Government

We believe that not only the faith of the church, but also the government of the church must be regulated by Holy Scripture. As such, we believe that the Bible teaches the following principles:

• the autonomy of the local church;
• the cooperation and commitment of the local churches when it comes to certain common causes and needs;
• the recognition of the biblical offices of minister, elder and deacon;
• the government of the local church has been given to the minister and the elders;
• the need for church discipline.

Church Order

In order to implement these principles in a practical way, we have adopted what is called a Church Order (Constitution). It contains 76 Articles which are divided into four sections dealing with:

• the offices and supervision of doctrine (ministers, missionaries, elders, deacons)
• the assemblies of the church (consistory, classis, regional synod, general synod)
• the liturgy of the church (worship services, sacraments, ceremonies)
• the discipline of the church

Assemblies

According to Article 29 of the Church Order, four kinds of ecclesiastical assemblies shall be maintained:

• the consistory;
• the classis;
• the regional synod; and
• the general synod.

General Synod

Every three years the churches convene a General Synod for the purpose of dealing with matters of common concern and to deal with matters being appealed. The next synod has been scheduled for May 2025, to be convened by the Aldergrove Canadian Reformed Church.

The Acts of General Synod may appear on this web site shortly after they have been adopted in plenary session, if a Synod so desires. It should be noted that although the content has been adopted, this remains an unofficial copy of the Acts. Typographical errors and the like which are brought to our attention will be corrected in the final official printed copy.

Matters of a confidential nature which are dealt with in closed session will not appear on this site. Synod may also decide not to post other matters of a sensitive nature.