Fifth Reformed Church has been a part of the Grand Rapids community
since 1886. Our current facility was built in1957 in an open field. Over
the years, an entire neighborhood sprang up all around us. Through the
years, we have been a community with a mission to serve and love our
neighbors, both locally and globally. While we are a diverse
congregation, we are bound together in love as one people.
It took four days for the founders of Fifth Church to construct the original building, a 1,920-square-foot wooden structure where a group of 69 people worshipped with Psalm 126 in their hearts back in 1886. The first pastor, the Rev. R. H. Joldersma, was hired that spring at a salary of $800. Under his guidance, the church built a permanent home, and grew to 236 families by the end of his three-year tenure in 1889. "The Church on the Hill," as it was known, still stands at the corner of Pleasant Street and Church Place just off Grandville Avenue south of Wealthy Street.
We are celebrating our 125th anniversary and look forward to many more years of serving the community.