Central to our worship service are the preaching of the Word, congregational singing and prayer. The intent is to praise God; He is the focus of the service. We also learn about our need for our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, whom God sent into this world to die on the cross “that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”-John 3:16.
Worship through Song
One of the ways we express our joy is through congregational singing.
We have 150 psalms and 85 Hymns in our Book of Praise.
Prayer
The minister leads in prayer, addressing the needs of the congregation and asks for a blessing over the worship service.
Holy Baptism
Holy Baptism is administered to infants of believing parents shortly after birth and adults who have converted to Christianity.
Lord’s Supper
Lord’s Supper is limited to members of the congregation who have publicly professed their faith and guests who have been admitted by the consistory.
The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments are read every Sunday to show us our sins and misery, our need for a Saviour and the life of thankfulness we are called to lead.
Proclamation of the Word
The central part of the worship service is the proclamation of the word, also known as the sermon. The morning sermon is based on a specific Bible passage, while the afternoon is a teaching sermon that generally follows the Heidelberg Catechism. The theme, supporting Bible texts and order of worship are provided to you in a handout before you enter the service.
Thank Offerings
The worship service also includes a collection for the needy of the congregation or a designated charity. No money from these collections goes to administration: 100% go to allotted causes. (Click here for some examples of the organizations we support)
Our churches believe that the Holy Scripture or the Holy Bible is the Word of God. This Word has no equal because it is:
This Word represents the final rule of faith and life in our churches. We receive it for regulation, foundation and confirmation of our faith. It serves as the basis for all authority in our churches.
The main teachings of the Bible have been summarized in documents called creeds or confessions. Of the many creeds that have appeared throughout the history of the Christian church, we have chosen to adopt three creeds and three confessions as our own. The creeds come to us from the early church, namely the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed. The confessions have come to us from the Reformation of the sixteenth century, namely, the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dort. We consider these creeds to be faithful summaries of the Word of God. As human documents, however, they possess human authority. Only the Word of God possesses divine authority. The contents of our creeds and confessions are always subject to and to be tested by the standard of the Word of God.
There are three offices in the church that make up the church council. Men are elected by the congregation to fulfill the offices of Elder and Deacon. The Minister is trained in a Reformed Theological College and is called by the congregation to serve.
The Minister preaches the word and administers the Lord’s Supper and Holy Baptism during the worship service. He is also responsible for teaching the youth and visiting the elderly or others who are in need.
Elders ensure the preaching of the gospel is pure and the sacraments are administered properly. They are responsible for promoting the spiritual well-being of the members and have been given authority over the congregation. The Minister and the Elders make up the consistory of the congregation.
Deacons look after those who are sick, lonely or have financial needs. They collect funds from the congregation and distribute them to needy members and other kingdom causes. They encourage communion of saints through volunteerism and charity. The deacons also oversee the work of the Helping Hands committee.
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 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 pastor and the elders; the need for church discipline.
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 in the church, the assemblies of the church (consistory, classis, regional synod, general synod), the liturgy of the church (worship services, sacraments, ceremonies), and the discipline of the church.
Since 1969 the Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary has been earnestly devoted to the great privilege and responsibility of training future ministers of the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ, as well as those who serve the Lord in other ways.
Everything done at CRTS is in submission to the inspired Word of God. “Your Word is My Light” is their motto and they take that seriously. Understanding this Word. Communicating this Word. Radiating this Word. They strive to fulfill these goals with academic excellence and pastoral insight, ultimately seeking the glory of the gracious Triune God in all things. Discover CRTS
The first Canadian Reformed Church instituted in Canada was in Coaldale, Alberta on April 12, 1950. We are part of the Canadian and American Reformed Church Federation, which includes approximately 50 churches across North America. We also have fellowship with a number of other Reformed Churches around the world.
Coaldale’s history of pastors include the following.
Our church federation originated in the Netherlands in 1944. Our roots lie in the great Reformation of the 1500’s when God called his church to return to the fundamentals of the Christian faith. God led men like Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, and John Knox to reaffirm the truths of the Bible. As congregation, we profess these truths and believe it is our duty to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and live in thankfulness to God.
To understand any church, it is necessary to know something of its history. A brief review of its history will give a sense of how it stands in relationship to the multitude of Christian churches found on the Canadian and North American scene. Like nearly every other Christian church in North America, this requires going back to the Europe of the sixteenth century and the developments that took place which radically changed the face of Christianity.
At the start of the sixteenth century, Christianity in Western Europe did not have the diversity of denominations so common today. The Church was organizationally unified under the leadership of the Church of Rome. Over many centuries, the Christian Church drifted away from its Scriptural roots.
The key figure who protested against the deformation in doctrine and church life and called it to reformation was a German monk by the name of Martin Luther. At the heart of his call to reformation was the teaching that salvation from sin is out of God’s grace, by faith, apart from human works. His call was rejected by the church leadership and he was excommunicated in 1521.
While Luther’s main teaching was welcomed by many, the Protestant Reformation developed into three main branches. In Luther’s native Germany, as well as Denmark and the Scandinavian countries, there was the development of the Lutheran churches. In England, beginning in the 1530s, there developed the Anglican churches. In the 1540s, through the leadership of John Calvin in Geneva, there developed the Reformed churches in Switzerland, an area in Germany called the Palatinate, the Netherlands and Scotland.
The Canadian Reformed Churches are rooted in this third branch of the Protestant Reformation as it developed in the Netherlands from the 1550s and onward. The cause of the Reformation made great inroads and led to the establishment of a vigorous Reformed church life. The key confessional documents of these Reformed Churches were the Belgic Confession, first published in 1561, and the Heidelberg Catechism, first published in 1563.
It did not take long before these churches faced threats from within that touched the very heart of the Reformation emphasis on being saved out of grace. At the center of the controversy was Jacob Arminius who in his teaching subtly undermined the sovereignty of God in saving sinners. He ascribed to fallen man the power to accept or reject God’s grace. At a synod held in the town of Dort, beginning in the fall 1618 and attended also by delegates from England, Scotland, Germany and Switzerland, the teachings of Arminius were refuted and the sovereignty of God’s grace was maintained. The decision of this Synod became the third confessional document of the Reformed churches in the Netherlands. These decisions are called the Canons of Dort. These Canons of Dort, together with the Belgic Confession and the Heidelberg Catechism, became known as the Three Forms of Unity in that these documents in that they expressed the common faith of the Reformed believers in the Netherlands.
While the Reformed churches enjoyed peace and had the benefit of being supported by the State during the seventeenth and eighteenth century, religious vitality gave way to nominal Christianity. The nineteenth century witnessed two groups who separated themselves from the State supported church, the first in 1834 and the second in 1886. While both these separations involved matters of church government as local churches reclaimed their autonomy, at the heart of both these reformations was a return to the gospel as rediscovered in the Reformation and expressed in the Three Forms of Unity.
In 1892, the majority of the churches of these two reformations merged and became the Reformed churches in the Netherlands.
Regrettably, new troubles arose within these united churches. The key issue concerned teachings regarding covenant and baptism. A Synod held in 1942 imposed one particular explanation on all its members. When a number of ministers were deposed and excommunicated a separation occurred involving about ten percent of the membership. Since those who separated themselves indicated they liberated themselves from teachings beyond the Scriptures as agreed upon in the Three Forms of Unity, they became known as the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated). The separation that occurred in 1944 is called ‘The Liberation’.
After the Second World War there was a massive immigration from the Netherlands to North America, especially to Canada. When members of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands arrived in Canada, they first took up contact with already existing churches of Reformed persuasion in the hope that they could join with them. That hope soon disappeared when it became clear that one of those churches, the Protestant Reformed Church, expected the newly arrived immigrants to accept a document called “The Declaration of Principles” which essentially equated election and covenant. They refused to do this as they did not wish to be bound by theological formulations beyond the Three Forms of Unity.
The other Reformed church under consideration was the Christian Reformed Church. Joining it also proved impossible when it became clear that this church sided with those in the Netherlands who had earlier expelled the newly arrived immigrants.
The consequence of all this was that immigrants organized their own congregations. The first congregation was instituted on April 16, 1950, in Lethbridge, Alberta. That same year also saw churches instituted in Edmonton and Neerlandia, AB, Orangeville, ON, and New Westminster, BC. Over the years, this has grown to a federation of 54 churches. Twenty seven are located in Southern Ontario, four in Manitoba, eight in Alberta, eleven in British Columbia, along with four American Reformed Congregations with one each in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Colorado, and Washington.
The Canadian Reformed Churches are therefore rooted in the Protestant Reformation especially as it developed in the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and came to Canada via post Second World War Dutch immigrants.
This creed is named after Athanasius (A.D. 293-373), the champion of orthodoxy over against Arian attacks on the doctrine of the Trinity. Although Athanasius did not write this creed and it is improperly called after him, the name persists because until the seventeenth century it was commonly ascribed to him. It is also called the Quicunque, this being its opening word in the Latin original. Apart from the opening and closing sentences, it consists of two sections, the first setting forth the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity (3-28), and the second dealing with the doctrine of Christ, especially concerning the two natures (29-41). The teachings of Augustine (A.D. 354-430) in particular form the background to the section on the Trinity, and the decision of the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) forms the background to the Christological section. The creed itself appears for the first time in the first half of the sixth century, but the author is unknown. It is of Western origin, and is not recognized by the Eastern Orthodox Churches.
(1) Whoever desires to be saved must above all things hold to the catholic faith.
(2) Unless a man keeps it in its entirety inviolate, he will assuredly perish eternally.
(3) Now this is the catholic faith, that we worship one God in trinity and trinity in unity, (4) without either confusing the persons, or dividing the substance. (5) For the Father’s person is one, the Son’s another, the Holy Spirit’s another; (6) but the Godhead of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is one, their glory is equal, their majesty is co-eternal.
(7) Such as the Father is, such is the Son, such is also the Holy Spirit. (8) The Father is uncreate, the Son uncreate, the Holy Spirit uncreate. (9) The Father is infinite, the Son infinite, the Holy Spirit infinite. (10) The Father is eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Spirit eternal. (11) Yet there are not three eternals, but one eternal; (12) just as there are not three uncreates or three infinites, but one uncreate and one infinite. (13) In the same way the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, the Holy Spirit almighty; (14) yet there are not three almighties, but one almighty.
(15) Thus the Father is God, the Son God, the Holy Spirit God; (16) and yet there are not three Gods, but there is one God. (17) Thus the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, the Holy Spirit Lord; (18) and yet there are not three Lords, but there is one Lord. (19) Because just as we are compelled by Christian truth to acknowledge each person separately to be both God and Lord, (20) so we are forbidden by the catholic religion to speak of three Gods or Lords.
(21) The Father is from none, not made nor created nor begotten. (22) The Son is from the Father alone, not made nor created but begotten. (23) The Holy Spirit is from the Father and the Son, not made nor created nor begotten but proceeding.
(24) So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. (25) And in this trinity there is nothing before or after, nothing greater or less, (26) but all three persons are co-eternal with each other and co-equal. (27) Thus in all things, as has been stated above, both trinity in unity and unity in trinity must be worshipped. (28) So he who desires to be saved should think thus of the Trinity.
(29) It is necessary, however, to eternal salvation that he should also believe in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. (30) Now the right faith is that we should believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is equally both God and man.
(31) He is God from the Father’s substance, begotten before time; and he is man from his mother’s substance, born in time. (32) Perfect God, perfect man composed of a human soul and human flesh, (33) equal to the Father in respect of his divinity, less than the Father in respect of his humanity.
(34) Who, although he is God and man, is nevertheless not two, but one Christ.
(35) He is one, however, not by the transformation of his divinity into flesh, but by the taking up of his humanity into God; (36) one certainly not by confusion of substance, but by oneness of person. (37) For just as soul and flesh are one man, so God and man are one Christ.
(38) Who suffered for our salvation, descended to hell, rose from the dead, (39) ascended to heaven, sat down at the Father’s right hand, from where he will come to judge the living and the dead; (40) at whose coming all men will rise again with their bodies, and will render an account of their deeds; (41) and those who have done good will go to eternal life, those who have done evil to eternal fire.
(42) This is the catholic faith. Unless a man believes it faithfully and steadfastly, he cannot be saved. Amen.
This creed is called the Apostles’ Creed, not because it was written by the apostles themselves, but because it contains a brief summary of their teachings. It sets forth their doctrine, as has been said, “in sublime simplicity, in unsurpassable brevity, in beautiful order, and with liturgical solemnity.” The Apostles’ Creed is based on the creed used in Rome around A.D. 400, which in turn goes back another two hundred years. It is typical of the creeds used in the western part of the Roman empire.
The Nicene Creed, also called the Nicaeno-Constantinopolitan Creed, is a statement of the orthodox faith of the early Christian church, in opposition to certain heresies, especially Arianism. These heresies concerned the doctrine of the Trinity and of the person of Christ and were refuted at the Council of Nicea (A.D. 325). Yet it was not this Council but the Council of Constantinople (A.D. 381) which adopted the Nicene Creed. This Council incorporated into its creed various formulations from the decisions of Nicea and expanded the confession concerning the Holy Spirit. The Nicene Creed is typical of the creeds used in the eastern part of the Roman empire. Both the Eastern and the Western church held it in honour, although with one important difference. The Western church included the phrase “and the Son” (known as the Filioque) in the article on the procession of the Holy Spirit, a phrase which to this day is repudiated by the Eastern church.
We believe in one God, the Father almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of the Father before all ages;
God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God;
begotten, not made,
of one substance with the Father;
through whom all things were made.
Who, for us men and our salvation, came down from heaven
and became incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary
and was made man.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried;
and the third day he arose, according to the Scriptures,
and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead;
whose kingdom shall have no end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son;
who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified;
who spoke through the prophets.
And we believe one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins;
and we look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.