in 1867.
1754 (American classis gains
independence)
History Branched from Dutch Reformed Church

The early settlers in the Dutch colony of New Separations Christian Reformed Church in North
Netherland first held informal meetings for America (separated 1857; further
worship. In 1628 Jonas Michaelius organized congregations join the CRC in 1882)
the first Dutch Reformed congregation in New Alliance of Reformed Churches
Amsterdam, now New York City, called the (2021)
Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, now The Congregations 877 (2016)
Collegiate Churches of New York. During
Dutch rule, the RCA was the established Members 138,438 communicants (2016),
church of the colony and was under the 104,921 total (2022)[1]
authority of the classis of Amsterdam. The
Official website www.rca.org (https://www.rca.org)
Brookville Reformed Church remains one of
the oldest churches in America. Even after the www.faithward.org (https://www.faithward.org)
English captured the colony in 1664, all Dutch Logo
Reformed ministers were still trained in the
Netherlands. Services in the RCA remained in
Dutch until 1764. Dutch language use faded
thereafter until the new wave of Dutch
immigration in the mid-19th century. This
revived use of the language among Dutch
descendants and in some churches.

In 1747 the church in the Netherlands had given permission to form an assembly in North America; in
1754, the assembly declared itself independent of the classis of Amsterdam. This American classis secured
a charter in 1766 for Queens College (now Rutgers University) in New Jersey. In 1784 John Henry
Livingston was appointed as professor of theology, marking the beginning of the New Brunswick
Theological Seminary.

The Dutch-speaking community, including farmers and traders,

prospered in the former New Netherland, dominating New York
City, the Hudson Valley, and parts of New Jersey while
maintaining a significant presence in southeastern Pennsylvania,
southwestern Connecticut, and Long Island.

In the early 18th century nearly 3,000 Palatine German refugees

came to New York. Most worked first in English camps along the
Hudson River to pay off their passage (paid by Queen Anne's
government) before they were allowed land in the Schoharie and
Mohawk Valleys. There they created numerous German-speaking
Lutheran and Reformed churches, such as those at Fort Herkimer
and German Flatts. Thousands more immigrated to Pennsylvania in The First Reformed Church in
the 18th century. They used German as the language in their Albany, New York started in 1642 to
churches and schools for nearly 100 years, and recruited some of serve the patroonship of
their ministers from Germany. By the early 20th century, most of Rensselaerswyck. The current
their churches had joined the RCA.[4] church was built in 1798.

During the American Revolution, a bitter internal struggle broke

out in the Dutch Reformed church, with lines of division following ecclesiastical battles that had gone on
for twenty years between the "coetus" and "conferentie" factions. One source indicates that defections may
have occurred as early as 1737.

"Desolation pervaded many of the churches, whereas prior to 1737 good order was maintained
in the churches, and peace and a good degree of prosperity were enjoyed. ...But in 1754, the
Coetus of the previous year, having recommended the changing of the Coetus into a Classis
with full powers, the opposition became violent, and the opponents were known as the
Conferentie."[5]

A spirit of amnesty made possible the church's survival after the war. The divisiveness was also healed
when the church sent members on an extensive foreign missions program in the early 19th century.
In 1792 the classis adopted a formal constitution; and in 1794 the denomination held its first general synod.
Following the American Civil War, in 1867 it formally adopted the name "Reformed Church in America".
In the nineteenth century in New York and New Jersey, ethnic Dutch descendants struggled to preserve
their European standards and traditions while developing a taste for revivalism and an American identity.

19th century

Some members owned slaves, the most famous of the slaves being
Sojourner Truth, and the church did not support abolitionism. In
rural areas, ministers preached in Dutch until about 1830–1850,
then switched to English, at the same time finally dropping the use
of many traditional Dutch clothing and customs.[7] Although some
ministers favored revivals, generally the church did not support
either the First or the Second Great Awakenings, which created
much evangelical fervor.

Midwest

Immigration from the Netherlands in the mid-19th century led to

the expansion of the RCA into the midwestern United States. In
1837 Pastor Abram D. Wilson and his wife Julia Evertson Wilson
from New Jersey established the first Dutch Reformed church west
of the Allegheny Mountains in Fairview, Illinois.[8] Hope College
and Western Theological Seminary were founded in Holland,
Phebe Johnson Ditmis (4 January
Michigan, Central College in Pella, Iowa, and Northwestern
1824 – 27 December 1866) was the
College in Orange City, Iowa. In the 1857 Secession, a group of wife of Reformed Church of Queens
more conservative members in Michigan led by Gijsbert Haan pastor George Onderdonk Ditmis (22
separated from the RCA. They organized the Christian Reformed July 1818 – 1 February 1896).[6]
Church in North America (CRC), and other churches followed. In
1882 another group of congregations left for the CRC, mirroring
developments in the church in the Netherlands.

Post-World War II

After 1945 the RCA expanded into Canada, which was the destination of a large group of Dutch
emigrants. Between 1949 and 1958, the RCA opened 120 churches among non-Dutch suburban
communities, appealing to mainline Protestants. It was a charter member of the Presbyterian Alliance, the
Federal Council of Churches, and the World Council of Churches.

Recent decline

Like most other mainline denominations, the RCA has had a declining membership during the last thirty
years. In 2018 the total membership was less than 196,308, down from 220,000 in 2016, from 300,000 in
2000 and 360,000 in 1980. In the last thirty years, the church has lost more than 45% of its membership.

Due to differences related to the adoption of the Belhar Confession, the removal of the conscience clauses
related to the ordination of women, and place of LGBTQ people in the church, a number of congregations
have left the RCA to join the Presbyterian Church in America, which is more conservative on these
issues.[9] For largely the same reasons, about 100 churches separated from the denomination and formed
the Alliance of Reformed Churches (65 of those churches had made their separation public)[10] and 5
churches formed the Kingdom Network.[11][12]

Beliefs
The RCA confesses several statements of doctrine and faith. These include the historic Apostles' Creed,
Nicene Creed, and Athanasian Creed; the traditional Reformed Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg
Catechism (with its compendium), the Canons of Dort, and the Belhar Confession.

Life issues

The RCA opposes euthanasia. The report of the Commission on Christian Action stated in 1994: "What
Christians say about issues of morality ought to be and usually is a reflection of their fundamental faith
convictions. There are at least three of these convictions that appear especially relevant to the question of
whether it is acceptable for Christians to seek a physician's assistance in committing suicide in the midst of
extreme suffering./ A fundamental conviction Christians have is that they do not belong to themselves. Life,
despite its circumstances, is a gift from God, and each individual is its steward... Contemporary arguments
for the 'right' to assistance to commit suicide are based on ideas of each individual's autonomy over his or
her life. Christians cannot claim such autonomy; Christians acknowledge that they belong to God...
Christians yield their personal autonomy and accept a special obligation, as the first answer of the
Heidelberg Catechism invites people to confess: 'I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and
in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ' (Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 1)... A decision to take one's
own life thus appears to be a denial that one belongs to God./ A second conviction is that God does not
abandon people in times of suffering... Christians express their faith in God's love by trusting in God's care
for them. A decision to end one's life would appear to be a cessation of that trust... Suffering calls upon
people to trust God even in the valley of the shadow of death. It calls on people to let God, and not
suffering, determine the agenda of their life and their death./ A third conviction is that in the community of
God's people, caring for those who are dying is a burden Christians are willing to share. Both living and
dying should occur within a caring community, and in the context of death, Christian discipleship takes the
form of caring for those who are dying./ This is an era when many people find legislating morality a
questionable practice. Should Christians promote legislation which embodies their conclusions about the
morality of physician-assisted suicide?... If Christians are to be involved in debating laws regulating assisted
suicide, it will be out of a concern for the health and well-being of society... As a society, there is no
common understanding that gives any universal meaning to 'detrimental'. In humility, Christians can simply
acknowledge this, and proceed...to share our own unique perspectives, inviting others to consider them and
the faith that gives them meaning."[13]

The Reformed Church also condemns the death penalty. The General Synod in 2000 expressed seven
reasons why the Church opposes it:

Capital punishment is incompatible with the Spirit of Christ and the ethic of love. The law of
love does not negate justice, but it does nullify the motives of vengeance and retribution by
forcing us to think in terms of redemption, rehabilitation, and reclamation. The Christ who
refused to endorse the stoning of the woman taken in adultery would have us speak to the
world of compassion, not vengeance.
Capital punishment is of doubtful value as a deterrent. The capital punishment as a deterrent
argument assumes a criminal will engage in a kind of rational, cost-benefit analysis before
he or she commits murder. Most murders, however, are crimes of passion or are committed
under the influence of drugs or alcohol. This does not excuse the perpetrator of
 responsibility for the crime, but it does show that in most cases capital punishment as a
deterrent won't work.
Capital punishment results in inequities of application. Numerous studies since 1965 have
shown that racial factors play a significant role in determining whether or not a person
receives a sentence of death.
Capital punishment is a method open to irremediable mistakes. The increasing number of
innocent defendants being found on death row is a clear sign that the process for sentencing
people to death is fraught with fundamental errors—errors which cannot be remedied once
an execution occurs.
Capital punishment ignores corporate and community guilt. Such factors may diminish but
certainly do not destroy the responsibility of the individual. Yet society also bears some
responsibility for directing efforts and resources toward correcting those conditions that may
foster such behavior.
Capital punishment perpetuates the concepts of vengeance and retaliation. As an agency of
society, the state should not become an avenger for individuals; it should not presume the
authority to satisfy divine justice by vengeful methods.
Capital punishment ignores the entire concept of rehabilitation. The Christian faith should be
concerned not with retribution, but with redemption. Any method which closes the door to all
forgiveness, and to any hope of redemption, cannot stand the test of our faith.

The General Synod resolution expressed its will "to urge members of the Reformed Church in America to
contact their elected officials, urging them to advocate for the abolition of capital punishment and to call for
an immediate moratorium on executions."[14]

The RCA is generally opposed to abortion. The position of the General Synod, stated in 1973 and later
affirmed, has been that "in principle" abortion "should not be practiced at all", but in a "complex society"
of competing evils there "could be exceptions". However, abortion should never be chosen as a matter of
"individual convenience". The church personnel should promote "Christian alternatives to abortion", and
church members are asked to "support efforts for constitutional changes" to protect the unborn.[15]

Homosexuality

Since 1978 the General Synod has made a number of statements on homosexuality. Homosexual acts are
considered sinful and "contrary to the will of God". But homosexuals are not to be blamed for their
condition. The church must affirm civil rights for homosexuals while it condemns homosexual behavior
(1978). The church must seek to lift the homosexual's "burden of guilt", recognizing that homosexuality is
a "complex phenomenon" (1979). The church should encourage "love and sensitivity towards such persons
as fellow human beings" (1990). In 1994 the Synod condemned the humiliation and degradation of
homosexuals and confessed that many members had not listened to the "heartfelt cries" of homosexual
persons struggling for "self-acceptance and dignity." While calling for compassion, patience, and loving
support toward those who struggle with same-sex desires, the 2012 General Synod determined that it is a
"disciplinable offense" to advocate for homosexual behavior or provide leadership for a service of a same-
sex marriage.[16] The following year, however, the General Synod essentially rescinded this statement and
rebuked the 2012 delegates for demonstrating "a lack of decorum and civility," and usurping constitutional
authority.[16] In 2014, the General Synod recommended that the Commission on Church Order begin the
process of defining marriage as heterosexual.[17] However, in 2015, the General Synod approved a process
for studying a way "to address the questions of human sexuality".[18] Also in 2015, Hope College in
Michigan, affiliated with the RCA, officially provided benefits to employees' same-sex spouses though the
school continues to maintain a statement on sexuality that espouses a traditional definition of marriage.[19]
Additionally, a number of congregations and classes have voted to publicly affirm LGBT members,
including the Classis of New Brunswick and the Classis of Schenectady.[20][21] Several of those
congregations, including congregations dually affiliated with the RCA and United Church of Christ,
perform same-sex marriages.[22] "Some RCA churches have gay pastors, but their ordination is from other
denominations".[23] On 5 May 2017, the United Church of Christ and Reformed Church in America
congregations that support LGBT inclusion announced the formation of an association for dually-affiliated
congregations.[24]

In April 2016, a working committee of the RCA developed a report on human sexuality. The report offers
different options, for review by the General Synod, and includes the option to define marriage as between a
man and woman or to define marriage as between two persons thus allowing same-gender marriages.[25]
Of these options, General Synod 2016 voted to define marriage as "man/woman". However, that vote
needed to receive the support of 2/3 of the classes and be ratified again in 2017.[26]

In March 2017, the proposal to define marriage as "man/woman" did not receive the necessary votes from
2/3 of the classes, and, as a result, it did not pass.[27] On 12 June 2017, the General Synod voted for a
"recommendation [which] says, 'faithful adherence to the RCA's Standards, therefore, entails the
affirmation that marriage is between one man and one woman.'"[28] Also, in 2017, a classis in the RCA
ordained the first openly gay and married pastor who had declared himself as such when he began the
ordination process.[29]

In 2021, the RCA's General Synod voted in favor of a plan to allow congregations to leave the
denomination, with their properties, and to allow remaining RCA congregations to choose their policy on
LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriages with some supporting same-sex marriages and some
opposing.[30][31][32][33]

Women's ordination

The RCA first admitted women to the offices of deacon and elder in 1972 and first ordained women in
1979.[34] By 1980 the General Synod of the RCA amended the Book of Church Order (BCO) to clarify
their position on women's ordination, including amending the language of Part I, Article 1, Section 3 of the
BCO from "persons" to "men and women".[34]

In 1980 the RCA added a conscience clause to the BCO stating, "If individual members of the classis find
that their consciences, as illuminated by Scripture, would not permit them to participate in the licensure,
ordination or installation of women as ministers of the Word, they shall not be required to participate in
decisions or actions contrary to their consciences, but may not obstruct the classis in fulfilling its
responsibility to arrange for the care, ordination, and installation of women candidates and ministers by
means mutually agreed on by such women and the classis" (Part II, Article 2, Section 7).[34]

In 2012 by a vote of 143 to 69, the General Synod of the RCA voted to remove the conscience clauses.
However, the vote by the General Synod had to be approved by a majority of the classes (a classis serving
the same function as a presbytery). Eventually, 31 classes voted in favor of removal, with 14 voting to
retain them, and the vote was ratified at the RCA's 2013 General Synod.[35]

Polity
The RCA has a presbyterian polity where authority is divided among representative bodies: consistories,
classes, regional synods, and the General Synod. The General Synod meets annually and is the
representative body of the entire denomination, establishing its policies, programs, and agenda. Measures
passed at General Synod are executed and overseen by the General Synod Council. Council members are
appointed by the General Synod. A General Secretary oversees day-to-day operations.[36] The Rev. Eddy
Alemán, D. Min., was installed as the General Secretary at the 2018 General Synod.

The Constitution of the RCA consists of three parts: the Liturgy, the Government, and the Doctrinal
Standards. The Government, along with the Formularies and the By-laws of the General Synod, are
published annually in a volume known as The Book of Church Order.[37]

Colleges and seminaries

Colleges

Central College, Pella, Iowa

Hope College, Holland, Michigan
Northwestern College, Orange City, Iowa

Seminary[38]

New Brunswick Theological Seminary, New

Brunswick, New Jersey

Contingent Related Seminary The Dimnent Chapel at Hope College, in Holland,

Michigan
Western Theological Seminary, Holland,
Michigan

Certification agencies[37]

Students who do not attend or receive their Master of Divinity degree from one of the two
seminaries operated by the RCA are certified and credentialed for ministry in the RCA
through the Ministerial Formation Certification Agency in Paramount, California.

Ecumenical relations
Through a document known as A Formula of Agreement, the RCA has full communion with the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the United Church of Christ, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America. The relationship between the United Church of Christ and the RCA has been the subject of
controversy within the RCA, particularly a resolution by the UCC General Synod in 2005 regarding
homosexuality. The ELCA's affirmation of the ordination of homosexuals as clergy in 2009 prompted some
RCA conservatives to call for a withdrawal from the Formula of Agreement. In 2012 RCA discussed its
own position regarding homosexuality.[39] The two denominations undertook a dialogue and in 1999
produced a document discussing their differences (http://images.rca.org/docs/synod/homosexuality/1999ucc
dialogue.pdf) (PDF).

Along with their Formula of Agreement partners, the RCA retains close fellowship with the Christian
Reformed Church in North America (CRC). In 2005 the RCA and CRC voted to allow for the exchange of
ministers. Faith Alive Christian Resources, the CRC's publishing arm, is also used by the RCA and in 2013
published a joint hymnal for use in both denominations. The two denominations have also collaborated on
various other ministry ventures, voted to merge pension plans in 2013 in conformity with the Affordable
Care Act, and plan to hold back-to-back General Synods at Central College in Pella, Iowa, in 2014.

Notable members
Edward Wilmot Blyden, educator, writer, diplomat and
politician
Vern Den Herder, professional football player in the NFL (1972
undefeated Miami Dolphins)
Everett Dirksen, senator
B. D. Dykstra, writer and educator
Geronimo
Jack Hanna, American zoologist
Peter Hoekstra, congressman
Evel Knievel, motorcycle stuntman and daredevil
Kyle Korver, professional basketball player in the NBA
Francis D. "Hap" Moran, professional football player New York
Giants, deacon and elder in the Reformed Church in America
John Scudder Sr., a Dutch
A. J. Muste, writer, professor, pacifist Reformed minister, started a
Jim Nantz, TV sportscaster family of missionaries in India
Louis P. Pojman, philosopher in 1819
Norman Vincent Peale, preacher and former pastor of Donald
Trump
Theodore Roosevelt, American President
Marge Roukema, Congresswoman, a convert from Roman Catholicism
Albert Janse Ryckman, Mayor of Albany, New York (1702–1703), captain of the Albany
Militia, prominent Albany brewmaster of the late 17th century; deacon in the Dutch Reformed
Church
The Schuller Family – Robert Schuller, Robert A. Schuller, Bobby Schuller, all Reformed
Church in America pastors
John Scudder Sr., missionary for the Arcot Mission
Philip Schuyler, a leader of the American Revolution
Martin Van Buren, American President
Fez Whatley, radio personality
Andrew Yang, entrepreneur and 2020 presidential candidate
The Reverend Clark V. Poling, one of the Four Chaplains
Edward Becenti,[40] Navajo interpreter and son of Chief Judge Becenti (Navajo), translated
Bible verses and songs into the Navajo language for the Christian Reformed Church in New
Mexico

See also
American Reformed Mission
Christian Reformed Church in North America
 List of Reformed denominations

References

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24 Becoming an Ordained Minister in the RCA (https://www.rca.org/ministerial-formation-certification-age

ncy-0)

Sources
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(2000)
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Church in America (1999) 182 pp. Historical Series of the Reformed Church in America. no.
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External links
Official website (http://www.rca.org)
Edward P. Johnson (1920). "Reformed Church in America, The" (https://en.wikisource.org/w
iki/The_Encyclopedia_Americana_(1920)/Reformed_Church_in_America,_The).
Encyclopedia Americana.
"Reformed Church in the United States" (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C
3%A6dia_Britannica/Reformed_Church_in_the_United_States). Encyclopædia Britannica.
Vol. 23 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 24–25.

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