United Reformed Churches in North America

Infobox Christian denomination
name = United Reformed Churches in North America
main_classification = Protestant
orientation = Dutch Reformed
founded_date = 1996
founded_place = Lynwood, Illinois
separated_from = Christian Reformed Church in North America
congregations = 96
members = |

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 that spanned Europe and indeed the globe. From 1618 to 1619 the international Reformed churches, with representatives from several countries, met at the Synod or Council of Dordrecht and there collectively stated their faith, summarizing biblical teachings in three documents, or forms, of unity: The Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, and the Canons of the Council of Dordrecht. The fundamental doctrine that they describe is forensic justification, according to which Christ offers a double benefit: your sin is imputed to Him and he suffers for it on the cross, while His perfect obedience is credited to you and you 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 especially whether or not Scripture permits women to be ordained into the church 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.

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.

External links

* [http://www.urcna.info/index.php URCNA Info Site]
* [http://www.urcna.org/ URCNA.org]
* [http://www.start.urclearning.org Learn more about the Reformed faith]