United Reformed Churches in North America
| United Reformed Churches in North America | |
| Classification | Protestant |
|---|---|
| Theology | Dutch Reformed |
| Governance | Presbyterian |
| Origin | 1996 Lynwood, Illinois |
| Separated from | Christian Reformed Church in North America |
| Congregations | 111 |
The United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA) is a theologically conservative federation of churches. The United Reformed Churches trace their roots back to the earlier Protestant movements in Europe, and to the Reformed churches in Belgium and the Netherlands. From 1618 to 1619 the international Reformed churches, with representatives from several countries, met at the Synod or Council of Dordrecht (Dordt) in the Netherlands and there collectively stated their faith, summarizing biblical teachings in the Canons of the Council of Dordrecht. Along with the Canons of Dordt the URCNA also holds the Belgic Confession and the Heidelberg Catechism as doctrinal standards. These documents are collectively known as "The Three Forms of Unity". A fundamental doctrine they describe is forensic justification, according to which Christ offers a double benefit: one's sin is imputed to Christ and he suffers for it on the cross, while His perfect obedience is credited to believers who receive its benefits, including eternal life.
The URCNA was founded as a federation of Reformed churches in 1996 at Lynwood, Illinois CRC. Most of the members that founded the URCNA left the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA), due to disagreement on several issues. Currently there are seven classes (regional groups of congregations) in the URCNA. At least once every three years elder and pastor delegates gather for a synodic meeting.
The URCNA formed over various issues relating to the authority of the Bible, including the ordination of women into the offices of elder and pastor.
As of 2008, the churches have grown, mostly through additional members leaving the CRCNA in the late 1990s, to approximately 105 congregations spread across the United States and Canada, with almost 21,000 members and 140 ministers. The URCNA supports mission work in at least two foreign countries. For the URCNA mission work in Italy, see http://www.reformationitaly.org/
The ministers of the URCNA have been trained mostly at Calvin Theological Seminary (Grand Rapids, Michigan), Mid-America Reformed Seminary (Dyer, Indiana), or Westminster Seminary in California (Escondido, California).
The URCNA is currently pursuing "Federative Unity" with the Canadian and American Reformed Churches. The Orthodox Christian Reformed Churches, another breakaway from the Christian Reformed Church, voted to join the URCNA in 2008 upon the latter's invitation.
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