Hope Church: Reformed Church in America / Hope Church: Reformed Church in America

In 1854, seven years after Dutch settlers came to this area, the Reformed Church in America established an English-language preaching mission in Holland. Principals from the Holland Academy, which became Hope College in 1866, served as early ministers. In 1862 the mission became Hope Church, Second Protestant Dutch Reformed Church. The congregation’s ten charter members were led by missionary preacher Philip Phelps, who later became the first president of Hope College. The church and college have been closely associated, sharing the same name and similar seals featuring an “anchor of hope.” Through the years the congregation’s progressive spirit has attracted people from diverse backgrounds. In 1860 the Reverend Albertus C. Van Raalte, founder of Holland, gave this congregation four village lots on this site. The original 1864 frame building burned in Holland’s 1871 fire. In 1874 a simple brick Gothic Revival church, designed by Carl Pfeiffer of New York City, was built. When razed in 1981 to build the Parish Life Center, its bracketed belfry and thirty-one-foot spire were saved. Clark and Munger of Bay City designed the present Veneklasen brick, Flemish stepped-gable sanctuary, which was dedicated in 1902. Major interior renovations were completed in 1947 and 1984. In 1962 an education wing was built. The exterior was restored in 1980.