6175 Kuttshill Drive, Rockford, MI 49341 * Phone (616) 866-2230 * Fax (616) 866-9814 * e Mail: NKPChurch@gmail.com
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Under the sponsorship and guidance of North Park Presbyterian Church, the congregation which was to become North Kent Presbyterian Church first met in the old Belmont Town Hall in March of 1958. Those first few families, bound together by ties of faith and fellowship, met every challenge with complete confidence that “God’s will be done,” in spreading His Word into a new mission field in northern Kent County.
With the help of David Bos, a Princeton Theological Seminary student sent by Presbytery to guide the group, the congregation soon grew to require larger quarters. In October of 1958, the old Sage School on M-44 was pressed into service as the first “home” of North Kent Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Alex Ungvary became part time minister in 1959, leaving when he was asked to assume full time duties at Oakhill Presbyterian Church in Grand Rapids early in 1960.
In April of 1960, Rev. Manson Lowe came to the church with the official designation of “organizing pastor.” In June of that year, the first building on the present property was completed under the supervision of Elder Cornelius Schans of the Eastminister Church. The building became the manse, but was originally built with virtually no inside walls…to accommodate up to one hundred worshippers in our first permanent home.
Officially, the North Kent Presbyterian Church came into being by the formal organizing act of the Presbytery of Grand River on May 7, 1961, and we became officially a congregation of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. It was a long period of gestation to reach this formal milestone.
Three years later, on Palm Sunday, April 5, 1964, Lowe Chapel was dedicated. The last floor tile had been installed in the wee hours of the morning, because it was Dr. Lowe’s last Sunday and the job “just had to be done.”
Exactly one year later…almost to the hour…on Palm Sunday, April 11, 1965, a tornado blew the roof off the building and knocked down the rear wall. Hurriedly the Youth Group, and their sponsors, who had been meeting in the manse basement, gathered books and equipment from the chapel and carried it to the “white house.” Services were held the following Sunday in “the house that was a Church.”
The damage wrought by the storm was particularly distressing to the congregation, because the church had just extended a call to the Rev. Jack Luidens of Milwaukee, who would arrive with his family in June. Again, with exceptional effort on the part of all the members of the congregation, the damage was repaired and the manse completed…just under the wire, with linoleum and carpet on the 23rd, and moving vans on the 24th.
In September of 1971, Dr. Walter Teeuwissen came to serve us as Stated Supply and in February of 1974 accepted our call and was installed. During Dr. Teeuwissen’s tenure we saw many changes. Lowe chapel acquired portable classrooms to provide space for the expanding Christian Education program. As families continued to join the North Kent congregation, the pressure on the existing space became more severe, until it was decided to add a permanent wing to the building. The office, classroom, and fellowship addition to the church is once again not meeting the needs of our changing church family and our community.
When Dr. Teeuwissen retired to become Pastor emeritus of North kent, the congregation called Pastor Timothy Yoon in February of 1980. Pastor Yoon brought his family to us from Kansas, and brought a deep personal commitment to the active sense of mission upon which the church was founded.
The Rev. Wilbur R. Cloosterhouse, D.D. came to us as Interim Pastor in November of 1982 and served us well through November of 1983. At that time the Rev. Kurt Stiansen answered our call and he, his wife Sharon and their daughter Kara moved into the completely redecorated manse in time for Christmas. They came to us from the Schoolcraft Presbyterian Church in Schoolcraft, Michigan. Rev. Stiansen’s joy in serving God and his children was an inspiration to us all.
During Rev. Stiansen’s tenure, projects included a complete interior facelift of all church facilities from the carpet up, and the initiation of two worship services on Sunday, which remained for about four years until the needs of our church changed. The adult Sunday School program was outstanding. Once again the church needs changed. To attempt to reach out to more families, with emphasis on our youths’ needs, we tried holding youth Sunday School at the same time as Worship. We tried this for about four years. Attendance did not grow as hoped and the Adult Sunday school floundered. Today we try to answer the congregation’s needs by having all Sunday Schools meet at 9:30am followed by worship at 10:45am. This is followed by the social hour. During Kurt’s tenure the Deacons developed Shepherding lists in which families are divided amongst the Deacons for constant care in church life. A strong music program was developed which is a joy to all who hear it. Another success is the popular get-acquainted program called “Suppers of Eight.”” Many means for mission have developed with Kurt’s help, including: locally, “Pennies from Heaven,” “Adopt a Family” (which takes place during the Christmas holidays), North Kent Service Center, raffles and fund raisers for needy individuals and for oiur youth group, and “The Hunger Walk.” Other outreach was through founding and sponsoring our Boy scout Troop and providing a meeting place for AA groups. We were the temporary home for a Cub Scout Pack for over three years. An outstanding example of foreign mission is the Mwandi Hospital Mission in Africa. Rev. Stiansen, along with our church, has reached out to the congregation of the community through our guiding “Mission Statement.”
During this time, The Rev. Dr. Stiansen and his family moved out of the Manse into their own house. This and other needs of the church precipitated the sale of the Manse. With the sale of the Manse came the need for separate utilities and hook ups for the church.
In 1995, the need for expansion of the church called for the formation of the Building Committee which led to the formation of the Construction Committee. Guidance and assistance was sought for and given to us by the Presybtery. A great deal of hard work, especially by Elder Art Spalding, led to drawings, architectural prints, scale models, and lining up of pledges and funding for the project. Over a two and a half year period, rapidly escalating building costa dn the decrese in congregation size and pledges for funding have caused us to scale down our expansion and spread it out over a longer period of time. This very important project continues further toward fulfillment now in 1999.
At the congregation meeting of December 7, 1997, the Rev. Dr. Stiansen requested retirement from service to our church. The relationship was officially dissolved December 31, 1997 as he requested. It was very hard to say good-bye after fourteen years of being part of our church family.
On March 4, 1998, the Interim Pastor position was filled with a unanimous and enthusiastic recommendation for the Rev. Dwight Hillstrom. We had a “Town Hall” meeting (Pot Luck) to get to know Dwight. He began his service to us on March 31, 1998. Dwight and his wife, Edie, retired in November 1, 1997 from the First Presbyterian Church of Alma, Michigan. He had served there for 21 years. Dwight and Edie have their home in Hudsonville, Michigan – a 26 mile trip from our church.
On September 13, 1998, with the continuing guidance of the Rev. Linda Knierman (from the Presbytery of Lake Michigan Committee of Ministry), the Pastor Nominating Committee held its first meeting.
The entire history of North Kent Presbyterian Church has been a story of growth, personal dedication of many individuals, and of the people and families who have found in this church a special spiritual family. In thirty-eight years, many obstacles have been faced and overcome through the courage and selfless service of the hundreds of people who have made up this church.
With the help of David Bos, a Princeton Theological Seminary student sent by Presbytery to guide the group, the congregation soon grew to require larger quarters. In October of 1958, the old Sage School on M-44 was pressed into service as the first “home” of North Kent Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Alex Ungvary became part time minister in 1959, leaving when he was asked to assume full time duties at Oakhill Presbyterian Church in Grand Rapids early in 1960.
In April of 1960, Rev. Manson Lowe came to the church with the official designation of “organizing pastor.” In June of that year, the first building on the present property was completed under the supervision of Elder Cornelius Schans of the Eastminister Church. The building became the manse, but was originally built with virtually no inside walls…to accommodate up to one hundred worshippers in our first permanent home.
Officially, the North Kent Presbyterian Church came into being by the formal organizing act of the Presbytery of Grand River on May 7, 1961, and we became officially a congregation of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. It was a long period of gestation to reach this formal milestone.
Three years later, on Palm Sunday, April 5, 1964, Lowe Chapel was dedicated. The last floor tile had been installed in the wee hours of the morning, because it was Dr. Lowe’s last Sunday and the job “just had to be done.”
Exactly one year later…almost to the hour…on Palm Sunday, April 11, 1965, a tornado blew the roof off the building and knocked down the rear wall. Hurriedly the Youth Group, and their sponsors, who had been meeting in the manse basement, gathered books and equipment from the chapel and carried it to the “white house.” Services were held the following Sunday in “the house that was a Church.”
The damage wrought by the storm was particularly distressing to the congregation, because the church had just extended a call to the Rev. Jack Luidens of Milwaukee, who would arrive with his family in June. Again, with exceptional effort on the part of all the members of the congregation, the damage was repaired and the manse completed…just under the wire, with linoleum and carpet on the 23rd, and moving vans on the 24th.
In September of 1971, Dr. Walter Teeuwissen came to serve us as Stated Supply and in February of 1974 accepted our call and was installed. During Dr. Teeuwissen’s tenure we saw many changes. Lowe chapel acquired portable classrooms to provide space for the expanding Christian Education program. As families continued to join the North Kent congregation, the pressure on the existing space became more severe, until it was decided to add a permanent wing to the building. The office, classroom, and fellowship addition to the church is once again not meeting the needs of our changing church family and our community.
When Dr. Teeuwissen retired to become Pastor emeritus of North kent, the congregation called Pastor Timothy Yoon in February of 1980. Pastor Yoon brought his family to us from Kansas, and brought a deep personal commitment to the active sense of mission upon which the church was founded.
The Rev. Wilbur R. Cloosterhouse, D.D. came to us as Interim Pastor in November of 1982 and served us well through November of 1983. At that time the Rev. Kurt Stiansen answered our call and he, his wife Sharon and their daughter Kara moved into the completely redecorated manse in time for Christmas. They came to us from the Schoolcraft Presbyterian Church in Schoolcraft, Michigan. Rev. Stiansen’s joy in serving God and his children was an inspiration to us all.
During Rev. Stiansen’s tenure, projects included a complete interior facelift of all church facilities from the carpet up, and the initiation of two worship services on Sunday, which remained for about four years until the needs of our church changed. The adult Sunday School program was outstanding. Once again the church needs changed. To attempt to reach out to more families, with emphasis on our youths’ needs, we tried holding youth Sunday School at the same time as Worship. We tried this for about four years. Attendance did not grow as hoped and the Adult Sunday school floundered. Today we try to answer the congregation’s needs by having all Sunday Schools meet at 9:30am followed by worship at 10:45am. This is followed by the social hour. During Kurt’s tenure the Deacons developed Shepherding lists in which families are divided amongst the Deacons for constant care in church life. A strong music program was developed which is a joy to all who hear it. Another success is the popular get-acquainted program called “Suppers of Eight.”” Many means for mission have developed with Kurt’s help, including: locally, “Pennies from Heaven,” “Adopt a Family” (which takes place during the Christmas holidays), North Kent Service Center, raffles and fund raisers for needy individuals and for oiur youth group, and “The Hunger Walk.” Other outreach was through founding and sponsoring our Boy scout Troop and providing a meeting place for AA groups. We were the temporary home for a Cub Scout Pack for over three years. An outstanding example of foreign mission is the Mwandi Hospital Mission in Africa. Rev. Stiansen, along with our church, has reached out to the congregation of the community through our guiding “Mission Statement.”
During this time, The Rev. Dr. Stiansen and his family moved out of the Manse into their own house. This and other needs of the church precipitated the sale of the Manse. With the sale of the Manse came the need for separate utilities and hook ups for the church.
In 1995, the need for expansion of the church called for the formation of the Building Committee which led to the formation of the Construction Committee. Guidance and assistance was sought for and given to us by the Presybtery. A great deal of hard work, especially by Elder Art Spalding, led to drawings, architectural prints, scale models, and lining up of pledges and funding for the project. Over a two and a half year period, rapidly escalating building costa dn the decrese in congregation size and pledges for funding have caused us to scale down our expansion and spread it out over a longer period of time. This very important project continues further toward fulfillment now in 1999.
At the congregation meeting of December 7, 1997, the Rev. Dr. Stiansen requested retirement from service to our church. The relationship was officially dissolved December 31, 1997 as he requested. It was very hard to say good-bye after fourteen years of being part of our church family.
On March 4, 1998, the Interim Pastor position was filled with a unanimous and enthusiastic recommendation for the Rev. Dwight Hillstrom. We had a “Town Hall” meeting (Pot Luck) to get to know Dwight. He began his service to us on March 31, 1998. Dwight and his wife, Edie, retired in November 1, 1997 from the First Presbyterian Church of Alma, Michigan. He had served there for 21 years. Dwight and Edie have their home in Hudsonville, Michigan – a 26 mile trip from our church.
On September 13, 1998, with the continuing guidance of the Rev. Linda Knierman (from the Presbytery of Lake Michigan Committee of Ministry), the Pastor Nominating Committee held its first meeting.
The entire history of North Kent Presbyterian Church has been a story of growth, personal dedication of many individuals, and of the people and families who have found in this church a special spiritual family. In thirty-eight years, many obstacles have been faced and overcome through the courage and selfless service of the hundreds of people who have made up this church.
