A Holland Congregation Rooted in 1869
East Saugatuck Christian Reformed Church sits on 56th Street in Holland, Michigan, on the east side of Ottawa County, and it carries one of the longer continuous stories of any congregation in the area. Founded in 1869 by eighty Dutch immigrants who signed on as charter members of what was then the Collendoorn True Dutch Reformed Church, the body has worshipped, taught, and served in the same rural corner of Holland for more than a century and a half. The original building burned in 1871, but the pulpit Bible was carried out of the flames, and the church has been gathering in this part of Ottawa County ever since.
Today the church is part of the Christian Reformed Church in North America. Its motto is a simple fourfold refrain: a place to begin, a place to belong, a place to believe, a place to become. The lead pastor, Nathan Gritter, leads a faith community growing in love of God for all people, planting deep roots in the surrounding Holland area.
Sunday Worship at 10 AM
The Sunday morning service begins at 10:00 AM and runs in a relaxed, energetic, God-focused style that Lead Pastor Nathan Gritter describes as taking God seriously without taking themselves too seriously. Dress is intentionally casual; the invitation is to come as you are. Coffee is on hand before the service, and snacks are served afterward during the Sunday School hour. The service includes roughly five or six songs, a greeting from God's Word, a children's message, a Biblically based and life-applicable sermon, prayer, and a parting blessing. Communion is celebrated once every other month. Services are livestreamed on YouTube for those who cannot attend in person.
Wednesday Night Dinners and Family Night
From late September through late March, Wednesday evenings become the busiest midweek gathering in the life of the church. Chef Curtis Mulder leads a kitchen team that prepares a community dinner served from 5:15 to 6:15 PM. The meals are donation-based rather than paid; everyone is welcome, and a table of pantry items and leftovers is set out for anyone who wants to take something home.
After dinner, from 6:30 to 8:00 PM, programming runs for every age group at the same time. Nursery is open for children under three. Kingdom Kids welcomes children ages three through first grade. GEMS gathers girls in second through fifth grade, and Cadets gathers boys in the same age range. Pulse, the middle school youth group, meets during this window as well. High school students and adults have a menu of studies and volunteer opportunities of their own, including a video discussion group that meets in the Worship Center to watch and talk through "The Chosen" and Ray Vanderlaan Bible history videos. The dinner program takes one week off around Thanksgiving Eve and a two-week break around Christmas and New Year's.
Children and Sunday School
Children are a stated high priority at East Saugatuck, and the Sunday morning options reflect that. Nursery care is available downstairs throughout the worship hour for babies through age three. Children aged three through fifth grade are invited up front early in the service for a children's message, and children aged three through third grade may leave after that for Children in Worship, where they are taught Bible stories at their level with some singing and then return near the end of the service.
Sunday School runs from 11:15 AM until noon for children ages five through twelfth grade, beginning in late September and running through late April. Hannah Bosch serves as Director of Children's Ministries and oversees the children's side of congregational life. Families visiting for the first time may keep their children with them for the entire service if they prefer.
Youth: Pulse and THRIVE
The middle school ministry is called Pulse. It meets on Wednesday evenings after the family night dinner, with Bible learning, discussion, games, and time together. There is an optional overnight retreat each January with other middle school groups, and in some summers Pulse students travel to the Holland area for a week of Summer Serve alongside youth from other congregations.
THRIVE is the high school ministry. It meets on Sunday evenings, combining Bible study, discussion, hangout time, and fellowship. An optional January retreat is offered each year. Every summer the high school students are invited to go on a weeklong mission or service trip, and every fourth year the trip goes to Alaska. The church typically covers the cost of these trips through funds raised at the annual church auction.
Adult Ministries
Adults at East Saugatuck have several ongoing Bible study and fellowship options. A men's Bible study meets Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 PM in the Library. Women's Bible studies meet on Thursdays in two time slots, a morning group from 9:15 to 11:00 AM in the Sunrise Room and an evening group from 6:30 to 8:00 PM in the Council Room. The Wednesday night video discussion group from 6:45 to 8:00 PM in the Worship Center is another adult option during the Family Night season.
Two monthly breakfasts have become steady rhythms for adults. On the first Tuesday of each month at 8:30 AM, anyone 55 and over is invited to the Senior Breakfast at the Southside Inn in Holland for food and fellowship. On the third Saturday of each month at 7:00 AM, all men and boys are invited to the Men's Breakfast at the Trestle Stop in Hamilton for spiritual encouragement and conversation over a meal.
Community Ministries at Blue Star Elementary
East Saugatuck's outreach is centered on a single local school. The church runs three ministries at Blue Star Elementary. Kid's Hope is a mentoring program that pairs adult volunteers with students for one-on-one time. Hand to Hand is a food ministry that supplies non-perishable groceries to children and their families. Walking in the Light is an after-school Bible ministry. Stephanie Kragt directs Kid's Hope, and the church requires a background check for anyone working with children in these roles.
On the final Sunday evening of each month at 6:00 PM, the church gathers for Intercession Prayer and Worship, a prayer service led by the congregation's young adults. Each service has a different focus for prayer and includes extended time to pray and sing together.
World Ministries
East Saugatuck supports missionaries in Cambodia and West Africa and is considering adding a family in Japan. The missionaries visit the church from time to time to share about their work and to share a potluck meal with the congregation. For security reasons their details are not posted online.
What East Saugatuck Believes
The congregation is anchored in eight stated ministry values: preaching that is Biblically based, prayer as essential for effective ministry and life, caring and loving relationships woven through every part of church life, children and families as a high priority, encouragement of personal growth, worship as a heartfelt response to God's love, every believer encouraged to use the gifts God has given, and a calling to show love in the community as the hands and feet of Jesus.
As a member congregation of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, East Saugatuck holds to the historic Creeds and Confessions of the Reformed tradition. The church's doctrine is Biblical and is shaped by those shared confessions rather than a local statement of its own.
A Long Story, Still Being Written
For more than 150 years East Saugatuck has walked with the farmers, families, and neighbors of east Holland through language changes, world wars, missionary send-offs, seasons of disagreement, and seasons of unity. The history page at the church is written in the voice of someone looking back over all of it and noticing the same refrain: through every chapter, He was with us. The present-day congregation still leans on that same conviction as it nurtures families, equips believers, and welcomes neighbors into a meal, a Bible study, a mentoring hour at Blue Star Elementary, or a Sunday morning service at 10:00 AM.