Joy Comes Out of Pain for Two CRCs

Members of Community Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids say they got the best Christmas gift ever—and it came in an unexpected, even miraculous way from Godwin Heights CRC, their mother church.

The gift was a check for $105,000, enough the make the congregation’s hope for a building campaign a reality. The money was part of the proceeds that Godwin Heights received after closing and selling its facility in late November to a Catholic church.

“This donation is really a testimony of faith and the way God provides for us,” said Pastor David Struyk of Community CRC, which was formally organized in 1984. “This is our opportunity to keep the ministry of Godwin CRC alive.”

Because the congregation was aging and not bringing in new families, Godwin decided earlier this year to end its more than 80-year ministry by disbanding and selling the facility. The Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids purchased the 20,000-square-foot church and its parsonage for $385,000.

“To liquidate our assets was a difficult and painful decision that we had to make,” said Pastor Russell Boersma, who had served as pastor of Godwin Heights.

After paying off its debts, Godwin has about $185,000 left. They decided to give 60 percent of that to Community CRC and 40 percent to Classis Grand Rapids South to help fund the planting of a new church somewhere in southern Kent County. The Bibles and hymnals from Godwin will go to the new church plant as well.

“It was truly our desire to see God’s kingdom march on,” says Boersma. “Community CRC has done a remarkable job of meeting the needs of its community, and we are grateful that we can help them to keep meeting the needs.”

Located in a low-income neighborhood in the Home Acres neighborhood of Grand Rapids, Community CRC was begun more than 40 years ago as a mission effort of nearby Godwin Heights CRC.

As providence would have it, this is the year that Community CRC launched its $150,000 building campaign. However, the church was only able to come up with about $30,000, because many of the church’s members are on low or fixed incomes, says Struyk.

The gift from Godwin Heights will go a long way toward helping the church expand its ministries by covering the cost of taking down and refurbishing parts of the current structure.

Meanwhile, Struyk is also involved in creating a proposal to plant a new church in the area. The funds from Godwin will help in that venture as well, he says.

As he ties up the loose ends of the sale of the church and waits for a new call to another church, Boersma says he has found himself in awe of the good that can come out of a difficult situation. At the same time, though, he is working with long-time Godwin Heights members who are grief-stricken over the closing of the church that had been their home for many years.

“The cost of being a Christian is sometimes that we hurt, and we must take care of one another. But out of that hurt can also come joy,” he says.