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Historical Profile: Fourth Reformed Church

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Fourth Reformed was organized in 1875 as a daughter church of Second. In 1882, Rev. Lammert J. Hulst led a majority of the congregation (154 of 177 families, 676 of 778 members) out of the RCA and into the Christian Reformed Church. This was the origin of Coldbrook (now Beckwith Hills) CRC.

Go to the Fourth Reformed Church website.

Locations

1140 Ionia NW (near Walbridge), 1875-81
Coldbrook between Ottawa and Ionia NW, 1881-88
1031 Ionia NW, 1888-1955
Ladies Literary Club, 61 Sheldon Ave. SE, 1955-56
1226 Union Ave. NE, 1955-present

Interactive Google map showing all locations.

Pastors

Lammert J. Hulst, 1876-81, led 87% of congregation into CRC
Peter De Pree, 1882-91
Peter A. Bouma, 1892-94
John W. Waarnshuis, 1895-1900
Jacob Van Houte, 1900-03
Cornelius Kuyper, 1904-11
Gerrit Bosch, 1912-15
Harke Frieling, 1915-19
Cornelius Muller, 1920-28
James D. Ellerbroek, 1929-41
William A. Swets, 1942-49
Henry P. Kik, 1949-58
Russell E. Horton, 1959-68
Arvin H. Wester, 1969-73
Jerome W. Batts, 1974-77
Arthur C. Johnson, associate, 1976-77
Peter J. Breen, 1979-84
Kenneth W. Kuiper, 1984-??
Terry Thole, 1991-present

Seventh, 1890, released from RCA 1995
Bethel, 1906
Plainfield, 1913-23

Membership

Heavy lines: green (lower) shows membership in families; blue (middle), professing members; red (top), total members. Thin lines: magenta (middle), non-professing members; orange (lower), inactive members; black (top), average worship attendance.

Source: Acts of Synod of the Reformed Church in America. 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 of 1140 Ionia, Coldbrook, 1031 Ionia, Sheldon Avenue, and Union Avenue locations or page showing all five maps.

Go to RCA geographic index or RCA chronological index.

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