About The Center for Church Renewal
Serving Leaders Who Renew Churches
Equipping leaders for Gospel impact.
Provide North American church leaders the tools and training necessary for increased Gospel impact in a rapidly changing world.
Helping congregations live missionally.
To develop intentional missional congregations that make more and better disciples who transform lives and communities for Christ.
The posture behind our work.
Leadership focused. Gospel-centered. Passionately committed to making more and better disciples. Culturally aware. Hope-filled. Servant-oriented.
Quick Overview
What makes the Center for Church Renewal unique?
As we spend more time talking to pastors and church leaders and offering our services, we have come to see that the work we do is unique. There are many consultants and even more resources for churches. What stands out at CCR is not just what we offer, but how we walk with churches over time.
Personal Experience
We do not approach renewal from a distance.
Our leaders do not approach church renewal from a purely academic or consultant perspective. We have all been in the trenches of renewal ourselves. We do this work because we are passionate about helping the local church.
God has used us to bring varying levels of renewal in a variety of contexts, and that lived experience shapes how we come alongside churches now.
It’s Not About the Money
Service to the local church has always come first.
The services we offer, the time we invest, and the resources we give churches are often disproportionate to the financial investment we ask of them.
From the beginning, our founder set the tone: this ministry exists to serve the local church. That commitment continues to shape how we work.
Comprehensive
Renewal takes more than one good idea.
Churches can find excellent training in spiritual formation, strategic planning, evangelism, discipleship, assessment, and other important areas. Those pieces matter.
At CCR, we believe those elements work together over time. That is why we offer a two-year journey toward renewal that equips leaders across the full range of what renewal requires.
Denominationally Connected but not Bound
We are connected enough to understand, and free enough to innovate.
We are grateful for our relationship with the Christian Reformed Church in North America and the Reformed Church in America. Serving churches within those denominations is central to our work.
At the same time, being a separate entity allows us to experiment, adapt, and serve creatively— both within and beyond our denominational roots.
Relationships
This work has always been about people.
CCR is not about filling positions or sustaining a ministry machine. It is about relationships with pastors, leaders, and churches.
Those relationships have continually opened new paths for renewal, including efforts like the Renewal Legacy Project and the Doctor of Ministry in Church Renewal. Relationships gave this work life, and they continue to move it forward.
Movement
Our hope is bigger than a single program.
We want to be part of a broader movement of renewal. We pray that the cohorts in our Renewal Lab, the More and Better Disciples Conference, and the Doctor of Ministry program will form networks of leaders who carry renewal into many places.
We are not indifferent to the decline of the church in our culture. We are actively seeking ways to encourage renewal that spreads.
Reformed and Reforming
Our convictions stay rooted. Our practices stay responsive.
We are grounded in the orthodoxy of the historic Christian church. But we are not committed to stale methods or outdated binders full of old answers.
The practices we teach continue to change and adapt as the landscape changes. The Renewal Lab of five years ago is not the Renewal Lab of today—and that is a strength, not a weakness.
No Cookie Cutters
We do not show up with prefabricated answers.
Every church has its own context, history, and set of questions. We do not come in assuming we already know what each church needs.
Instead, we come alongside leaders and help them discern—through the guidance of the Holy Spirit— what faithful renewal looks like in their place and time.
Our Story
The Story of the Center for Church Renewal
CCR began as a renewal journey for congregations and has grown into a broader ministry serving leaders, churches, cohorts, conferences, coaching relationships, and renewal partnerships across North America.
Church Renewal Lab begins
CCR began at Calvin Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan as the Church Renewal Lab. The Lab gathered cohorts of congregations for a two-year renewal journey.
A two-year renewal journey takes shape
Participating congregations gathered in cohorts of 5–10 churches for quarterly learning labs, coaching, assignments, peer learning, and accountability.
Churches begin showing signs of renewal
A multi-year pilot involving churches from several regions showed promising results: renewed hope, fresh vision, and greater capacity for outreach and discipleship.
The vision grows beyond one lab
As the work expanded, it became clear that churches and leaders needed additional renewal tools beyond the flagship Lab experience.
CCR finds a wider ministry home
CCR partnered with Sunlight Community Church and the Multiply 222 Network, while also affiliating with Vibrant Congregations.
Serving renewal leaders across North America
Today, CCR continues to offer the Church Renewal Lab alongside assessments, coaching, training events, conferences, resources, and seminary partnerships.
Our Team
Leaders serving leaders.
CCR is shaped by practitioners, coaches, teachers, and ministry leaders who care deeply about helping churches move toward renewal with clarity, courage, and hope.
Executive Director
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Renewal Coach
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Training & Resources
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A brief description can go here. This space can describe how this team member equips pastors, leaders, congregations, and renewal networks.
Ministry Partner
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A brief description can go here. This space can name the person’s focus, background, and the way they help churches discern next faithful steps.
Leadership Development
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A brief description can go here. This space can focus on mentoring, leadership development, and helping pastors cultivate healthier congregational cultures.
Renewal Networks
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A brief description can go here. This space can describe how this person helps connect leaders, churches, cohorts, and broader renewal initiatives across North America.
Partnerships
Our Partners
The Church Renewal Lab partners with many different people and organizations in order to assist churches and leaders through the renewal journey. Through these relationships, we hope to continue participating in God’s renewing work through the Church.
Seminary Partner
Calvin Theological Seminary
Equips church leaders through theological education, spiritual formation, and ministry training rooted in the Reformed tradition.
Denominational Partner
Christian Reformed Church in North America
A Reformed denomination supporting congregations through discipleship, mission, church planting, justice, and renewal efforts.
Formation Partner
Faithwalking
Helps leaders and congregations grow in emotional health, spiritual formation, missional living, coaching, and transformational practices.
Conference Partner
More and Better Conference at Sunlight Community Church
Encourages churches and leaders toward evangelism, disciple-making, leadership development, and congregational renewal.
Renewal Ministry
Presbyterian-Reformed Ministries International
Equips churches and leaders to grow in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit through training, gatherings, and ministry networks.
Denominational Partner
Reformed Church in America
Supports congregations through mission, discipleship, leadership development, church planting, and renewal-focused ministry.
Assessment Tool
REVEAL Survey
Provides churches with insight into spiritual growth and discipleship through congregational assessment tools and research-based reporting.
Leadership Search
Rukes Search Group
Assists churches and ministries with executive search, leadership placement, succession planning, and organizational consulting.
Community Ministry
Volunteers In Service
Mobilizes churches and volunteers to respond to practical needs in local communities through compassion, service, and partnership.