A Brief History

The First Christian Reformed Church of Seattle was officially organized in 1939. The congregation is part of the Christian Reformed Church denomination in North America with headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Other congregations located in the Puget Sound region include Tacoma Community Church, Tacoma Korean, Emmaus Road of Seattle, Bellevue Christian Reformed Church, Good News Community Church in Kent, Mill Creek Community Church, Anchor of Hope in Silverdale, Kent Korean Christian Reformed Church, Lynnwood Korean Christian Reformed Church and Hope Korean Christian Reformed Church of Seattle

The first meetings of the Seattle church were held in the Central Seventh Day Adventist Church at Boylston and East Olive (since burned down). The congregation's first building was located at Harvard and Hamlin. This property had to be vacated when Interstate I5 was constructed. Since 1959 the congregation has worshipped at its present location at 14555 25th Ave NE. Except for internal modifications the building was not changed until 1999 when the present beautiful extension was built.

The congregation started with 17 members. The total membership in 2001 is 400--in addition there is a large number of others who regularly attend. The first pastor of the congregation was Home Missionary Karsten Bergsma. Since that time the congregation has been served by a total of 9 pastors. Our current pastor is Reverend Harry Weidenaar. In addition to the position of pastor the church employs a Youth Pastor , a Junior High Ministries Director and a secretary.

The government of congregations of the Christian Reformed denomination is essentially Presbyterian with local rule vested in the consistory, or council. The council is made up of elders and deacons. There are two major assemblies: the classis and the synod. The classis is a grouping of local congregations: we are part of Classis Pacific Northwest (organized in 1910) encompassing 32 congregations in Western Washington and four in Alaska. Five of these congregations are Korean. The classis meets at least twice a year. The Synod is the assembly of nearly 1000 congregations distributed throughout North America. The guiding principle of denominational polity is that: "the authority of the consistory [is] original, that of major assemblies...delegated."

The congregation places a strong emphasis on Christian education. Shoreline Christian School was established in 1952 as Watson Groen Christian School by members of the congregation. The school is independent, parent controlled and now serves about 330 children from more than 100 churches in the greater Seattle area. Several families do home-schooling. Sunday school programs are offered after the morning service for both children and adults.

Unique characteristics of this congregation include a vibrant worship service, planned and executed by members of the congregation; an immense pool of talents and gifts; and a strong desire to bring a Christian witness to the community. Occupations represented in the congregation include truck drivers, small businesses (printing, dry-cleaning), university faculty, bank employees, engineers, physicians, teachers, and retired folks---who manage to keep active and contribute to the congregation.

The Youth Ministry, as demonstrated by the commitment of personnel resources, is very important to the congregation. High School youth meet during the week and at a special, contemporary youth service on Sunday evening. Attendance at this service ranges between 60 and 80. The Youth Ministry is operated jointly with the North Seattle Church of the Nazarene.

Membership classes are held regularly for those who wish to learn more about our congregation and their potential role in it.

Videotapes and voice tapes of all services are available.

by Gerald van Belle

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