The Netherlands Reformed Congregations is a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

denomination with congregations in

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, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. It is affiliated with the

Reformed Congregations The Reformed Congregations (in Dutch language, Dutch: Gereformeerde Gemeenten, abbreviated GerGem) is a conservative Calvinist, Reformed church with 152 congregations in the Netherlands, 1 in Randburg, South Africa and 1 congregation in Car ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The Netherlands Reformed Congregations aim to remain true to inerrant Scripture (the Bible) and its Calvinist heritage as expounded in the denomination’s doctrinal standards:

Belgic Confession The ''Confession of Faith'', popularly known as the Belgic Confession, is a confession to which many Reformed churches subscribe as a doctrinal standard. The Confession forms part of the Three Forms of Unity, which are the official subordinate st ...

Heidelberg Catechism The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), one of the Three Forms of Unity, is a Reformed catechism taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Reformed Christian doctrine. It was published in 1563 in Heidelberg, Germany. Its ...

, and

Canons of Dort The Canons of Dort, or Canons of Dordrecht, formally titled ''The Decision of the Synod of Dort on the Five Main Points of Doctrine in Dispute in the Netherlands'', is an exposition of orthodox Reformed soteriology against Arminianism, by the Nat ...

. They are also in agreement with the

Westminster Standards The Westminster Standards is a collective name for the documents drawn up by the Westminster Assembly (1643–1649). These include the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the Westminster Larger Catechism, the Direc ...

Basic beliefs and doctrines

Baptism

The Netherlands Reformed Congregations hold to infant baptism but believe that although being baptized, each child still carries the personal necessity of being born again by the inward work of the Holy Spirit. Baptism places a child into an external (or outward) relationship to the covenant of grace, just as the Israelites who passed through the Red Sea were outwardly part of God's covenant people. Like the Israelites, baptized children have many of the outward benefits of the children of God. Until they are regenerated by the Holy Spirit, however, they remain outside of the saving benefits of covenant of grace.

Bible version

The church services are conducted using exclusively the Authorised Version (King James) of the Bible, but personal use of other Bible translations for comparison is permitted. Almost all of the songs sung during the worship service are based on the book of

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...

Worship and liturgical forms

In keeping with the Dutch Calvinist traditions, most of the liturgical forms used are translations of the Dutch forms edited by Petrus Dathenus (1531–1588) and used during

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

times. Most of the member churches have services two or three times per Sunday. The topic for one service per week is based on one of the 52 Lord's Days from

The Heidelberg Catechism The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), one of the Three Forms of Unity, is a Reformed catechism taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Reformed Christian doctrine. It was published in 1563 in Heidelberg, Germany. Its o ...

. The worship starts with a prayer, followed by singing of a Psalm. In addition to reading a part of the Scripture, the 10 Commandments are read during the Sunday morning service and the Apostles' Creed is read during the Sunday evening service. The pastor or an elder then prays with, and on behalf of the congregation. Following the prayer and the singing of a song adapted from the Psalms, the pastor delivers (preaches) the sermon. After the sermon, there is a closing prayer and more singing from the Psalter. The worship service ends with the pastor pronouncing the prayer for divine blessing from God upon the congregation, usually in the words of Numbers 6:24–26. During worship the congregation remains silent and respectful. Women wear headcoverings in accordance with 1 Corinthians 11. The intention of preaching a topical sermon guided by the Heidelberg Catechism is so that each of the various doctrines taught within Scripture will be covered at least once every year. The Netherlands Reformed Church recognizes two Sacraments: Holy Baptism and Lord's Supper. Children of members are usually baptized in the weeks or months following birth. The Lord's Supper, on the other hand, is usually held about four or five times per year although this may vary among individual churches. Only members who are (1) truly repentant for their sins, (2) have fled to Jesus Christ for salvation, and (3) are purposed from the heart to live in true thankfulness to God, are welcome to participate.

Creeds and confessions

The church subscribes to the

Three Forms of Unity The Three Forms of Unity is a collective name for the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, and the Heidelberg Catechism, which reflect the doctrinal concerns of continental Calvinism and are accepted as official statements of doctrine by man ...

, which are as follows: * Belgic Confession of Faith (1561) *

(1563) *

(1618/19) The church adheres to the five ''Solae'' of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

. * Scripture alone *

Faith alone (or simply ), meaning justification by faith alone, is a soteriological doctrine in Christian theology commonly held to distinguish the Lutheranism, Lutheran and Reformed tradition, Reformed traditions of Protestantism, among others, from th ...

* Grace alone * Christ alone * Glory to God alone

History

Before emigration to North America

This church originated in the

1834 Dutch Reformed Church split The 1834 Dutch Reformed Church split, or the Secession of 1834 (), known simply as ''Afscheiding'' ("Separation, Secession, Split"), refers to a split that occurred within the Dutch Reformed Church in 1834. The federation of churches resulting fr ...

, when a small group in the

called the Reformed Congregations (Gereformeerde Gemeenten) broke away from the state church.

Emigration to North America

Distancing themselves from their fellow secessionists of

Albertus van Raalte Albertus Christiaan van Raalte (17 October 1811 – 27 July 1876) was a 19th-century Dutch Reformed Church, Dutch Reformed clergyman. Early life and education Van Raalte did not set out to follow in his father's footsteps and become a clergy ...

and his associates Cornelius Vander Meulen and Hendrik Scholte due to

doctrinal Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system. The etymolog ...

disputes, they led their own

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

first to

South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, in 1865 and then to

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, in 1870.

Post emigration

1972 status

In 1972, there were fourteen Netherlands Reformed Congregations in the

, most still conducting their services half in

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

and half in English, with over five thousand members.

1993 church split

In 1993, there was a split in the Netherlands Reformed Congregations, resulting in a new denomination named the Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregations (renamed the

Heritage Reformed Congregations The Heritage Reformed Congregations (HRC) is a Reformed denomination in the United States and Canada influenced by the tradition of English Puritanism and the Dutch ''Nadere Reformatie''. History The Heritage Reformed Congregations denominat ...

in 2003).

Current status

In 2001, there were 26 churches and 9,395 members in Canada and the United States. In 2016, the church has 27 congregations and 11,172 members. Currently, there are three Classis. In

, there are congregations in Rincon, Santa Cruz and Loma Alta.

Statistics

The NRC consists of these congregations:

Recent status

The Netherlands Reformed Congregations in North America continue to have close relations with their sister churches (the

) in the Netherlands. The church services in North America are now mostly conducted in the English language, with some services still in the Dutch language.

Mission fields

The Netherlands Reformed Congregations is involved in mission work in the Loma Alta, Santa Cruz, and Tarija areas of

Education

Sunday school and Catechism classes

In general the churches hold Sunday School and Catechism classes for the youth of the congregation. These classes may be held after the Sunday morning service.

Elementary/high schools

Netherlands Reformed Christian Educational Association consists of twelve schools throughout the United States and Canada, with 3,358 students as of the 2016–2017 school year.

Publications

Magazines and articles

* ''The Banner of Truth'' – A monthly publication of the denomination * ''Insight Into'' – The official publication for the youth of the denomination * ''Paul'' – Bimonthly magazine published by the denominational Mission Board * ''Learning and Living'' – The official publication of the Netherlands Reformed Christian Educator's Association

Books

* ''Treasured Meditations'' – Prints and reprints of sermons, tracts, and other spiritual literature

External links

* Websit
Netherlands Reformed Congregations

References

{{Christianity in Canada Reformed denominations in the United States Religious organizations established in 1830 Calvinist denominations established in the 19th century 1830 establishments in the Netherlands