Noordeloos

A continuous arrival of immigrants from the Netherlands in 1847 and 1848 dotted the Black River region with a number of distinct communities. Noordeloos, which was named for its first pastor’s native village, provided rich soil for farming. Early settlers had previously worshipped in Zeeland, but a distance of five miles and poor roads prompted these parishioners to petition the Classis Holland on April 3, 1856, to organize their own Reformed church. The Reverend Koene van den Bosch, an influential “seceder,” was invited to minister to area settlers. On May 16, 1856, he arrived from Noordeloos, the Netherlands, and was welcomed into the classis. He became the first pastor of the Noordeloos Reformed Church and preached his inaugural sermon from a farmer’s wagon in the woods.

[Back]: Religious discord in the Netherlands and antipathy with earlier religious leaders in the western Michigan settlements inspired a secession movement in the Reformed church led by the Reverend Koene van den Bosch. At a meeting of the Classis Holland on April 8, 1857, the Reverend van den Bosch presented a letter of secession and, joined by three other churches, founded the Christian Reformed Church. This group, comprised of sixteen families, changed its name to Noordeloos Christian Reformed Church. The secession letter of March 14, 1857, was dated earlier than documents presented by fellow congregations; therefore Noordeloos claims the distinction of being the first congregation of the Christian Reformed Church denomination.