An Unlikely Church Plant?

Zeeland, Mich., may seem an unlikely place for a church plant where people can worship in Chinese. There aren’t many people in or around the town of about 5,700 residents who are of Chinese descent.

But Zeeland is the place where God led John Chen and a team to plant Logos Church—and it has become a beloved faith community for those who call it home.

An Unexpected Call

Born in rural China, Chen was nurtured as a Confucianist and educated to be an atheist. He never dreamed of becoming a Christian or someday planting a church. But when he was studying at university, one of his friends shared the gospel with him—and kept doing so. After five years of conversations, studying the Bible, and praying, Chen became a follower of Jesus. 

He became involved in the underground church in China, beginning with offering his home to host a Bible study. Over time, the Holy Spirit and fellow believers nudged him to become one of the local leaders. Feeling that he wasn’t equipped for the role, he started to learn theology in any way he could. One of the ways he did that was through translating theological books. Looking back, he said he marvels at how many of those books were written by Reformed theologians—though he hadn’t known of anyone from the Reformed tradition at the time.

And as he was researching where to apply to attend seminary, Chen met someone from the Christian Reformed Church in North America who was in China for a mission trip. The man encouraged Chen to apply to Calvin Theological Seminary in 2011.

After Chen finished his M.Div and Th.M degrees at Calvin Seminary, he was planning to go back to China—but then, he said, God surprisingly called him to lead a Chinese training program in the United States. During that time, some church pastors, seminary professors, and Resonate ministry leaders approached him about church planting in the U.S. He started praying about it but kept hitting roadblocks, he said. As years went by and people continued to ask him about planting a church, Chen added, it seemed that he kept hearing a “no” from God.

Then in July 2023 a group of 18 people from China and of Chinese descent gathered and prayed about starting a church in Zeeland. Most of them were planning to return to China soon, but a community in Zeeland was growing. The group included some people who had immigrated from China, some families who had adopted children from China, and some others who had worked in China or served as missionaries there. Zeeland Christian School had also begun a Mandarin Immersion program.

During this time of prayer and worship, it became clear that God wanted them to plant a church. 

A Place to Belong

Like all church planting efforts, it took a team to get this church plant started—Chen and a committed group of people, Resonate, established congregations, and the local classis. Meeting in Third Christian Reformed Church of Zeeland’s sanctuary, the church now gathers every Friday evening for a bilingual worship service. Logos seeks to serve the community, and they’ve hosted outreach events such as the celebration of the Lunar New Year. From a core team of four persons, they’ve grown to an average attendance of 40 people at weekly worship services. Nearly 100 people attended their Lunar New Year worship.

“The loving atmosphere and sincere welcoming culture has drawn more and more people. The Lord has made it grow amazingly,” said Chen.

Individuals and families have found a faith community where they feel they can belong, and that’s important to Chen and his team. A few families are of Chinese ethnicity, though not all of them speak Chinese. A few American families who have adopted children from China have also joined the church, and so have people who lived or served overseas in China for a time.

“It is a bilingual church plant. There are almost as many children and adults, and there are almost as many Chinese and Americans. It is diverse; it is full of life. There are often pastors from other churches who come to the ministry as well,” shared Li Ma, a member.

The first time Ma connected with Logos, she said, she had been driving her daughter and friends from New Orleans to Zeeland. She remembers that it was a very cold day in March and that she was worried because they hadn’t found a place to stay. That’s when a teacher from Zeeland Christian School invited them to stay at her house—she also invited them to a Logos gathering that night.

“I believe it’s all by the grace of God . . . the whole process was as natural as if I had belonged here a long time ago,” said Ma.

Len Riemersma, a retired CRC pastor who helps lead Logos Church’s youth ministry, said it didn’t take long for him to become a member of the church after first connecting with their Bible study.

“I was struck by how I was received and welcomed. If every church would reach out to visitors the way this group reached out to me, I think our denomination would double in size,” he said.

Logos Church is more than a place to worship in a familiar language and culture—it’s a community where discipleship takes root across generations and backgrounds. What began as a small gathering has become a growing expression of God’s kingdom in Zeeland.