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Historical Profile: Beckwith Hills CRC

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Beckwith Hills CRC, was organized in 1875 as Fourth Reformed. Along with several other RCA congregations in the region, it seceded and joined the CRC in 1882. (A small minority remained in the RCA, retaining their identity as Fourth Reformed.) Beckwith Hills was the fourth Grand Rapids CRC congregation.

Coldbrook was originally located at Taylor and Barnett NW, then moved to Barnett and Ionia NW in 1875. The congregation moved to Chelsea Road NE in 1963 and adopted their new name.

Beckwith Hills website

Names

Fourth Reformed
Coldbrook
Beckwith Hills

Locations

1140 Ionia NW at Barnett, Grand Rapids, MI (1875-1910, now Schaafsma Heating)
7 Barnett Street NW, Grand Rapids, MI (1910-63)
2100 Chelsea Road NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505 (built 1963)

Interactive Google map showing all 3 locations.

Pastors

Lammert J. Hulst, 1876-1906
J. J. Hiemenga, 1907-13
Y. P. De Jong, 1913-17
L. Veltkamp, 1918-25
E. B. Peckelder, 1935-35
T. Yff, 1936-43
E. L. Haan, 1944-49
Richard R. De Ridder, 1949-53
R. Rienstra, 1954-69
O. W. Duistermars, 1970-74
J. Joldersma, 1976-87
L. Bryce Mensink, 1989-95
Edward J. Blankespoor, 1995-2006
Richard L. Pinckney, 2007-present

Creston, 1915
Ionia Avenue, 1920

Membership

Green (lower) line shows membership in families; blue (middle), professing members; red (top), total members; and magenta (thin), non-professing members.

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.

For more membership data, click here. View maps showing Ionia Avenue, Barnett Street, and Chelsea Road locations, or page showing all three maps.

Send email to Rev. Pinckney.

Go to Grand Rapids geographic index or chronological index.

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