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September 22, 2011
Q&A
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Can churches offer a dual membership option (like dual citizenship) to their snow birds?

A not-so-hypothetical question: you have snow birds who have been attending your congregation for a couple of years. They've resisted membership because they maintain membership in their "southern" church. Now they are wondering if they can become dual members (like dual citizenship?) at both churches. Their hearts are in the right place - they want to have committed relationships with the congregation that they are in. They know that membership does not provide them with much in terms of benefits, since we will care for them regardless. They simply want to formalize the relationship. So,...
By Calvin Friend
Elders
January 19, 2011
Q&A
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6 comments

How can the church most effectively meet the pastoral care needs in the congregation?

Our church has been struggling with finding people to stand for the office of pastoral elder for years now, which is likely a problem encountered in many churches. Currently all our members are assigned to a Care Group with 1 elder and 1 deacon, with an expectation that the elders conduct an annual home visit. Two years ago we also introduced small groups, some of which are led by the same people, but not all. At any rate we have some overlap and as part of our visioning process which we're presently engaged in, we are looking at this overlap, at church leadership structures in general, as...
By Wendy de Jong
Elders
May 14, 2010
Q&A
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4 comments

Job Sharing Elder Position?

Our church is having difficulty finding people who will let their name stand for the position of pastoral elder because people say it is too much work. So the question arose: Is it possible to share the job of one elder position?

By Alida van Dijk
Elders
January 28, 2010
Q&A
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12 comments

How Do You Conduct an Effective and Useful Home Visit?

The church order requires that we do a Home Visit (Art 65). Yet how we conduct a visit, how effective it is, and whether this is a useful strategy is constantly debated. In this forum we want you to share your thoughts, suggestions and encouragements. After all, we need to support each other. I waiting to hear from you. Neil
By Neil de Koning
Elders
August 12, 2010
Q&A
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2 comments

How do you deal with a church member who wishes to marry a non-believer?

I would like to know how other elders/consistories have dealt with a situation where one of their active members have chosen to marry someone that is not a believer. How to provide discipline in matters such as that while caring continuing to show love and care. Especially when the person decides to go ahead anyway.
By Al Karsten
Elders
October 13, 2012
Q&A
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1 comment

Concerns About an Elder

I was a member of a congregation that elected a man to become an Elder without knowing his true background. What next steps should I take?

By Janice Hebert
Elders
October 16, 2012
Q&A
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11 comments

Should wine or grape juice be served at Communion?

We currently serve both wine and grape juice, giving parishioners a choice. But we also have several AA groups that use our facility during the week, and know that they have an open invitation to worship with us. There are a couple of members who have strong objection to switching to all grape juice, so it would also be a pastoral issue to switch. Does the presence of wine in the communion tray offer too strong a temptation to a recovering alcoholic?
By Paul Beverly
Elders
January 17, 2013
Q&A
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Do you have a policy re weddings?

Further to the Church Order, has anyone formulated a policy or guideline to determine under what conditions a couple can be married in your church? Question came up in a Consistory meeting, thinking about past marriages between believers and non-believers who subsequently disappeared. What about facilities rentals?
By Hans Zegerius
Elders
January 10, 2014
Q&A
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4 comments

Do You Have a Conflict Resolution Policy?

Our Consistory has asked the Council Executive to look into proposing a “policy”, or set of guidelines, that can be implemented in the event of a conflict arising within our community that requires some guidance from outside the conflict to resolve in a pastoral manner.

By Clerk First CRC of Guelph
Elders
January 21, 2014
Q&A
146 views
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6 comments

Transfer Lapsed Members?

We have a family requesting transfer to another CRC they have been attending for 7 years. They were declared lapsed in 2009. Is it still appropriate to send a letter of transfer?

By Anton Brown
Elders
January 23, 2014
Q&A
266 views
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2 comments

Administrative vs. Pastoral Elders?

I am wondering if anyone knows if there is some sort of records or database regarding how many churches in the CRC have made the transition from a traditional Council structure to a model where Elders and Deacons are split into administrative and pastoral type roles?

By Mark Veenstra
Elders

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