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Reformed Congregations
The Reformed Congregations (in Dutch: Gereformeerde Gemeenten, abbreviated GerGem) is a conservative Reformed church with 152 congregations in the Netherlands, 1 in Randburg, South Africa and 1 congregation in Carterton, New Zealand. The denomination has approximately 107,015 members as of 1 January 2024. It is Calvinist in theology. It is affiliated with the North American Netherlands Reformed Congregations.
The denomination is also sometimes called the Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands and North America, which can be confused with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (in Dutch: Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland, abbreviated GKN), which were formed 1892 and which merged with the Netherlands Reformed Church (in Dutch: Nederlands Hervormde Kerk, abbreviated NHK) in 2004.
The Reformed Congregations was formed in 1907 as a federation of the Reformed Churches under the Cross, which had its roots in 1834, and the Lederboerian reformed congregations. The founder was Gerrit Hendrik Kersten (1882–1948). Kersten not only brought unification, but he helped organise the federation.
In 1909, the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands requested to unite with the Reformed Congregations. Due to theological differences, the union was declined. In 1926, a Calvinist seminary was founded in Rotterdam.
In 1929, the church had 67 congregations and 26,380 members. Twenty years later, the numbers had risen to 140 congregations and 62,000 members, more than double of the congregations and an annual growth rate of 6.7 percent.
In 1931, the denomination prepared the so-called "doctrines of '31", which gave an elaboration of the doctrine of the denomination's attention to man. During World War II, many Reformed congregation church buildings were destroyed.
Shortly after the end of the war, there was a period of theological controversies in the denomination. The cause of the schism of 1953 was the deposition of Rev Dr. C. Steenblok as a lecturer at the Theological School of the Reformed Congregations, but a different view on the free offer of the gospel also played a role; the Reformed Congregations held to the view of a free, well-meant offer of the gospel, but the congregations who split off did not. In 1953, the Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands was born.
The Reformed Congregations have experienced a steady growth, in spite of the progressive secularisation in the Netherlands. The denomination grew from 53,000 members in 1953 to 107,015 in 2024. Also noteworthy is the growth in the province of Overijssel and in the town of Rijssen. The denomination's membership in the wider urban area around Rotterdam increased seven times from what it was in 1950. Several new congregations were started in the Dutch Bible Belt.
Reformed Congregations
The Reformed Congregations (in Dutch: Gereformeerde Gemeenten, abbreviated GerGem) is a conservative Reformed church with 152 congregations in the Netherlands, 1 in Randburg, South Africa and 1 congregation in Carterton, New Zealand. The denomination has approximately 107,015 members as of 1 January 2024. It is Calvinist in theology. It is affiliated with the North American Netherlands Reformed Congregations.
The denomination is also sometimes called the Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands and North America, which can be confused with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (in Dutch: Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland, abbreviated GKN), which were formed 1892 and which merged with the Netherlands Reformed Church (in Dutch: Nederlands Hervormde Kerk, abbreviated NHK) in 2004.
The Reformed Congregations was formed in 1907 as a federation of the Reformed Churches under the Cross, which had its roots in 1834, and the Lederboerian reformed congregations. The founder was Gerrit Hendrik Kersten (1882–1948). Kersten not only brought unification, but he helped organise the federation.
In 1909, the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands requested to unite with the Reformed Congregations. Due to theological differences, the union was declined. In 1926, a Calvinist seminary was founded in Rotterdam.
In 1929, the church had 67 congregations and 26,380 members. Twenty years later, the numbers had risen to 140 congregations and 62,000 members, more than double of the congregations and an annual growth rate of 6.7 percent.
In 1931, the denomination prepared the so-called "doctrines of '31", which gave an elaboration of the doctrine of the denomination's attention to man. During World War II, many Reformed congregation church buildings were destroyed.
Shortly after the end of the war, there was a period of theological controversies in the denomination. The cause of the schism of 1953 was the deposition of Rev Dr. C. Steenblok as a lecturer at the Theological School of the Reformed Congregations, but a different view on the free offer of the gospel also played a role; the Reformed Congregations held to the view of a free, well-meant offer of the gospel, but the congregations who split off did not. In 1953, the Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands was born.
The Reformed Congregations have experienced a steady growth, in spite of the progressive secularisation in the Netherlands. The denomination grew from 53,000 members in 1953 to 107,015 in 2024. Also noteworthy is the growth in the province of Overijssel and in the town of Rijssen. The denomination's membership in the wider urban area around Rotterdam increased seven times from what it was in 1950. Several new congregations were started in the Dutch Bible Belt.
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