Graafschap Christian Reformed Church has gathered in Holland, Michigan, since 1847, when Dutch pioneers settled a village five and a half miles southwest of the city. The church is known today as a mother church within the Christian Reformed Church, and its historic 1862 sanctuary houses a Heritage Center with a replica of the 1849 log church and a record of the immigration that shaped the community. Graafschap describes itself as a multi-generational Christian community that welcomes people of all ages and backgrounds, with Sunday worship at 9:30 AM and 6:00 PM in a blended style of beloved hymns and contemporary praise songs.
A Mother Church Since 1847
Graafschap's story begins with a group of Dutch settlers who held to orthodox Reformed theology after the 1834 Secession from the state church in the Netherlands. Religious persecution, political turmoil and economic hard times led to the formation of a Christian Emigration Society, and the Rev. A. C. Van Raalte and his congregation took the lead in late 1846 to immigrate to what would become Holland, Michigan. The Graafschap pioneers followed the next spring, establishing their community in 1847. Their journey aboard the Antoinette Maria began in Rotterdam on April 4, 1847, reached New York on May 23, and arrived in the Colony on June 20.
Life in the wilderness meant building log homes and overcoming extreme hardship and death. A village grew around the church with stores, a post office, a blacksmith shop, a lumberyard and a creamery. The "Kolonie" grew as pioneer farmers settled neighboring villages, the church family grew, and a vision for education took shape while sons of the community defended their freedom. In 1857 a new denomination was born, and nine daughter churches and a sister church began through Graafschap. The great leaders of that era were Rev. A. C. Van Raalte, Rev. D. J. Vander Werp and Senator J. W. Garvelink. The churches that grew from Graafschap are still remembered by name and date: Central Avenue CRC (1865), Niekerk CRC (1866), East Saugatuck CRC (1869), Montello Park CRC (1940), Bethany CRC (1946), Park CRC (1953), Maranatha CRC (1957), Gibson CRC (1976) and the Cambodian Fellowship (1988).
The settlers carried the influence of John Calvin and the teachings of the Protestant Reformation into the new country. Their church had become a state-controlled church, and government direction of church policy and doctrine, especially during the Napoleonic occupation, brought the liberalism that led to the Secession of 1834. Graafschap is described as a symbol of continuity in what remains a Dutch-German-American community, and its parishioners continued to speak Dutch for two generations.
The Heritage Center and Its Replica Log Church
The Heritage Center occupies one of Holland's historic churches, and its displays recount the area's history from immigration through prosperity. A replica of the 1849 log church stands inside, with a tablet beside it and a church marker in front of it. The marker carries the words of Joshua 4:6-7: "In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them ... These stones are to be a memorial to the people ... forever." Such a marker recalls the thousands of Europeans who came to America in the 1840s seeking to escape religious and political persecution and economic depression.
The main structure of the 1862 church was rebuilt in 2000 using its original beams to construct the Heritage Center. The center holds an open house on the last Tuesday of every month at 7 PM, and guided tours are available Monday through Friday from 9 AM to noon by calling the church office at 616-396-5008. An online overview of the collection is offered through the Graafschap Heritage YouTube channel.
Blended Worship at 9:30 AM and 6:00 PM
Graafschap gathers for worship at 5973 Church Street in Holland on Sundays at 9:30 AM and again at 6:00 PM. The church frames worship as a response to what God has done, with the congregation giving him praise, confessing its sins, giving him glory and being enriched by his word. A visitor can expect a "blended" musical style, in which the congregation sings beloved hymns alongside contemporary praise songs.
Both services can be joined online, with recent and upcoming services available through the church's online worship and the complete service library on the Graafschap CRC YouTube channel. Giving is treated as part of worship as well, and one-time or sustaining recurring gifts can be made online.
Rooted in God's Word and the Reformed Confessions
Graafschap believes the Bible, the Old and New Testaments, is the inspired Word of God and the complete and infallible rule for faith and life, revealing God's character, his saving work in Jesus Christ and his will for how his people are to live. At the heart of that faith is the good news of Jesus Christ: in love and mercy, God acted to rescue sinners through the life, death and resurrection of his Son. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross provides atonement for sin, restores relationship with God and brings new life to all who trust in him.
The church stands in unity with Christians throughout history by affirming the three ancient ecumenical creeds, the Apostle's Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed, which summarize the central truths of the Christian faith in one God in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and the saving work of Jesus Christ. As a congregation in the Reformed tradition, Graafschap also embraces the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dort, which articulate God's sovereignty, human sin and need, salvation by grace through faith, and the life of gratitude God calls his people to live.
As a member of the Christian Reformed Church, Graafschap gives particular shape to three themes. God's sovereignty is held as God's absolute plan, will and power over all things, which shapes the church's understanding that humans cannot save themselves and that salvation is God's work from beginning to end. God's covenant is understood as a binding set of promises from God to his people, forming faithful relationships with individuals, families and communities. The kingdom of God means Christ's rule over all creation, so education, politics, work, justice and stewardship are all seen as under Christ's lordship, shaping the church's commitment to Christian education, social action and service.
Children's Worship and Sunday School for Every Grade
During the 9:30 AM service, children ages 3 to 5 are given their own way to worship. They begin the service in the sanctuary with their parents and are dismissed after the opening songs to worship together downstairs. The year is spent working through the ABCs of Bible verses, learning a new verse each week for the letter being studied, and their time together includes prayer, games, crafts, music and a snack.
Sunday school classes for students in kindergarten through 12th grade meet from 10:50 to 11:30 AM each Sunday. The classes are an opportunity for children to grow closer to Christ and to one another, and students also learn about the importance of giving to God's kingdom through the offering for Hand2Hand Ministries. Every volunteer has had a background check and is committed to making the ministry a safe, Biblically relevant and fun environment for the children.
Middle School, GEMS and Cadets on Wednesday Nights
The middle school ministry for students in 6th through 8th grade typically meets on Wednesday evenings every other week from September through April. It is a place for students to come together, hang out, develop deep friendships and encounter the Living God. Alongside regular meetings, students have service opportunities, fun outings, a winter retreat and a week-long summer service week in the Holland area.
GEMS, which stands for Girls Everywhere Meeting the Savior, is for girls in 1st through 5th grade and meets on alternating Wednesday nights throughout the school year. The club spends its time hearing stories from the Bible, worshiping together, doing crafts and joining in fun events. Cadets is for boys in 1st through 5th grade and meets every other Wednesday night during the academic year. The program is part of the Calvinist Cadet Corps, a ministry dedicated to sharing Christ's love with young boys and to helping them "grow more Christlike in all areas of life," and at Graafschap boys dive into God's word and learn what it means to be a man of God.
High School Ministry on Alternating Sundays
The high school ministry gives students a place to deepen their relationship with Jesus, meeting in large and small group settings on alternating Sunday nights. The church places a strong value on investing in the lives of students for one another, since that builds a community of accountability, friendship and trust. The year includes a variety of opportunities for service, discipleship and fellowship.
Adult Groups for Bible Study and Community
Adult Bible study groups at Graafschap are led by church members and meet at various times through the week. The Men's Group gathers every other Wednesday evening in the library, and the Women's Group meets on Wednesday mornings from 9:30 to 11 AM. A group for couples under 30 also gathers to grow in community and faith. Paul and Judy Plaggemars can be reached for information about the groups, and Nancy VanderVeen can be reached about one of the Wednesday morning groups.
The Ministers and Teachers Behind the Ministries
The senior pastor's call to ministry came during his final two years of college and especially after graduation. He enrolled at Calvin Theological Seminary in 1994 and, following his graduation in 1998, was called to serve Prairie Edge CRC in Portage, Michigan. After nearly 21 years with that congregation, he and his wife, along with their three daughters, discerned the call to serve Graafschap CRC. His particular passions in ministry are worship, preaching and teaching, and he describes the joy of bringing God's Word to God's people and inviting them to bring that truth into God's world.
Youth ministry has drawn the other member of the ministry team described at Graafschap in a similar way. He has been involved in youth ministry since 2001, upon graduating from Reformed Bible College, with ministry opportunities between Pella, Iowa and Holland, Michigan. Graafschap has been his church home since 2011, and there he worships and serves with his wife and four children. Teaching the Bible is one of his joys and passions, and he loves doing it with students in middle school and high school as well as with young adults. One of his life verses is Jeremiah 29:11-13, where God reminds his children that he has plans for their lives filled with hope, and that is something he challenges students to live by each day.
Four Missionary Partnerships
Graafschap supports four missionary relationships. It serves with Poetice in Zambia, where the church supports the work of Nikkie Brink. It serves with Resonate Global Mission in Japan, supporting the Gho family. It also partners with Jubilee Centers International in Honduras, and with Zuni Christian Mission School in Zuni, New Mexico.
Joining Graafschap and Staying Connected
The church office can be reached at 616-396-5008 or at office@graafschapcrc.org, and an elder or visiting contact is available at eldervisit@gmail.com. Members have access to a church portal with a calendar and forms, including participant release, criminal history consent, participant conduct pledge, volunteer promise, transportation promise and bus usage request forms. The congregation also shares updates through Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Graafschap Christian Reformed Church gathers at 5973 Church Street in Holland, Michigan, with Sunday worship at 9:30 AM and 6:00 PM in a blended style of beloved hymns and contemporary praise songs. Around that weekly rhythm sit children's worship and Sunday school for every grade, middle school and high school ministries, GEMS and Cadets, adult Bible study groups, a historic Heritage Center with a replica of the 1849 log church, and missionary partnerships that carry the church's Reformed conviction into the world.