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Common Ground Community Church

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Common Ground Community was organized as Calvary Reformed in 1915 as a daughter church of Third and Bethany. The church experienced incredible growth under Martin De Haan, who was deposed in 1929 and went on to found Calvary Undenominational Church.

The church was relaunched as Common Ground in 2000.

Pastors

Clarence P. Dame, 1916-18
Andrew Stegenga, 1918-19
Miner Stegenga, 1919-24
Martin R. De Haan, 1925-29, founder of Calvary Undenominational Church
Jacob Prins, 1929-34
Harry L. Brower, 1935-41
Jerry A. Veldman, 1943-48
George C. Douma, 1949-57
Donald K. Blackie, 1958-66
Peter J. Breen, 1967-79
James G. De Witt, 1979-present
Tom Archer, 1996-present

Membership

Rev. Martin R. De Haan was deposed in 1929. Over eighty percent of the congregation followed him to found Calvary Undenominational Church.

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.

Red line (middle) shows nonprofessing members as a percentage of total membership (inactive members exluded); green (lower), inactive members as percentage of total membership; and blue (higher) average worship attendance of total membership.

Red line shows five year growth rate. A five year growth rate between 10% and -10% is considered stable; greater than 10% indicates a growing congregation; one below -10% indicates a church in decline. This makes no allowance for daughter churches.

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.

Go to main Calvary Reformed page.

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