CRC means Christian Reformed Church. By "Christian" we mean that Jesus Christ is the only Lord and Savior, and the only means of salvation. By "Reformed" we mean that our church, our doctrine, and our Christian life is always to be reformed according to God's Word.

Our roots are in the Reformation of the 16th century. We are Protestant, Reformed, and Calvinistic, tracing our roots back to the Reformation through the teachings of John Calvin. One of the central beliefs of Calvinism has to do with Sovereignty of God. We believe that our salvation is from start to finish a work of God's grace. We believe that salvation comes only by faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God for our doctrine and life. We believe that Christ is King and that it is our task to bring every part of our personal and social life into obedience to the Lord Jesus.

Our emblem - a cross in a triangle - expresses or basic belief. The triangle stands for the Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The cross shows our belief in Jesus Christ's death on the cross for our salvation.

We are a group of nearly 1000 churches located in the United States and Canada with missions and organized churches in several other countries. Although many of our families immigrated to North America from The Netherlands, we are consciously working to become more inclusive and now include not only believers with European roots, but also Asians, Africans, Hispanics, Orientals, and Native Americans.

The Bible is central in worship services and sermons are the focal point of worship. The Christian Reformed Church is a creedal church, meaning that we accept certain historical expressions of the Christian faith as a summary of true doctrine. These creeds include the Apostle's Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. We also have three confessional statements from the time of the Reformation, The Heidelberg Catechism, The Belgic Confession, and The Canons of Dordt.

The Christian Reformed Church practices infant baptism and believes that adult believers and their children are included in God's covenant in which God promises to be our God and the God of our children through Jesus Christ. The covenant is a God imposed relationship in which He promises to provide blessings from Heaven so we may keep the covenant by faith and be a blessing to the nations.

We serve the Lord's Supper regularly and welcome fellow Christians from other traditions who are members in good-standing of their respective congregations.

The Christian Reformed Church has traditionally had a strong commitment to Christian Education both at the Church and Christian Day Schools. We therefore publish our own church education materials.

The Apostle Paul challenges Christians of all ages as follows: “I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned” (Romans 16:17). Therefore we affirm our belief in the historic Reformed Christian faith given in the Scriptures, commit ourselves to live according to it, and reject all that is contrary to the Word of God. Furthermore, we affirm this testimony concerning the following points over which uncertainty has sometimes arisen.

I. CONCERNING THE WORD OF GOD

1. Foundation of Our Faith and Practice
WE AFFIRM:
1. That the foundation for all that the church believes and teaches both in faith and practice is the infallible and inerrant Word of God written, the Holy Scriptures ofthe Old and New Testaments.
2. That the Scriptures possess absolute authority and that the ecumenical Creeds and the Three Forms of Unity, our confessions, possess authority subordinate to the Scriptures in our churches.
3. That the Holy Spirit will lead, guide, and direct His church always in accord with and never in ways which run contrary to the Word of God.

John 17:17; Matthew 4:4; 5:17-20; II Timothy 3:14-17; Hebrews 4:12; Psalm 119:105; Belgic Confession Articles 2,3,5,7,29

2. The Inerrancy of Scripture
WE AFFIRM:
1. That the Scripture is the very Word of God written. Since God does not lie nor does He make mistakes, His Word cannot contain error. Scripture is inerrant and authoritative. “Scripture in its whole extent and in all parts is the infallible and inerrant Word of God. (Acts of Synod 1979, page 127).
2. That Scripture’s primary subject is the glory of God, a central demonstration of which is the message of redemption. Since the Scripture’s authority, however, extends to all that it actually teaches, all of Scripture’s subject matter is God’s Word and always true. When Scripture speaks concerning matters of history, science, ethics, or anything else, it is true and authoritative, and it governs our thinking in these areas.
3. That the infallibility of Scripture necessarily implies the inerrancy of Scripture.

II Timothy 3:16,17; II Peter 1:20,21; Mark 13:31; Titus 1:1-3; Hebrews 6:16-20; Revelation 22:18,19; Belgic Confession Articles 3,7; Acts of Synod 1979, pages 127-128

II. CHURCH OF GOD

1. Its Savior
WE AFFIRM:
1. That the redemptive work of Jesus Christ was unique and He remains the only way of salvation, our only comfort in life and death.
2. That we are made right with God only by grace alone through faith alone on account of Christ alone.

Acts 4:12; I Timothy 2:5; John 14:6; II Timothy 1:8-12; Hebrews 10:11-14; Romans 5:1,2,9-11 & 8:1-4; Ephesians 2:1-10; Belgic Confession Articles 20,21,22,23,26

2. Its Worship
WE AFFIRM:
1. That the elements in the worship of the church and the content of these activities must be done for the glory of God as prescribed by the Word of God.

Exodus 20:4; Deuteronomy 5:8-10; Leviticus 10:1-7; I Samuel 15:22,23; John 4:23,24; Heidelberg Catechism Q/A 96; Belgic Confession Article 32

3. Its Offices
WE AFFIRM:
1. That men and women equally bear the image of God and are to serve Him with all their gifts according to His specific callings to them.
2. That from creation men were given authority and ultimate leadership in the family and in the church.
3. That Christ, as He makes clear in His Word, does not call women to the authoritative offices in the church, and therefore the church may not ordain them to these offices.
4. That the purpose of the spiritual gifts given to men and women in Christ is not self-fulfillment but service to others, to the end that God receives all the glory.
5. That Christ rules His church through the officers He calls to govern it according to the regulations of His Word.

I Timothy 2 & 3; Titus 1:1; I Corinthians 14; Belgic Confession Articles 30,31; Acts of Synod 1994, pages 505-508 & 513-516

4. Its Unity
WE AFFIRM:
1. That the church is the universal body of Christ. The basis of its unity is not a denominational name, ethnicity, or similarity of background, but solely the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God, and the doctrines which the Word teaches.
2. That God's people are accountable to admonish and encourage one another, according to the Word of God, both on the local level and whenever possible on a wider basis.
3. That each church must seek ecclesiastical fellowship and union with other churches who faithfully adhere to the Word of God, but only with such bodies.
4. That, though the local church comes primarily under the authority of the local elders, the rulers of each church are also accountable through broader assemblies to other elders who live and rule in accord with God’s Word.

Ephesians 2:11-22 & 4:1-16; Acts 15; I Corinthians 5-6:11 & 11:17-34 & 12:12-31; Belgic Confession Articles 27,28,29

III. THE LIFE OF GOD’S PEOPLE

1. Great Commission
WE AFFIRM:
1. That it is a fundamental duty of God’s people to strive to make and nurture disciples for Jesus Christ in joyful adherence to the Great Commission.
2. That the task of fulfilling the Great Commission can only be done effectively in our community and world if we stand firmly on the teachings of the Scripture, and if all of God’s people, not simply a select few, actually are engaged in being Christ’s witnesses.
3. That faithfulness in fulfilling this Great Commission is not dependent on marketing methods or techniques, which minimize Biblical standards for worship and evangelism.

Matthew 10:32,33 & 28:16-20; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; II Timothy 2:12; I Peter 2:1-12 & 3:15; Acts 1:8; Heidelberg Catechism Q/A 54

2. The Christian Life
WE AFFIRM:
1. That Jesus Christ is the Lord of all of life, not simply of a particular aspect of the Christian’s life.
2. That every part of our hearts and lives must be brought into conformity to the Word of the Lord of life.
3. That no part of life is spiritually neutral, but that Christ is the covenant Head and Lord of every endeavor of the Christian; education, business, labor, family, recreation, political activity, social activity, and so forth.
4. That the Christian life begins with Christ’s gift of regeneration, that we embrace this life by repentance and faith as our response to the Gospel, that this repentance and faith will characterize the Christian throughout this life, and that we are unable to submit any part of our lives to Christ unless they continue to be present.

Ephesians 1:15-23 & 4:1-6; I Corinthians 6:12-20 & 10:31; Matthew 5 & 6:10; John 3:1-21; Belgic Confession Article 29

IV. CRITICAL MORAL/ETHICAL ISSUES AND CONTROVERSIES FACING THE CHURCH TODAY

1. Homosexuality
WE AFFRIM:
1. That homosexual desires and actions in any relationship are a result of the fall and are sinful.
2. That those who are guilty of these desires and justify their actions or who argue their legitimacy must, like all sinners, be clearly called to repentance and faith.
3. That the church acts contrary to love for God and its neighbor when it declares morally good or neutral anything which God has declared sinful.

I Corinthians 6:9-11; Leviticus 18:22; Romans 1:26,27; Genesis 19

2. Feminine Language for God
WE AFFIRM:
1. That God alone has the sole right and authority to tell us how He ought to be addressed by His church.
2. That the persons of the Trinity receive masculine reference in the Scriptures, not as a result of cultural bias of a previous age, but because this is how God chooses to reveal and characterize Himself.

Matthew 6:9; Luke 1:34,35; John 4:23,24; Matthew 3:16-17

3. Abortion
WE AFFIRM:
1. That God’s gift to us of human life is so precious in God’s sight that He is the only one who may decide when human life shall end.
2. That the unborn child from conception is a human being in the image of God.
3. That intentional abortion is a grievous sin.

Psalm 139:13; Jeremiah 1:5; Exodus 20:13; Acts of Synod 1972, pages 63-64; Acts of Synod 1976, page 64

4. Genesis
WE AFFIRM:
1. That the Book of Genesis was written by Moses under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and in all its parts is an accurate, historical presentation.
2. That Genesis 1 teaches that God created everything out of nothing and that He created it good.
3. That God created the first man, Adam, from the dust of the ground and the first woman, Eve, from that man. The first man was a unique creation of God, not descending from any previously existing creature. All human beings are descended from these first parents.
4. That at creation each creature was made according to its own kind, thus ruling out the notion that the various creatures evolved from one form of life (Genesis 1; I Corinthians 15:39).

Genesis 1-11; Hebrews 1:2,10; Hebrews 11:3; Mark 10:6; Luke 24:27; Belgic Confession Articles 2,3,4,9,10,12,13,14,15,16,23; Acts of Synod 1982, pages 107-108; Acts of Synod 1991, page 767

By these statements may believers more readily discern truth from error, be instructed in the Word, witness effectively to our world, defend against error, and become instruments in preserving and promoting the true unity of Christ’s church in accord with the Word of God.