How does the RCAs government work?
We believe that all authority exercised in the church is received from Christ, the only Head of the church. The power that Jesus Christ bestows on his church flows through the Holy Spirit to all the people. Each RCA congregation has a body called a consistory that oversees its ministry. Besides the minister(s), the consistory includes elders and deacons who are elected from the congregation. While elders, deacons, and ministers of Word and sacrament are called from among the people, we believe the Spirit of the Lord appoints them to their special tasks, and they are responsible first of all to the Lord of the church. A governing body called a classis oversees ministers and congregations in a specific geographic area. Regional synods support the classes (classes is the plural of classis) in their geographic area and enable congregations, classes, and the denomination to work together. The RCA has eight regional synods. General Synod, an annual denomination-wide meeting of ministers and
