Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ:
As we begin this 8th Council of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, I want to thank the men who have carried much of the burden of our presbyteries over these last three years. In particular, I want to thank our presiding ministers, who have worked overtime to care for their own flocks while also caring for churches and ministers beyond their own congregations.
My Travels
I have had the privilege of seeing some of that work firsthand. I am also aware that this kind of work happens behind the scenes, sometimes late into the night, while trying to work across time zones and schedules. Brothers, you have given yourselves generously to this Communion. My deep thanks to all nine of our presiding ministers. The CREC has grown because of your tireless efforts to minister to pastors and parishioners.
I have traveled over 330 days on behalf of our denomination. My Session and congregation have been enormously accommodating and gracious. I was on the road and in airports for almost one of the three years I served as PMOC. That has given me plenty of time to get to know many of you—and far more time in American airports and airport lounges than any pastor should probably experience.
Through those travels, you have welcomed me into your homes and fed me at your tables. I have prayed with you, preached in your churches, answered questions, lectured, and enjoyed splendid fellowship.
Those visits have put faces to the names I see in correspondence. I can now picture particular families. I can hear their children singing. I remember meals, conversations after worship, and hundreds of conversations with pastors whose faithfulness has encouraged my own.
Our Numerical Growth
Saints—God has been very kind to us these last three years. In 2023, we counted 97 member churches, 23 mission churches, and three candidate churches, for a total of 123 congregations; according to our latest numbers, we have reached 170 in the U.S. and abroad. We have added 47 congregations over the past three years. We have also learned of a small network of churches in Cuba that share our values and distinctives, which means that if everything goes according to plan, we should have a Cuban Cigar vendor in Council of 2029.
If we add another 48 congregations over the next three years, we will reach approximately 218 churches by Council in 2029. At that size, the CREC would be larger, in number of congregations, than the RPCNA and the URCNA, and would be approaching the size of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Translation: we are still very small and insignificant, but we believe in a mighty mission with a great and mighty God.
The Priority for the Next Three Years
To me, the most fundamental work over the next three years is training new ministers. The CREC desperately needs faithful preachers and pastors. As our denomination continues to grow, with healthier congregations and presbyteries, we need a comprehensive strategy to raise a new generation of pastor/theologians to shepherd our people.
I am truly grateful for this growth, and I want us to receive it with the seriousness appropriate to men who will give an account for their shepherding (Heb 13:17). These are not just other names added to our congregational directory; these are saints who need to be shepherded for the good of the Gospel.
The words of the Apostle Paul are especially fitting for us:
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”
The CREC has been unmovable since its inception. We have stayed true to our vision through the darkness of cultural decay and the glories of the present day when trends seem to be shifting our way. Yet, our growth can only be rooted in the glory of the resurrected Messiah. We have grown in number because the Lord has placed his benediction on all our endeavors.
But as we grow, I hope that we will grow in our loyalty to one another and in our friendship for each other. This growth will test us. It will test our patience, our charity, our willingness to listen, and our ability to disagree without treating every disagreement as a crisis.
I have stressed the three pillars of the CREC: culture, theology, and liturgy. And I put culture first deliberately. A culture of joyful obedience to Jesus is what allows our theology and liturgy to be loved rather than merely possessed. We must live these things with heart, mind, soul, and strength.
So, thank you for the privilege of serving you, for the kindness you have shown me, and for the many ways you have made these three years a joy. I am grateful to work alongside you, especially in this season of uncertainty regarding my health.
And let me conclude with a word concerning our Agenda, which appears to be competing with War and Peace for its size: I trust our proceedings will give us more of the latter than the former, and I would remind the brethren that to be concise is also a form of hospitality.
May God bless our deliberations and establish the work of our hands.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.