First Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Beginnings

First CRC was organized on March 19, 1857 by members seceding from Second Reformed Church due to the work of Haan Gijsbert Haan.

Representatives of the Grand Rapids, Graafschap, Polkton, Vriesland, and Noordeloos congregations organized as the Classis of Michigan on April 29, 1857. This is the birthdate of the Christian Reformed denomination.

The city of Grand Rapids expanded its borders in 1857. On the north, it was bounded by Richmond and Sweet, on the east by Fuller, on the south by Hall, and on the west by the Grand River and Garfield. The 1860 U.S. Census showed Grand Rapids with a population of 8,085, of whom 867 were Dutch-born. While the urban population had tripled in a decade, there were 4.5 times as many Dutch-born. (This takes no account of the American-born children of these immigrants.)

As with many churches near the old Calvin College Franklin campus, membership declined during the 1966-73 period as the college slowly relocated to its current location on the edge of the city.

Visit the First CRC website.

Historical Details

Names

1. Spring Street, 1857-67
2. Commerce Street, 1867-1912
3. Bates Street, informally, 1912-present
4. First, 1912-present

Locations

1. Spring Street SW, Grand Rapids, MI (1857-67, NW corner of Ionia Ave. & Weston St.)
2. 58 Commerce Ave. SW, Grand Rapids, MI (1867-1912, seating for 1,300)
3. 650 Bates Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 (built 1912)

Pastors

1. H. G. Klyn, 1857-58
2. W. H. Van Leeuwen, 1863-67
3. R. Duiker, 1867-72
4. Gerrit E. Boer, 1873-76
5. J. Kremer, 1877-79
6. J. Vos, 1881-1900
7. T. Vander Ark, 1900-05
8. G. J. Haan, 1906-08
9. Peter Ekster, 1908-18
10. E. Tanis, 1919-27
11. D. D. Bonnema, 1927-41
12. E. F. Visser, 1942-51
13. W. Van Rees, 1951-60
14. M. Beelen, 1961-71
15. C. Terpstra, 1970-82
16. D. J. Klop, 1973-80
17. R. E. Alexander, 1982-84
18. D. G. Bos, 1983-84
19. Morris N. Greidanus, 1985-??
20. William DeVries

Daughter Churches

1. East Street (now Eastern Avenue), begun 1876, organized 1879
2. Alpine Avenue, 1881-1992
3. Fourth (now LaGrave Avenue), 1887 - first English speaking congregation
4. Fifth Ave. (later Franklin Street), 1887-1967
5. Grace, 1962, cosponsored with Neland Ave.

Membership Overview

Membership data, First Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, MI

Overall Membership Data

Green (lower) line shows membership in families; blue (middle), professing members; red (top), total members; and magenta (thin), non-professing members. Note effect of forming daughter congregations in 1881 and 1887.

Youth ratio, First Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, MI

Youth Ratio

Red line shows nonprofessing members as a percentage of total membership.

Five year growth rate, First Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, MI

Five Year Growth Rate

Red line shows five year growth rate. A five year growth rate between 10% and -10% is considered stable; greater than 10% indicates a growing congregation; one below -10% indicates a church in decline. This makes no allowance for daughter churches.

Data source: Yearbooks of the Christian Reformed Church. Dates are year prior to publication date since data is gathered at the end of one year and published in the next.