At the corner of LaGrave Avenue and Cherry Street in downtown Grand Rapids, the tall brick building with the prominent cross has been a fixture of the Heartside neighborhood since 1887. LaGrave Avenue Christian Reformed Church was founded that year by Dutch immigrants as the first English-language Christian Reformed Church in the United States, a generation after its members had grown up in congregations that worshiped only in Dutch. From the beginning, the church set out to speak the language of its new country and to address the concerns of its city. That twofold identity, rooted worship and active urban ministry, still defines LaGrave today.
Worship Shaped by a World-Class Pipe Organ
Music is central to life at LaGrave. Worship is joyful, vibrant, and traditional, accompanied primarily by the organ and supported by a strong choral tradition that includes choirs for all ages, handbell ensembles, and the Bell Gloria youth ringers. Multiple staff members work full time on the music ministry, and the church regularly hosts visiting choirs such as the Calvin Alumni Choir for special hymn sings.
The instrument that anchors this tradition is the George and Wilma VanWesep Memorial Organ, gifted by Richard and Helen DeVos in memory of Helen's parents and dedicated in the fall of 1996. Built as a collaboration between the Austin Organ Company (Opus 2765) of Hartford, Connecticut, and the Allen Organ Company of Macungie, Pennsylvania, the organ combines 77 ranks of pipes with 32 ranks of digital voices, divided across five manuals and a pedalboard. Voices speak from both the main chancel and the antiphonal organ in the balcony, with horizontal Trumpet en Chamade pipes adding a signature sound. Dr. Larry Visser, Minister of Music, plays the organ for weekly worship, and notable recitalists such as Carlo Curley, Dame Gillian Weir, John Scott, and Dr. James Kibbie have presented concerts in the sanctuary.
Three Sunday Services and a Live Stream
From September through May, LaGrave gathers for worship three times on Sunday: 8:40 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 6:00 p.m. During the summer months, the congregation meets at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. All services are livestreamed on YouTube, with recordings, bulletins, and sermon PDFs archived for later viewing. Funeral and wedding livestreams are also available on the church's YouTube channel.
Every service includes biblical preaching that the church describes as a high priority. The current preaching team is led by Rev. Peter Jonker, Minister of Preaching, with Rev. Kristy Manion, Minister of Pastoral Care, also bringing sermons in the rotation. Sunday evening services often take a slightly different shape, including Vespers, a meditative service of prayer, song, and psalm reading held in the chapel.
Children, Youth, and Young Adults
Children are woven into the worshiping life of the church. During the morning services, kids second grade and younger are invited forward for a children's message before heading upstairs to their Worship Centers. Nursery care is available for infants through age three, with a computer check-in and check-out system for safety. Elementary students gather between the morning services for Sunday school, and children participate in Junior Choir, Bells Gloria, GEMS Girls' Club, Youth Outdoors, and Scouts.
Middle schoolers meet between morning services for catechesis on the Reformed faith and gather Sunday nights for a less formal time of worship and fellowship, with Youth Outdoors and GEMS meeting on Wednesday evenings during the school year. High schoolers study between services and join CREW, the Sunday night youth group that meets at the Vault, the youth building across the street. Rachel Thorne serves as Minister of Youth, with Jess Hollenbach coordinating middle school ministry.
Young adults, college and career age, find a regular calendar of events including Bagel Sundays on the third Sunday of each month, BBQ dinners, fellowship dinners at the Glover House, and the LaGrave Night Out series at local restaurants. Heidi Glover coordinates college age ministry.
Men's, Women's, and Adult Fellowship
LaGrave runs a full calendar of fellowship opportunities for adults. Men gather monthly for a relaxed Men's Coffee Fellowship in the Council Room, with coffee, donuts, and conversation. Women are served by Bible studies, Moms' Fellowship, a Painting Class, HIS Collection, Women's Book Club, the Loeks Fellowship event series at the Mud Room, and an annual Women's Fellowship Weekend. The 10 O'Clock Hour between the morning services hosts book studies, classes, games, and puzzles for adults of all ages, and a Growing U Committee brings in speakers on topics relevant to Christian life.
Heartside Outreach and Mission
LaGrave has chosen to remain in the city even as the surrounding neighborhood has changed. Its community engagement is anchored in the Heartside area, where the church partners with a wide network of organizations including Celebration Fellowship, Crossroads Prison Ministries, Dégagé Ministries, Disaster Response Services, Doorstep Ministry, God's Kitchen, Guiding Light Mission, Heartside Ministry at Mel Trotter, Home Repair Services, Hope Network, Inner City Christian Federation, Kids Hope USA, Pregnancy Resource Center, Safe Haven, The Other Way Ministries, and Westminster Food Pantry.
The church runs several direct programs. The Heartside Financial Assistance Program, in partnership with Access of West Michigan, helps neighbors in the 49503 zip code stay housed. The Heartside Foot Care Clinic Program partners with Dégagé, Calvin University, nurses, and other volunteers to host a monthly open house offering haircuts, foot care, food, and connections to services. A Community Outreach Intern position supports spiritual, emotional, and social care for women who are unhoused or underserved, inviting them into the worshiping community.
Mission extends well beyond Grand Rapids. LaGrave supports 42 missionaries and seven other ministries in 28 countries through the LaGrave Mission Committee and the Henry Beets Mission Society, partnering with denominational agencies such as Resonate, World Renew, and ReFrame as well as independent mission causes.
A Welcoming Space with Sensory Resources
LaGrave works deliberately to reduce barriers to participation. The church offers an Active Sensory Room for those who need to move and regulate, equipped with fidget toys, a platform board swing, peanut ball, jumping stones, foam climbing blocks, a crash pad, and a spinning chair, as well as a Calming Sensory Space with weighted blankets, weighted stuffed animals, noise-cancelling headphones, fidget toys, a bubble lamp, and coloring supplies. Both spaces include a live feed of the service.
Additional accessibility features include a T-coil loop system for hearing aids, large print bulletins and hymnals, accessible parking, a covered drop-off area, a zero-entry outdoor entrance, power door entry, elevator access to all floors, accessible seating on the main floor where pews have been cut away for wheelchairs or walkers, and pew cushions and wiggle seats.
Leadership and Governance
LaGrave's ministry staff includes Rev. Peter Jonker as Minister of Preaching, Rev. Kristy Manion as Minister of Pastoral Care, Chad Boorsma as Minister of Visitation and Formation, Rachel Thorne as Minister of Youth, Dr. Larry Visser as Minister of Music, and Rev. Stan Kruis as Minister of Missions. Dr. Robert Hobgood conducts the vocal and handbell choirs, and Kristin Batts serves as Director of Community Engagement. The day-to-day work of the church is overseen by a council of elders and deacons made up of 36 elected members.
What a First-Time Visitor Should Know
LaGrave is located at 107 LaGrave Avenue Southeast, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, with a large parking lot directly across from the front door on LaGrave Avenue and a second lot on the west side of the building at Cherry and Sheldon that includes a covered drop-off area and accessible parking. There is no dress code; visitors are welcome to come in jeans or Sunday best. Greeters, ushers, and Welcome Center hosts are available to help with directions. After each service, visitors can stop by the chapel for prayer, join 10 O'Clock Hour activities between services, or enjoy coffee and conversation in the Multipurpose Room.
The church acknowledges that visitors may encounter unhoused neighbors as they come for worship. Parking lot attendants and security staff are present, and the congregation seeks to interact with everyone in the neighborhood with humanity and love, an attitude shaped by more than a century and a half of choosing to stay in the city, under the cross.