First Protestant Reformed Church is Reformed congregation in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

. This was the first and founding congregation of the Protestant Reformed Churches in America.

History

It was organised in 1879 as East Street Christian Reformed Church. The congregation followed

Herman Hoeksema Herman Hoeksema (13 March 1886 in Hoogezand – 2 September 1965 in Grand Rapids) was a Dutch Reformed theologian. Hoeksema served as a long time pastor of the First Protestant Reformed Church in Grand Rapids. In 1924 he refused to accept the thre ...

to pull out of the CRCNA and form the

Protestant Reformed Churches in America The Protestant Reformed Churches in America (PRC or PRCA) is a Protestant denomination of 33 churches and over 8,000 members. History Beginning and formation The PRC was founded in 1924 as a result of a controversy regarding common grace in the ...

. The congregation adopted the name First Protestant Reformed Church, Grand Rapids in January 1926. A minority remained as East Avenue Christian Reformed Church. Under Rev. Hoeksemas leadership the congregation thrived in the 1940s. In 1944 Rev. Hubert DeWolf become the second pastor of First Protestant Reformed. Rev J. Hanko joined the staff in 1948. In early 1950s DeWolf begun to preach covenant theology, to appeal to congregants that had come from the

Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated) The Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated) (Dutch: Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (vrijgemaakt)) are an orthodox Calvinist federation of churches. This church body arose in 1944 out of the so-called Liberation (') from the Reformed ...

. Rev. Hoeksema opposed this, and believed that the offer of salvation is for only the elected. After a further schism in 1953, the congregation divided again, one group led by Hoeksema and Hanko, the other by Rev. Hubert De Wolf. This resulted in two denominations called Protestant Reformed Church until the group led by De Wolf reunited with the CRCNA in 1961.

Theology

The church adheres to the Apostles Creed, Heidelberg Catechism,

Canons of Dort The Canons of Dort, or Canons of Dordrecht, formally titled The Decision of the Synod of Dort on the Five Main Points of Doctrine in Dispute in the Netherlands, is the judgment of the National Synod held in the Dutch city of Dordrecht in 1618� ...

and Belgic Confession.http://firstprchurch.org//index.php/about-us/What we believe

Location

The church building is located in southeastern Grand Rapids at the corner of Fuller Avenue and Franklin Street. In 1985 the church relocated to Michigan Street in Grand Rapids.

Pastors

*J. Post, 1881–87 *S. B. Sevensma, 1887-1900 *Johannes Groen, 1900–19 *Herman Hoeksema, 1920–53, 1955–64 *R. Veldman, 1939–44 *Hubert De Wolf, 1944–53, deposed, formed Orthodox Protestant Reformed Churches *Cornelius Hanko, 1948–63 *George M. Ophoff, 1953–55 *Gise J. Van Baren, 1965–77 *Meindert W. Joostens, 1987–95 *James Slopsema, 1995–2014 *Cory Griess, 2018–present

External links

First Protestant Reformed Church

References

{{coord, 42, 58, 07.5, N, 85, 35, 59.4, W, type:landmark_region:US-MI, display=title First Protestant Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan Reformed churches in Michigan Religious organizations established in 1879 Churches in Kent County, Michigan Protestant Reformed Churches in America