Postma Post: Why the Canadian National Gathering Matters

Over the next few months, you can expect to hear a lot about the Canadian National Gathering as we gear up to host it in May 2026. Some of you know what the Canadian National Gathering is, but many don’t. Even now, as I share about it with people, I’m asked if it is connected to this or that other gathering, not realizing it is something that we’ve been doing for over a decade.

I’m a bit of a natural historian, and always find it helpful to know where something came from. It can help us remember what the core purpose and vision was that drove people to start it. So, here’s a small slice of that history:

Some History

The Canadian National Gathering sprang from a 2013 report to the Board of Trustees of the CRCNA on “Cultivating Binationality in the CRCNA.” As noted in the Acts of Synod 2014, “The CRCNA values being a binational denomination for the opportunity it provides to combine pursuit of a common mission with intentional and meaningful engagement with different national, regional, and local contexts for ministry. Binationality is an asset to be cultivated as we together engage in God’s mission in our various contexts.”

In the same 2013 report, it says that one of the pathways identified for cultivating binationality is through "Gatherings to discern vision and understand our context.” The purpose of these gatherings was to stimulate conversations around the mission God has entrusted to us right here in Canada, exploring and discerning how that mission can be implemented most fruitfully and effectively in our respective contexts. The expectation was that these conversations would inform and shape our mission locally and nationally and inform the development of the broader denominational strategic plan.

As many of you are familiar with, the CRC in Canada has always been striving to maintain its Canadian identity within a binational denomination. This is especially true as a minority party (nationally). If you know that, you also know that we’ve done so very effectively with robust Canadian specific ministries and strong partnerships more broadly. Our collective witness is something to be proud about. 
Gathering together has been a key part of our history, and it goes earlier than 2013. Canadians have come together in a variety of ways (including in a more formal way with the Canadian Council of Christian Reformed Churches) for decades before. 

Rhythm

The Canadian National Gathering is held every 3 years because identity and vision need to be revisited regularly. Every 3 years is simply part of our rhythm, and, God willing, we’re going to do it again in 3 more years.

The two most recent Gatherings were in 2023 (Ottawa) and 2019 (Edmonton). Yes, that’s not 3 years. Yes, we all remember the global pandemic, right

In 2023, there was a specific focus on Indigenous Ministry. This gathering leaned more towards being a conference where participants listened, learned, celebrated, and then wondered together how they might bring this experience back to their own settings. A cornerstone of this was the Hearts Exchanged program. In 2019 there was a focus on a Canadian ministry plan. Participants were invited to look at various possibilities and suggest which ones were the most important and strategic for the next chapter of the CRC collectively in Canada. This gathering was also one of the reasons that the 2023 gathering was focused on Indigenous ministry, since this emerged as a strategic area of focus.

Purpose

You’ve seen this in the history above, but, each time we gather, we return to the same big question: Who are we as a denomination in this time and place, and what is God calling us to do together as he uses the CRC to bring about the renewal of all things in Christ? In 2026, we really hope to lean into this question.

The unique context of the CRC right now is that church leaders are increasingly asking themselves and each other: what is a denomination, and why does the CRC matter? Are we merely a collection of churches who share theology and history? Is our purpose solely to outline what constitutes sinful behaviour and keep each other in line? You can probably guess my response: there is more to it than that. Synod has gotten a lot of attention as we’ve been sorting some things out as a community. But I increasingly hear from people who are ready to look forward locally, regionally, and nationally. So am I.

(By the way, Synod 2025 did make a decision about the CRC in Canada continuing to be binational. This was in response to an overture sent by one congregation, Meadowlands Fellowship CRC in Ancaster, ON. Here is a letter that we sent about synod’s decision to Meadowlands that readers here might appreciate seeing.)

-Al