Ottawa County churches have separated from Reformed Church in America. Here's why.

A pair of local churches have left the Reformed Church in America denomination.

Hope Church in Grand Haven Township and First Reformed Church in the city of Grand Haven both recently left the denomination.

Hope Church

Tim Taylor, pastor at Hope Church, 14932 Mercury Drive, said the constant division and infighting within the RCA was the deciding factor. The most glaring issue currently is how churches handle human sexuality.

“For us, it wasn’t really about that issue so much as every time something came up, we were being told we had to choose a side,” Taylor said. “There has been constant division and arguments really dating back to the ‘80s, when it was trying to decide about women in ministry. We felt we’d rather not be constantly arguing – we’d rather just try to care for and love our community.”

That doesn’t mean Hope Church doesn’t have theological stances on issues, including human sexuality.

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“We have openly stated that we believe marriage is between one man and one woman,” Taylor said. “But we have people in our congregation wrestling with sexual orientation. We have people coming because they know we love them and we’re going to care for them. We can state what we believe, but more than anything, we need to be a loving community.”

In order to leave one denomination, a church has to join another one, Taylor said. Hope has joined the Gateway Church Network, following a longtime relationship with the Gateway Church near Fort Worth, Texas.

“The Gateway Network asks, ‘Who can we encourage and bless you so you can be healthy as a leader?’” Taylor said.

While this wasn’t a financial decision, Taylor noted that money that was previously sent to the RCA’s regional and national offices will now stay local.

“We can take money that had been going to the national office, paying for salaries, and now feed people who are hungry, help people who are going to be evicted,” he said.

The Hope congregation was overwhelmingly supportive of the move away from the RCA denomination, Taylor said. When it was put to a vote, there was only one “no” cast.

First Reformed of Grand Haven

John Kenny, pastor at First Reformed Church of Grand Haven, 301 Washington Ave., said his congregation was equally devoted to the split, voting 116-1 to leave the RCA.

“Broadly speaking, there was a sense that the RCA had moved away from its historic roots, in how it understood the authority of the Bible, what it said about Jesus, the meaning of his death, as well as how it spoke on a number of social issues,” Kenny said. “There was a move within the RCA toward progressive Christianity, which we rejected.”

Kenny said he participated in several conversations, meetings and Q&A sessions with his congregation in preparation for the split.

Going forward, First Reformed Church will associate with the Alliance of Reformed Churches.

“That’s really a movement that started with a lot of former RCA churches around the nation that felt similar to us,” Kenny said.

Kenny says he and the First Reformed congregation are excited for the future.

“So much time in the past few decades have been caught up in different debates,” he explained. “This alliance is really about churches being effective in ministry. We’re looking forward – leaning into the future.”

First Reformed’s congregation dates back to 1848. It has had six buildings: three were destroyed by fires, in 1889, 1907 and 1913; and the current downtown church was dedicated in 1914.

“We knew it was the right time for us to leave, but we’re not leaving with any animosity or anger,” Kenny said. “But it’s fair to say we’re frustrated and disappointed in how things ended. … We aren’t burning bridges. We still have friends and ministry partners, RCA missionaries we’ll continue to support. It was just time to make this move.”

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Two Ottawa County churches separate from Reformed Church in America