FPO: Christ Centered | Bible Based | Family Focused | Mission Minded
Where We've Come From, Who We Are
Our congregation was founded by Dutch immigrants on August 10th, 1867 (meaning our sesquicentennial is right around the corner) and our building was first dedicated on November 1st of that same year. In the beginning, the only singing that took place in the church came straight from the Psalms, and it actually took some of the youth requesting an update to get the organ installed so that hymns could be part of the worship. In 1932, Dutch was formally replaced by English in all our services, and it wasn't until 1941 that our elders decided to heat the building full-time (prior to that decision, apparently, the building was heated with a wood-burning stove and the ladies of the church were provided with little foot-warmer stoves to see them through the cold winter months in the sanctuary). Of course, we've come a long way since then (though we still don't have central air), and while those old stories can seem distant and quaint, they remind us that the challenge is always the same: to balance an "in but not of the world" approach to our way of being the church, including the ways in which we update and change our building or the way we approach music and communication (hello internet!).
Beyond that all-too-brief history, we would want you to know that as a people we're warm, caring, generous, and ready to laugh. We seek to hold high the Word of God and want very much to reach our community and the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ. We're also a church that's committed to living out the implications and convictions of our Christian faith, with a special commitment to championing the sanctity of human life. We do recognize, of course, that we're going to regularly fall short of our commitments, but we believe in forgiveness and are trying to run the "race" with perseverance and grace.
Our regular Sunday Worship Services begin as close to 9:25 a.m. as possible (with Sunday school following) and we host an evening gathering for Bible study and discussion from September to May at 6:00 p.m.
Beyond that all-too-brief history, we would want you to know that as a people we're warm, caring, generous, and ready to laugh. We seek to hold high the Word of God and want very much to reach our community and the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ. We're also a church that's committed to living out the implications and convictions of our Christian faith, with a special commitment to championing the sanctity of human life. We do recognize, of course, that we're going to regularly fall short of our commitments, but we believe in forgiveness and are trying to run the "race" with perseverance and grace.
Our regular Sunday Worship Services begin as close to 9:25 a.m. as possible (with Sunday school following) and we host an evening gathering for Bible study and discussion from September to May at 6:00 p.m.
What We're About
- Worshiping the One, True, and Triune God of the Bible (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).
- Sharing the Good News of eternal life that is available by grace, through faith in the sinless life, atoning death, and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.
- Believing, Proclaiming, and Upholding the truth of God's Word (Bible).
- Making and Being disciples of Jesus from the ground up (young and old alike).
- Reaching out to our community and the world in the name of Jesus Christ.
- Spending quality (and fun!) time with one another.
- Providing a place where people from all walks of life can come, hear, and experience the boundless grace of God--as our sign declares: there are "no perfect people allowed" here.
