Dutch Calvinist immigrants who moved to the United States formed the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) in North America in 1857 in Holland, Michigan. In Canada the earliest Christian Reformed congregations were established on the prairies in Alberta by Dutch and Dutch American immigrants. The denomination marked its 100th anniversary in Canada in 2005 with a SeatoSea bike ride that saw 94 churchgoer cyclists aged 18 to 74 pedaled an astounding 7,125 km from Vancouver to Halifax in 71 days. On the way, at Picture Butte, Alberta, they stopped briefly for a spontaneous service at a tiny white building - now part of a museum -that was the first CRC church in Canada.
Today more than 78,000 people are members of CRC churches in Canada. The first CRC churches in Ontario were founded in Toronto, Windsor and Chatham in 1925. The CRC now has churches across the country, from B.C. to Nova Scotia.
A core belief of the CRC is that salvation cannot be earned by good works but that Scripture is the guide by which we evaluate our role as Christians. We believe in the importance of the family and we encourage worship as families as well as support for Christian education. The Word of God is central to our worship services. Songs and hymns we sing are based on the Scriptures, we believe that all of life is governed by our faith and also that all Christians are God's servants.
The CRC in North America has accepted women as ministers since 1995. Women as well as men serve as elders and deacons at Georgetown CRC which is one of 24 congregations in "Classis Toronto" - territory between Barrie, Toronto, Scarborough and Georgetown. The CRC is an active partner in the Canadian Council of Churches and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. While the CRC in North America is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, along with Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary, a fully-staffed Canadian office is in Burlington, Ontario.
Gift income to the denomination for church work, largely from church offerings, totaled more than $66.5 million U.S. in fiscal 2006 and allows the CRC to continue an extensive range of programs and activities not only in North America but across much of the world. Some funded services include the Back to God Hour, a radio and TV ministry; Christian Reformed Home Missions that helps to start new churches; Abuse Prevention or safe church initiatives; Chaplaincy, including service in the military, hospitals and prisons; Ministry to people with disabilities; Actions on social justice and hunger; Work on eliminating racism; Christian Reformed World Missions that works in about 30 countries; Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC).
Via radio, TV and the Internet the Back to God Hour reaches people in more than 160 countries in nine major languages. The radio program was launched more than 60 years ago.
Meanwhile, CRWRC was active in 37 countries in 2005; for example building more than 1,500 homes in tsunami-ravaged Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka. Georgetown CRC alone raised $33,680 in a January, 9, 2005 collection from its congregation for tsunami disaster aid. In Canada the CRC has well-established centers for aboriginal people in Edmonton, Regina and Winnipeg.