The year 2007 marks the fiftieth year that Central Reformed Church has been located on the northeastern corner of College and Fulton. Founded as First Reformed Church in 1840 (also the first Reformed Church in Grand Rapids and in Michigan), this is the seventh church in which the people of Central have worshiped.

Three of the former churches were destroyed by fire, the last on the corner of Fountain and Barclay in 1953. All of the seven churches were located in the downtown area of Grand Rapids. The current church was built at a time (1953-57) when many other “downtown” churches built new churches in the suburbs, but Central Reformed Church elected to continue its commitment to the City of Grand Rapids and to the downtown area. This commitment continues.

Central Reformed Church is unique among other Reformed Churches in Western Michigan because it is comprised of two “currents.” First Reformed Church was founded by eastern Reformed Churches in 1840 as part of a “Western” mission project. Even at that time, the Reformed Church had been part of American history since 1624, over two hundred years. Church members had fought on both sides in the Revolutionary War, served in the War of 1812, were governors, senators, heads of businesses, and fathers and mothers of over ten generations. Also, the membership of the denomination had, by then, encompassed many nationalities.

In 1849, a new wave of Dutch immigrants settled in Grand Rapids and founded the Dutchspeaking Second Reformed Church. It was in 1918 that First and Second Reformed Churches united to form Central Reformed Church. The Georgian-Colonial architecture of the current church was chosen because it reflects both the European and the American impulses of its history and its current membership.