Ebenezer Reformed Church sits along German Church Road in the countryside between the towns of Byron and Oregon in Ogle County, Illinois. It is a small, close-knit congregation of about 200 active members that has shaped the spiritual life of this corner of northwest Illinois for more than a century and a half. The church's motto, "One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism," hints at the Reformed convictions that have anchored its ministry since the first German immigrants gathered for worship in a log cabin in the mid-1800s.
A "Stone of Help" Since 1869
The name Ebenezer comes straight from the Bible. In 1 Samuel 7:12, the prophet Samuel sets up a stone and calls it "Ebenezer," meaning "stone of help," to mark the places where God had been faithful to his people. The congregation took that name as a statement of faith: God has helped, and God will continue to help.
The story begins in 1849, when Jan Reints, an immigrant from East Friesen in northern Germany, crossed the Rock River at Byron with only 35 cents in his pocket. He found work as a blacksmith at Paynes Point and became the first East Friesen to settle in the area. As more families followed, the settlers longed for preaching and the formal study of Scripture. A Lutheran pastor from Mount Morris preached in local schoolhouses, and a man from Franklin Grove held powerful revival meetings until he began claiming he could send and receive letters to and from heaven, which ended his usefulness. Harm Roos, a settler who lived about a mile north of the present church, opened his log cabin for worship, reading sermons and praying with the neighbors. That small gathering grew into Ebenezer Reformed Church.
The congregation applied to the Classis of Wisconsin for organization in 1869, and by 1874 it had grown large enough to call its first pastor, the Rev. Louis Watermulder. The members bought an old schoolhouse and moved it near where the present building stands. Within a year they had outgrown it and built a new church in 1875. That building served the congregation for more than 90 years until the current church was erected in 1969.
Sunday Morning: Sunday School at Nine, Worship at Ten
Sunday mornings follow a simple rhythm. Sunday School for all ages, including adults, begins at 9:00 a.m. and gives the congregation a structured hour to study Scripture together. Worship follows at 10:00 a.m. and usually runs about 60 to 75 minutes. The service is a deliberate blend of old and new: a Reformed liturgy of confession of sin and assurance of pardon, organ music alongside a contemporary praise band, and a sermon that opens, reads, teaches and applies God's Word each week.
Visitors are told to come as they are. Some folks dress up, but most wear casual clothes, including jeans and shorts. The sanctuary has no assigned seating, so newcomers can sit wherever they are comfortable; ushers at the back of the sanctuary are glad to help with seating. Children are welcome to stay in the service. For those who need a break, a nursery filled with books and toys is available. Worship is also streamed online through Zoom, so members who are traveling or unable to attend in person can join from wherever they happen to be.
Love God, Love People, Serve the Community
The church's mission statement is short enough to memorize: Love God, Love People, Serve the Community. Loving God shows up most clearly on Sunday mornings in gathered worship and Bible study. Loving People shows up around tables, in living rooms, in the small details of life together. Serving the Community shows up in mission support, food pantry partnerships, Operation Christmas Child boxes and trips to the Rockford Rescue Mission.
Three values frame that mission. The first is Family. The congregation sees itself as part of God's household, "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone" (Ephesians 2:19-20). Members walk with one another through difficult times, share meals, celebrate milestones and work hard to learn each other's names. The second is Fellowship. Coffee, cookies and conversation after the service are taken seriously at Ebenezer. The third is Charity. Members quote the words of Jesus: "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). As a small congregation, Ebenezer gives generously to local food pantries, missionaries, and ministry partners near and far.
Life Groups, Fellowshippers, and Music
The church family finds many ways to connect during the week. Life groups are small groups that meet throughout the week, often around food, to encourage one another in faith and life. Christian Fellowshippers is a ministry for the 50-plus members of the congregation that meets once a month for a potluck, an outing, or an ice cream run.
Music is a particular point of pride. A small choir sings periodically throughout the year, and a praise team leads contemporary worship music most Sundays. Pianists, organists and other instrumentalists are invited to share their gifts as well.
The men of the church meet for breakfast and fellowship once a month on the third Saturday at Sunrise in Byron at 7:00 a.m. The women meet on Monday evenings for Bible study and a chance to share joys and struggles with one another. A prayer chain, organized by telephone, is an essential part of the congregation's life; requests can be sent in through the church office. A monthly newsletter is available in print at the church and by email (sign-ups go through ercrays@gmail.com).
Missions and Outreach
Ebenezer takes seriously the words of Jesus in Matthew 28 to go into all the world and teach everything he commanded. Locally, the church supports the food pantries in four surrounding towns: Oregon, Byron, Stillman Valley and Mount Morris. Members also serve with the Rockford Rescue Mission, a ministry that shares hope and help in Jesus' name with people facing homelessness and despair in the wider Rockford area. Each November, the congregation packs shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child to send gifts and the Gospel to children around the world.
Internationally, Ebenezer supports Chuck and Jean Van Engen, missionaries to Latin America who train leaders of the Latin American church, and Jackson County Ministries in Kentucky, an active program of evangelism and service in the Appalachian region.
Throughout the year the church also hosts community events: trunk-or-treat, soup suppers to raise money for area ministries, and other outreach moments that put the church at the center of life in the surrounding towns.
What Ebenezer Believes
Ebenezer is a confessional church within the Reformed tradition. Members affirm that the Scriptures are true, authoritative and sufficient; that there is one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; that all humanity is born into sin and that the deserved penalty for sin is death. They confess that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, born of a virgin, fully God and fully human, who died as a substitute to pay the penalty for sin and physically rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and will one day physically return. They hold that there will be a future physical resurrection of the dead, with eternal reward for those who trust in Christ alone and eternal punishment for those who do not, and that reconciliation with God comes only through trusting in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
The congregation embraces the three ecumenical creeds (the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed) and the three historic Reformed confessions known as the Three Forms of Unity: the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dort. The church also affirms the Belhar Confession, a more recent statement from the Reformed family that speaks to themes of unity, reconciliation and the church's call to justice.
Part of the Reformed Church in America
Ebenezer is part of the Reformed Church in America (RCA), a denomination whose roots reach back to the Protestant Reformation in sixteenth-century Europe. The first Reformed congregation in what is now the United States was established in 1648 in what is now New York. Today the RCA comprises roughly 975 churches in the United States and Canada with about 200,000 active confirmed members. The RCA describes itself as the oldest denomination in the United States with a continuous ministry, a heritage Ebenezer shares in its own corner of Illinois.
A Pastoral Lineage of Long Pastorates
Ebenezer's history is marked by long pastorates and steady leadership. The Rev. William Diekhoff served from 1897 to 1929, more than thirty years. The Rev. Kenneth Cordes led the congregation from 1967 to 1982, and the Rev. Robert Hoffman from 1983 to 2007, a stretch of twenty-four years. More recent pastors have included the Rev. Philip A. Rauwerdink (2008-2009), the Rev. Brion Brooks (2009-2014), Pastor John Wisdom (2015-2017), the Rev. Marvin Jacobs (2017-2019), and the Rev. Josiah Youngquist (2019-2025). The list reflects a congregation that has valued continuity, even as it has welcomed new voices at the pulpit. Supply preachers and guest preachers, including the Rev. Brian Akker, the Rev. Ray Tilstra, Bob Hoffman, Art Aviles and Charmel Jacobs, fill the pulpit during pastoral transitions.
Searching for the Next Senior Pastor
Ebenezer is currently in search of a Senior Pastor. The congregation describes itself as "warm," "financially stable" and "Bible-centered," and is looking for an energetic, outgoing individual to lead its members. The next pastor will preach with a Biblical foundation, provide spiritual leadership, and help the congregation build relationships outside the church for the glory of God's kingdom. He or she will work with the consistory and members of all ages to grow both spiritually and in number.
The church is offering a comprehensive salary and benefits package that includes the use of a modern brick parsonage within walking distance of the church. The four-bedroom home has a two-car attached garage. Candidates are asked to send resumes and cover letters to ercsearchcommittee@gmail.com or by mail to the church office. A formal church profile is available for review.
A Small Church with a Long Memory
From Jan Reints crossing the Rock River with 35 cents to a four-bedroom parsonage within walking distance of the sanctuary, Ebenezer Reformed Church has carried the same basic identity for more than 150 years. The name "stone of help" still fits. The congregation is small, but its reach, through local food pantries, the Rockford Rescue Mission, Operation Christmas Child, Latin American leadership training and Appalachian ministry, is anything but. Members come as they are. They stay because the church has learned to know their names. And they keep gathering, week after week, around Word, table and prayer in the same stretch of Ogle County countryside where East Friesen settlers first opened a log cabin for the reading of sermons.