Oostburg Christian Reformed Church stands on South Seventh Street in the village of Oostburg, Wisconsin, a small Sheboygan County community that has grown up around the church since the 1860s. The congregation's own motto, growing, loving, sharing, captures a posture of rooting life in God's Word and then reaching outward, and the building's front doors still open twice each Sunday for that work.
Sundays at Nine and Six
The rhythm of the week is anchored by two Sunday services: a morning worship gathering at 9:00 a.m. and an evening service at 6:00 p.m. The schedule is simple, predictable, and designed so that families, farmers, shift workers, and visitors can plan to attend. Services are held in English, with Spanish translation made available for those who need it, so that worshipers who grew up speaking Spanish can follow the prayers, Scripture readings, and sermon alongside English speakers.
The church's emphasis on accessibility runs deeper than language. Leaders describe the building as offering entirely accessible spaces for children, seniors, and those with special needs, and the congregation has made the inclusion of every age and ability a regular part of how it plans worship. Visitors who arrive early will find greeters, a printed order of worship, and seats arranged so that families can sit together or apart, depending on their preference.
Two Services, One Story
Both Sunday services follow a similar shape. The church makes use of new and old songs, blending contemporary worship music with the historic hymns that have shaped Reformed congregations for generations. Scripture is read aloud, prayers are offered for the church and the world, and a sermon is preached that walks through a passage of the Bible. Communion is celebrated, and children are welcomed and prayed for rather than separated off into a corner.
The morning service tends to draw the largest crowd, including families with young children, while the evening service offers a quieter, often smaller gathering that suits people who prefer a more reflective hour. Members regularly describe the two services as complementing each other: the morning as the week's primary gathering, and the evening as a chance to come back, sit a little longer, and let the sermon's teaching sink in.
A Congregation Pastored by Drew and Zack
Two pastors share the work of ministry at Oostburg CRC. Drew Zylstra serves as Lead Pastor and is the primary preacher at the morning service, walking the congregation through long, sustained series in books of the Bible. His sermons are expository in character, taking a passage and explaining it line by line, with regular attention to the historical and literary context of the text.
Zack Flipse serves as Associate Pastor and carries much of the preaching weight in the evening service, often working through Old Testament books such as Leviticus and topical series that address Christian living. Together, the two pastors handle the regular preaching load, lead worship planning, and oversee the pastoral care of the congregation.
Libby Rahn serves as Worship Coordinator, organizing the music, the visual environment, and the smooth flow of each service. She works closely with the pastors and the musicians who lead congregational singing, and helps ensure that the blended style of the church, old hymns alongside newer songs, is carried out week after week.
Rooted in the Creeds and Confessions
Oostburg CRC is a member congregation of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, and is organized under Classis Wisconsin, the regional assembly of CRC churches in the state. The congregation affirms the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed, along with the three confessions that have defined the Reformed tradition for centuries: the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort.
The Heidelberg Catechism is taken seriously enough that the church has produced an ongoing video series for children called Kids on the Heidelberg Catechism, walking young members through the Shorter Catechism in language they can understand and memorize. The catechism's themes of sin and grace, the law and the gospel, and the comfort of belonging to Christ shape the preaching, the curriculum, and the church's pastoral conversations.
The congregation teaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ from a distinctly Reformed perspective. Pastors and elders preach from Scripture as the authoritative Word of God, and the same Scripture is the textbook for Sunday school classes for every age group. Learning materials are developed in-house and adapted for children, youth, and adults, and the congregation publishes its own study guides that are freely available to anyone who wants to use them.
Sermon Series That Walk Through Books of the Bible
The preaching calendar at Oostburg CRC is built around long series that take the congregation through entire books of the Bible, sometimes lasting many months. Recent and current series include:
- The Pursuit of God - a series drawing on A.W. Tozer's classic book of the same name, working through passages that describe what it means to seek and find the living God.
- All Things Made New - a study through Paul's letter to the Philippians, the book of Revelation, and other texts that speak of the renewal of creation.
- Leviticus: Gracious & Familiar - a chapter-by-chapter walk through Leviticus led by Associate Pastor Zack Flipse, exploring the Old Testament's sacrificial system and what it teaches about holiness, atonement, and the grace of God.
- Psalms - an ongoing series through the Psalter that works through individual psalms, often in the evening service.
- Letters to the 7 Churches - a study through the opening chapters of Revelation, addressing the seven churches of Asia Minor and applying their messages to the modern church.
Other series that have shaped the congregation in recent years include studies through Esther, Acts, Colossians, Ruth, the Gospel of Luke, the book of James, Jeremiah, the Minor Prophets, and topical series on heaven, missions, the sacraments, and the Beatitudes. Guest preachers from across Classis Wisconsin, including Kevin Gesch, Josh VanEngen, Dillan DeJong, Tom Soerens, Andrew Fortuine, and Ben Johnson, regularly fill the pulpit, broadening the voices the congregation hears from.
Free Study Guides for the Church
One distinctive feature of Oostburg CRC's ministry is its library of free study guides, available to download free of charge. Pastors and teachers have developed these guides for use in small groups, Sunday school classes, and personal study. The collection includes:
- Leviticus: Types & Shadows
- Esther: God Where You Least Expect
- Mark: The Christ Revealed
- Acts: Christ Continued
- I Corinthians: When the Church Gathers
- Peter: Out of the Water (covering I Peter, II Peter, and Jude)
- Revelation: A Reformed Reading
Each guide is published as a downloadable PDF and is intended for anyone who wants to study a book of the Bible on their own or with a group. The guides reflect the church's distinctly Reformed approach to Scripture while remaining accessible to readers without a theological background.
The Studio: Conversations Beyond the Pulpit
Oostburg CRC produces a regular stream of video content beyond the Sunday sermon. The Studio, hosted on the church's YouTube channel, features three ongoing series:
- The Longer Ending - Pastors Drew and Zack sit down together to discuss the previous Sunday's sermon in a longer-form conversation, going deeper into the passage, answering questions, and exploring the practical implications of the text for Christian living.
- Kids on the Heidelberg Catechism - a teaching series for children that walks through the Shorter Heidelberg Catechism in an engaging way, helping young members memorize key points of Reformed doctrine.
- Classis Wisconsin Conversations - interviews and conversations with pastors and leaders from across Classis Wisconsin, building connections between the local congregation and the broader network of CRC churches in the state.
These series give the congregation and the wider public a way to engage with the church's teaching throughout the week, not only on Sunday mornings.
Influencers: A Study for Students
For middle school and high school students, the church has developed Influencers, a six-part youth study built around I Corinthians 12. The series focuses on what it means to influence a divided culture for Christ, how to discover and use spiritual gifts, and what case studies from the kings of Judah teach about faithfulness and compromise. Student guides and leader guides are both available as free PDF downloads, and slide images sized for classroom projection are also provided. Anyone who prefers a paper copy can request one by emailing the church office.
This kind of investment in the next generation is part of the congregation's identity. Children are welcomed in worship, included in the prayers of the people, and given age-appropriate ways to learn the catechism and the Bible alongside their parents.
Worship That Reaches Beyond the Room
Every Sunday service is livestreamed on YouTube through the church's firstcrcoostburg channel, so that members who are traveling, sick, or otherwise unable to attend in person can still follow along with the sermon and the singing. Past livestreams are archived and can be viewed at any time, and a separate sermons archive organizes the church's audio and video library by series, topic, book of the Bible, and preacher.
The livestream extends the church's reach far beyond Oostburg itself. Members and regular listeners have joined from across the United States and around the world, drawn by the steady, expository preaching and the clear doctrinal identity of the congregation. The church's mission statement puts it plainly: the people of Oostburg CRC are committed to preaching God's Word and the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Oostburg, to Sheboygan County, and to wherever the Spirit is preparing hearts.
Pastoral Care and the Work of Elders and Deacons
Beneath the public rhythms of worship and preaching is the quieter work of pastoral care. Pastors, elders, and deacons support individuals and families both in worshiping Jesus together on Sunday and in following Him through the week. The church seeks to create opportunities within its own walls for believers to live out their faith, through small groups, Bible studies, and service projects, and to look for opportunities outside the church to share that faith with family, friends, and neighbors.
The office at 216 South Seventh Street is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to noon, and visitors are welcome to stop in during those hours. Members of the pastoral team are also reachable by email through the church office for prayer requests, scheduling conversations, or questions about weddings, funerals, baptisms, or other pastoral needs.
Visiting Oostburg CRC
First-time visitors can expect a warm welcome, a printed bulletin that follows the order of worship, and a seat wherever they are most comfortable. Dress is generally casual to business casual, in keeping with the rural character of the surrounding community; you will see everything from jeans to dresses. Coffee and conversation are part of the time before and after the service, and greeters are happy to answer questions about the church's programs, beliefs, or history.
The building is fully accessible, with spaces arranged for children, seniors, and those with special needs. Spanish-speaking visitors will find translation available in the service, and anyone who would like a Bible, a catechism, or a study guide can ask at the welcome desk.
More Than a Century and a Half of Witness
The history of Oostburg CRC reaches back to the 1860s, when Dutch Reformed immigrants and their neighbors began gathering for worship in the small village that would become Oostburg. More than 150 years later, the congregation still gathers at the same address on South Seventh Street, still confesses the same creeds, still sings the old hymns alongside the new, and still opens its doors twice each Sunday to the people of the village and to anyone who comes looking for a community rooted in the Word of God.
For a church that has been around longer than most of its members have been alive, the work remains the same: preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, teaching the Bible from generation to generation, and sending the congregation out into Oostburg, Sheboygan County, and the world with the hope of the gospel in their mouths and the love of Christ in their hands.