The Netherlands Reformed Congregations is a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

denomination with congregations in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and Bolivia. It is affiliated with the

Reformed Congregations The Reformed Congregations (in Dutch: Gereformeerde Gemeenten, abbreviated GerGem) is a conservative Reformed church with 152 congregations in the Netherlands, 1 in Randburg, South Africa and 1 congregation in Carterton, New Zealand. The ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The Netherlands Reformed Congregations aim to remain true to inerrant Scripture (the Bible) and its Calvinist heritage as expounded in the denomination’s doctrinal standards: Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, and

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� ...

. They are also in agreement with the

Westminster Standards The Westminster Standards is a collective name for the documents drawn up by the Westminster Assembly (1643–49). These include the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the Westminster Larger Catechism, the Directo ...

Basic beliefs and doctrines

Baptism

The Netherlands Reformed Congregations hold to infant baptism but believe that although being baptized, each child still carries the personal necessity of being born again by the inward work of the Holy Spirit. Baptism places a child into an external (or outward) relationship to the covenant of grace, just as the Israelites who passed through the Red Sea were outwardly part of God's covenant people. Like the Israelites, baptized children have many of the outward benefits of the children of God. Until they are regenerated by the Holy Spirit, however, they remain outside of the saving benefits of covenant of grace.

Bible version

The church services are conducted using exclusively the

Authorised Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...

(King James) of the Bible, but personal use of other Bible translations for comparison is permitted. Almost all of the songs sung during the worship service are based on the book of

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

Worship and liturgical forms

In keeping with the Dutch Calvinist traditions, most of the liturgical forms used are translations of the Dutch forms edited by

Petrus Dathenus Pieter Datheen, Latin Petrus Dathenus, English, Peter Datheen, (Cassel, Nord, c.1531 - Elbing, 17 March 1588) was a Dutch Calvinist theologian, the 16th century reformer of The Netherlands, who accomplished many things for the advancement the Ref ...

(1531–1588) and used during

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

times. Most of the member churches have services two or three times per Sunday. The topic for one service per week is based on one of the 52 Lord's Days from

The Heidelberg Catechism The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), one of the Three Forms of Unity, is a Protestant confessional document taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Calvinist Christian doctrine. It was published in 1563 in Heidelberg, ...

. The worship starts with a prayer, followed by singing of a Psalm. In addition to reading a part of the Scripture, the 10 Commandments are read during the Sunday morning service and the Apostles' Creed is read during the Sunday evening service. The pastor or an elder then prays with, and on behalf of the congregation. Following the prayer and the singing of a song adapted from the Psalms, the pastor delivers (preaches) the sermon. After the sermon, there is a closing prayer and more singing from the Psalter. The worship service ends with the pastor pronouncing the prayer for divine blessing from God upon the congregation, usually in the words of Numbers 6:24–26. During worship the congregation remains silent and respectful. Women wear headcoverings in accordance with 1 Corinthians 11. The intention of preaching a topical sermon guided by the Heidelberg Catechism is so that each of the various doctrines taught within Scripture will be covered at least once every year. The Netherlands Reformed Church recognizes two Sacraments: Holy Baptism and Lord's Supper. Children of members are usually baptized in the weeks or months following birth. The Lord's Supper, on the other hand, is usually held about four or five times per year although this may vary among individual churches. Only members who are (1) truly repentant for their sins, (2) have fled to Jesus Christ for salvation, and (3) are purposed from the heart to live in true thankfulness to God, are welcome to participate.

Creeds and confessions

The church subscribes to the

Three Forms of Unity The Three Forms of Unity is a collective name for the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, and the Heidelberg Catechism, which reflect the doctrinal concerns of continental Calvinism and are accepted as official statements of doctrine by many Ca ...

, which are as follows: * Belgic Confession of Faith (1561) * Heidelberg Catechism (1563) *

(1618/19) The church adheres to the five ''Solae'' of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

. *

Scripture alone , meaning by scripture alone, is a Christian theological doctrine held by most Protestant Christian denominations, in particular the Lutheran and Reformed traditions of Protestantism, that posits the Bible as the sole infallible source of au ...

Faith alone ''Justificatio sola fide'' (or simply ''sola fide''), meaning justification by faith alone, is a soteriological doctrine in Christian theology commonly held to distinguish the Lutheran and Reformed traditions of Protestantism, among others, fr ...

Grace alone ''Sola gratia'', meaning by grace alone, is one of the five ''solae'' and consists in the belief that salvation comes by divine grace or "unmerited favor" only, not as something earned or deserved by the sinner. It is a Christian theologica ...

Christ alone ''Solus Christus'' or ''In Christo solo'' (Latin in + ablative, sōlō Christō, meaning "in Christ alone") is one of the five solae that summarize the Protestant Reformers' basic belief that salvation is by faith ''in Christ alone''. Doctri ...

* Glory to God alone

History

Before emigration to North America

This church originated in the

1834 Dutch Reformed Church split The 1834 Dutch Reformed Church split, or the Secession of 1834 ( nl, Afscheiding van 1834), known simply as ''Afscheiding'' ("separation, secession, split"), refers to a split that occurred within the Dutch Reformed Church in 1834. The federation ...

, when a small group in the

called the Reformed Congregations (Gereformeerde Gemeenten) broke away from the state church.

Emigration to North America

Distancing themselves from their fellow secessionists of Albertus van Raalte and his associates Cornelius Vander Meulen and Hendrik Scholte due to

doctrinal Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system ...

disputes, they led their own

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanent ...

first to South Holland,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, in 1865 and then to Grand Rapids,

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, in 1870.

Post emigration

1972 status

In 1972, there were fourteen Netherlands Reformed Congregations in the

, most still conducting their services half in

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and half in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, with over five thousand members.

1993 church split

In 1993, there was a split in the Netherlands Reformed Congregations resulting in a new denomination by

Joel Beeke Joel Robert Beeke (born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, December 9, 1952) is an American Reformed pastor and theologian. He is a minister of the Heritage Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and President of Puritan Reformed Theological Semin ...

called the Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregations, which was renamed the

Heritage Reformed Congregations Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physic ...

in 2005. The two denominations, although split, continue to co-operate with the running of schools founded by the NRC. As of 2008, the Heritage Reformed Congregations has five churches in the

and five in

. The denomination is one of the "governing denominations" of the

Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary (PRTS) is a Reformed seminary located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The seminary started in 1995 as a school of the Heritage Reformed Congregations, a church association that originated in 1993 from the Netherl ...

Current status

In 2001, there were 26 churches and 9,395 members in Canada and the United States. In 2016, the church has 27 congregations and 11,172 members. Currently, there are three Classis. In Bolivia, there are congregations in Rincon, Santa Cruz and Loma Alta.

Statistics

The NRC consists of these congregations:

Recent status

The Netherlands Reformed Congregations in North America continue to have close relations with their sister churches (the

) in the Netherlands. The church services in North America are now mostly conducted in the English language, with some services still in the Dutch language.

Mission fields

The Netherlands Reformed Congregations is involved in mission work in the Loma Alta, Santa Cruz, and Tarija areas of Bolivia.

Education

Sunday school and Catechism classes

In general the churches hold Sunday School and Catechism classes for the youth of the congregation. These classes may be held after the Sunday morning service.

Elementary/high schools

Netherlands Reformed Christian Educational Association consists of twelve schools throughout the United States and Canada, with 3,358 students as of the 2016–2017 school year.

Publications

Magazines and articles

* ''The Banner of Truth'' – A monthly publication of the denomination * ''Insight Into'' – The official publication for the youth of the denomination * ''Paul'' – Bimonthly magazine published by the denominational Mission Board * ''Learning and Living'' – The official publication of the Netherlands Reformed Christian Educator's Association

Books

* ''Treasured Meditations'' – Prints and reprints of sermons, tracts, and other spiritual literature

External links

* Websit
Netherlands Reformed Congregations

References

{{Christianity in Canada Reformed denominations in the United States Religious organizations established in 1830 Calvinist denominations established in the 19th century 1830 establishments in the Netherlands