Reformed Congregations
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The Reformed Congregations (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 ...
: Gereformeerde Gemeenten, abbreviated GerGem) is a conservative Reformed church with 152 congregations 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 ...
, 1 in
Randburg Randburg is an area located in the Gauteng, Gauteng province of South Africa. Formerly a separate municipality, its administration devolved to the newly created City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, along with neighbouring Sandton and Roo ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
and 1 congregation in
Carterton, New Zealand Carterton ( mi, Taratahi) is a small town in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and the seat of the Carterton District (a territorial authority or local government district). It lies in a farming area of the Wairarapa in New Zealand's North Is ...
. The denomination has approximately 107,299 members as of 1 January 2015. It is
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 ...
in theology. It is affiliated with the North American
Netherlands Reformed Congregations The Netherlands Reformed Congregations is a conservative Calvinist denomination with congregations in Canada, the United States and Bolivia. It is affiliated with the Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands. The Netherlands Reformed Congreg ...
. The denomination is also sometimes called the Reformed Church(es) in the Netherlands and North America, which can be confused with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (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 ...
: Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland, abbreviated GKN), which were formed 1892 and which merged with the Netherlands Reformed Church (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 ...
: Nederlands Hervormde Kerk, abbreviated NHK) in 2004.


History

The Reformed Congregations was formed in 1907 as a federation of the Reformed Churches under the Cross, which had its roots in
1834 Events January–March * January – The Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad is chartered in Wilmington, North Carolina. * January 1 – Zollverein (Germany): Customs charges are abolished at borders within its member states. * January 3 †...
, and the Lederboerian reformed congregations. The founder was Gerrit Hendrik Kersten (1882–1948). Kersten not only brought unification, but he helped organise the federation. In 1909, the
Reformed Churches in the Netherlands {{Infobox Christian denomination , name = Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Dutch ''Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland'') , image = , caption = , main_classification = Protestant , orientation = Calvinist , polity = Presbyterianism , ...
requested to unite with the Reformed Congregations. Due to theological differences, the union was declined. In 1926, a Calvinist seminary was founded in
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
. In 1929, the church had 67 congregations and 26,380 members. Twenty years later, the numbers had risen to 140 congregations and 62,000 members, more than double of the congregations and an annual growth rate of 6.7 percent. In 1931, the denomination prepared the so-called "doctrines of '31", which gave an elaboration of the
doctrine 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 ...
of the denomination's attention to man. During World War II, many Reformed congregation church buildings were destroyed.


Schism in 1953

Shortly after the end of the war, there was a period of theological controversies in the denomination. The cause of the schism of 1953 was the deposition of Rev Dr. C. Steenblok as a lecturer at the Theological School of the Reformed Congregations, but a different view on the free offer of the gospel also played a role; the Reformed Congregations held to the view of a free, well-meant offer of the gospel, but the congregations who split off did not. In 1953, the Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands was born.


Recent history

The Reformed Congregations have experienced a steady growth, in spite of the progressive secularisation in the Netherlands. The denomination grew from 53,000 members in 1953 to 106,000 in 2013. Also noteworthy is the growth in the province of
Overijssel Overijssel (, ; nds, Oaveriessel ; german: Oberyssel) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the ...
and in the town of
Rijssen Rijssen (; nds-nl, Riesn, ) is a city in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is part of Rijssen-Holten, one of thirteen municipalities in Twente. It has almost 28,000 inhabitants. The economy of Rijssen relies mostly on commerce and construct ...
. The denomination's membership in the wider urban area around Rotterdam increased seven times from what it was in 1950. Several new congregations were started in the Dutch
Bible belt The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States in which socially conservative Protestant Christianity plays a strong role in society and politics, and church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's a ...
.


Theology


Confessions

The church holds to the absolute authority of the Bible. The church adheres to the: *
Belgic Confession The ''Confession of Faith'', popularly known as the Belgic Confession, is a doctrinal standard document to which many of the Reformed churches subscribe. The Confession forms part of the Three Forms of Unity of the Reformed Church, which are still ...
*
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, ...
*
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 Christian doctrine, Doctrine in Dispute in the Netherlands, is the judgment of the National Synod held in the Netherlands, Dut ...
. The Reformed Congregations theological orientation stem from the time of the
Further Reformation ''Nadere Reformatie'' (Dutch Second Reformation or Further Reformation) is the period of church history in the Netherlands, following the Reformation, from roughly 1600 until 1750. History The period and its representatives are known for thei ...
. In worship, they use only the so-called "Statenvertaling" of the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
, which was made on orders of the assembled authorities of the Republic of the United Netherlands Provinces in the 17th century and which can be compared with the
King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...
of the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
. The church believes in: *authority of the Bible *inability of man to the glory of God *life in Christ *covenant of Grace *covenant of Redemption


Church buildings

The Lederboerian churches originally came together in barns, living rooms, warehouses and workshops. Often less than 20 people were present. In 1844, a large stone church was built in Rotterdam. In 1850, a wooden church was built in
Benthuizen Benthuizen is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Alphen aan den Rijn and lies about 1 km east of Zoetermeer. History Benthuizen was described between 1280 and 1287. Benthuizen developed a ...
. They still hoped to return to the official Reformed Church (NHK). A lot of churches can be characterised as barn churches. In the 1930s, due to the growth of the church, building continued. There were smaller churches in Lisse and other small towns. After World War II churches were built more widely. In the last quarter of the 20th century modern buildings were constructed in
Goes Goes () is a city and municipality in the southwestern Netherlands on Zuid-Beveland, in the province of Zeeland. The city of Goes has approximately 27,000 residents. History Goes was founded in the 10th century on the edge of a creek: de Korte ...
,
Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...
and
Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...
.


Statistics

The church had 106,782 members in 2013. The Reformed Churches has 151 congregations, 12 classes and 4
synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...
s. The statistics show steady growth since the founding of the church. The denomination has a 127-member congregation in
Randburg Randburg is an area located in the Gauteng, Gauteng province of South Africa. Formerly a separate municipality, its administration devolved to the newly created City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, along with neighbouring Sandton and Roo ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. There is also a church in
Carterton, New Zealand Carterton ( mi, Taratahi) is a small town in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and the seat of the Carterton District (a territorial authority or local government district). It lies in a farming area of the Wairarapa in New Zealand's North Is ...
(178 members) and a church plant of 47 members in
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. The 27 congregations in North-America and one in Bolivia are part of the sister denomination:
Netherlands Reformed Congregations The Netherlands Reformed Congregations is a conservative Calvinist denomination with congregations in Canada, the United States and Bolivia. It is affiliated with the Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands. The Netherlands Reformed Congreg ...
which has 10,648 members. Missionary projects are in
Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
with the
Gereja Jemaat Protestan di Indonesia Gereja Jemaat Protestan di Indonesia is a Reformed church in the Province of Papua in Indonesia. It was created on 25 June 1984 by the Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands. It began pioneer mission work in the Yali territory. Historically thi ...
, which has 10,000 members and 68 congregations. In Nigeria, there is the
Nigeria Reformed Church The Nigeria Reformed Church was a mission project of the Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands. The work was started in 1970. In 2000 the denomination had 1,911 members. The church operates in the Izi language, Izi tribe, comprising about a half ...
with 14 congregations and 2,500 members.


References


External links

*
Webpage of the Reformed Congregations
{{Christianity in the Netherlands Reformed denominations in the Netherlands Christian organizations established in 1907