A Dutch Heritage on Orange Avenue in Ripon
Immanuel Christian Reformed Church sits at 517 Orange Avenue in the small city of Ripon, in California's San Joaquin County, between Modesto and Manteca in the Central Valley. The church was founded in 1946 by a group of Dutch immigrants, and more than seventy-five years later it remains a mid-sized, multi-generational congregation. Patrick Anthony has served as senior pastor since September 2021, leading a staff that also includes Worship Pastor JP Trabbold and Youth Director Corey Viss.
Sunday Worship: Two Services, One Faith
Immanuel gathers every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. for worship. A typical service runs about one hour and fifteen minutes and follows a historic Protestant liturgy, interspersed with traditional and contemporary psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. The preaching is expositional, moving book by book through the Bible, and the congregation ordinarily partakes of the Lord's Supper on the first Sunday of every month.
Services are streamed live for those who cannot attend in person, and the same broadcast can be reached through free Boxcast apps on Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire devices. Visitors are welcome at either service; the morning gathering is followed by coffee and cookies in the social hall.
Children and Students
Children are a visible part of worship at Immanuel. Families are free to keep children of any age with them throughout the service. A nursery is available for children two years old and younger, and an optional children's Bible story time is offered during the 9:30 a.m. service for children ages three through second grade; the children are blessed and dismissed from the service before the sermon. Children's Worship, for ages three through second grade, includes singing, a Bible story, and a response time during the morning service.
Sunday school classes are available for students from kindergarten through eighth grade, meeting from 8:30 to 9:15 a.m. before the morning worship. Two long-standing ministries extend that formation during the week: GEMS, a club for girls in third through sixth grade that meets on the first and third Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the fellowship hall, and Cadets, a program for boys in third through eighth grade that meets on the first and third Mondays at 6:30 p.m. from September through May.
Corey Viss directs the student ministry, working with the young people of the congregation through the ministry of the Word.
Adults Growing Together
Immanuel's adult ministry is built around the conviction that the Christian life is lived in relationship. Adult Sunday School meets on Sundays from 8:30 to 9:15 a.m. for any adult who wants to dig deeper between services.
A wide range of small groups meets throughout the week. Women can join Morning Seekers on Wednesdays from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m., Coffee Break on Thursdays from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. or 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., Monday Women's Bible Study (every other week at 7:00 p.m.), or Women In The Word, a 10-week study offered in fall and spring on Tuesdays from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Seasoned Saints, a Bible study for older adults, meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. Book Club gathers on the third Tuesday of each month from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Men's groups include the Monday Men's Bible Study (every other Monday at 8:00 a.m. at a private residence), the Thursday Men's Bible Study at Country Skillet in Ripon on the first and third Thursdays at 6:00 a.m., a Saturday group at 7:30 a.m., and a Sunday group meeting every two weeks at 7:30 p.m. Crossroads Prison Ministry invites volunteers to correct inmates' Bible lessons and write letters of encouragement a few hours each week.
What We Believe
Immanuel is a member congregation of the Christian Reformed Church of North America. The church describes itself in three words. Christian means receiving the Bible as God's very words and trusting in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for freedom from and forgiveness of sin, in continuity with the three Ecumenical Creeds. Reformed means theology and practice rooted in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation, summarized in the Three Forms of Unity, with an emphasis on the holiness and sovereignty of God, the sinfulness of man, the sufficiency of Scripture, and the need for personal conversion through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Church, in the language of Belgic Confession Article 28, is the gathering of those who are saved, with no salvation apart from it.
The congregation is governed locally by three assemblies: a Governing Council, the Elders, and the Deacons. Craig Kootstra chairs the Council; the Elders include Jared Goslinga, Keith Terpsma, Mark Van Dyken, Kevin Van Laar, and Brent Van Zwaluwenburg; the Deacons are Kirk Tillema (Admin Deacon), Paul Vander Veen (Finance Deacon), John Burleson, Mike King, and David Roos.
Serving One Another and the City of Ripon
Immanuel's mission statement reads, "By God's grace we: Glorify Him, Proclaim the Gospel, Grow in Our Faith, Serve One Another." Inside the church, that looks like a deep bench of volunteer committees: Greeters, Ushers, and Coffee Servers who aid each Sunday; a Tech Team supporting the livestream and other ministries; a Worship Team that rehearses on Thursday evenings and before Sunday services; a First Impressions Committee that keeps the building warm and welcoming; a Funeral Lunch Committee that provides meals for grieving families; a Helping Hands Committee that delivers meals and transportation to members in need; a Let's Connect Committee that builds fellowship among the women of the church; and an Outreach Committee that plans activities to share the faith in the community.
Outside the church, Immanuel helps lead Love Ripon, a city-wide day of service modeled on Love Modesto, which has grown to include more than fifty cities and tens of thousands of volunteers since 2009. On Love Ripon days, residents take on projects such as feeding the hungry, visiting convalescent homes, building with Habitat for Humanity, donating blood, and working in city parks and schools.
Visiting Immanuel
The church is located at 517 Orange Avenue, Ripon, CA 95366, with parking behind the building (the lot entrance is on Orange Avenue) and additional street parking on Orange Avenue and 4th Street. The building is wheelchair accessible, except for the north entrance, and several handicapped parking spaces are reserved to the south of the church. The sanctuary is equipped with an assisted listening system, and large-print bulletins, Bibles, and Psalter Hymnals are available. Office hours are Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.; the office is closed on Mondays and Saturdays. The phone number is 209-599-6163 and the email is info@immanuelcrc.org.