Reformed Churches in Grand Rapids

a historical overview

These maps chart the growth of the various Reformed denominations in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Red dots show Reformed Church in America (RCA) congregations, blue dots show Christian Reformed Church (CRC) congregations, purple dots show Protestant Reformed (PRC) congregations, and green dots show other churches in the Dutch Reformed tradition.

This era saw fairly regular closure and merger of older congregations and ongoing relocations. By 1995, the once distinct growth paths began to look more like a random distribution of churches.

To minimize extraneous information, the map does not show streets, railroads, or city limits. Only the Grand River and the church locations are shown. Years shown are year of organization for the church. The bullet lists indicate new congregations.

You can click on any map to see a larger version. (You'll need to use your browser's back button to return to this page.)

1975 Oakdale Park and Everglade Reformed merged as New Life Reformed. Sunshine CRC (1971), 918 Benjamin NE Church of the Servant CRC (1973), 1930 Leonard NW New Life Reformed (1974), 973 28th SE Fellowship CRC (1975), 3934 Wilson SW

1980 Forest Hills Community Reformed, Ninth Reformed, and Faith CRC closed. Fairview Reformed moved to 1465 Three Mile NW, Southwest PRC to 4875 Ivanrest SW, the American Reformed Church to Dutton, Madison Square CRC to 1441 Madison SE, Sunshine CRC to 3295 East Beltline NE, and Church of the Servant CRC to Seymour Christian School, 2550 Eastern SE. West 44th Street CRC (1976), 1020 44th SW Christ's Community CRC (1978), 242 Carlson SE Thornapple Community Reformed (1980), 3260 Thornapple River SE

1985 Immanuel Reformed moved to 1300 East Beltline SE, First PRC to 2800 Michigan NE, Fellowship CRC to 4375 Ivanrest SW, and Christ's Community CRC to 1019 Wealthy SE. Servants Community Reformed (1981), 57 Deloney SW Hispana Emanuel CRC (1981), 2445 Byron Center SW Good News Community Reformed (1983), 4319 Byron Center SW Community CRC (1984), 150 Burt SE Grandville PRC (1984), 4320 40th SW Hahn-In CRC (1985), 441 Knapp NE

1990 Arcadia CRC merged with Plainfield to form Bythefield CRC. Bristolwood CRC and Christ's Community CRC closed. Sunshine CRC moved to 3300 East Beltline NE, Hahn-In CRC to 2445 Byron Center SW. Blythefield CRC (1989), 6350 Kuttshill NE

1995 Garfield Park Reformed and 36th Street CRC closed. Alpine Avenue CRC merged with Highland Hills CRC to form Westend CRC, Grandville Avenue CRC with Bethel CRC to form Roosevelt Park CRC, and Bethany Reformed with Fairview Reformed to form Orchard Hills Reformed. Twelfth Street CRC united with West Leonard CRC. Following a schism, First Netherlands Reformed moved to 1261 Beckwith NE. Wyoming Park CRC moved to 5250 Byron Center and took the name Faith Community CRC. Beverly CRC moved to 2500 Newport SW following a schism, then closed in 1995. Church of the Servant CRC moved into permanent facilities at 3835 Burton SE, and Hahn-In CRC relocated to 2731 Byron Center. Westend CRC (1992), 1015 Westend NW Beverly United Reformed (1992), 2019 Porter SW First Heritage Netherlands Reformed (1993), 540 Crescent NE Roosevelt Park CRC (1994), 811 Chicago Dr SW Orchard Hill Reformed (1994), 1465 Three Mile NW Discovery CRC (1994), 1425 60th SE

1997 Walker CRC joined the United Reformed denomination.