Providence Church sits at 821 Ottawa Avenue in Holland, Michigan, a short drive from the downtown and the lakeshore. The congregation belongs to the Christian Reformed Church in North America, and its mission, "Boldly sharing Jesus' love and hope," sets the tone for everything that happens inside and outside the building on Ottawa Avenue. Providence describes itself as a spiritual family where all generations walk together, grounded in God's Word and the Holy Spirit, and committed to loving and serving the surrounding community.
Sunday Morning at 10:00
Worship gathers each Sunday at 10:00 AM. Providence uses contemporary worship music, often drawing from Hillsong, Bethel, and Elevation Worship, and weaves hymns in new and familiar ways, giving the service a blended feel. The Vocal Team, Instrumental Team, Tech Team, and Aesthetics Team (the people who create the sermon-series visuals) work together behind the scenes. Children start the service in the sanctuary with their families, then are dismissed partway through to their age-appropriate groups.
The service is also livestreamed, and a message library of past sermons is kept online. For visitors who want to learn more, a short Connect form is available, and the Providence app (for Apple, Android, and Amazon) carries messages, event updates, and giving.
Providence Kids: From the Nursery Through Fifth Grade
Providence Kids exists to share Jesus' love with the church's youngest children in a safe, fun, and loving environment. Every volunteer in children's ministry is trained in the church's Child Protection Policy and has cleared a background check.
The Nursery cares for babies through age two and a half during the worship service so parents can attend without worry.
Sunday Groups serve children from two and a half through fifth grade from September through May. Kids start in worship with their families, then walk out with their group leaders for the rest of the morning.
On holiday weekends and other special Sundays, the Wiggle Room opens for two-and-a-half-year-olds through first graders - a safe, simple play space for days when full programming is on break.
Wednesday nights from September through March bring GEMS for girls in third through fifth grade (crafts, Bible study, small groups, and events) and Cadets for boys in the same grade range, where men from the congregation lead woodworking, Pinewood Derby cars, Bible study, and outings.
Students in the Loft
Middle school and high school students meet in a space called the Loft, just upstairs at Providence.
The Middle School Youth Group welcomes sixth through eighth graders on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 PM during the school year (and on select Wednesdays in summer). It is described as a community where students play games, serve together, worship, dig into Scripture, and connect in small groups. The aim is for every middle schooler to feel seen, heard, valued, known, and loved.
The High School Youth Group gathers ninth through twelfth graders on Sunday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 PM during the school year (and select Sundays in summer), also in the Loft. Students laugh, worship, ask hard questions of the Bible, serve the community, and grow in small groups. Recent summers have included pool parties, a Whitecaps game, an alumni get-together, a week of service at the Cadet Campground, Ditto, FellinLove farm, and Community Action House, and a float down the Muskegon River.
All student ministry volunteers are also background-checked and trained in the Child Protection Policy.
Revive and Other Adult Communities
For young adults in their post-high-school through early-thirties years, Revive meets on Wednesdays at 7:00 PM at a rotating set of locations, giving young adults a place for honest conversation about following Christ in their twenties. The group keeps a Facebook and Instagram presence under the name providence_revive.
The Women's Bible Study meets on Monday nights from 7:00 to 8:30 PM in the Loft, currently working through the Sermon on the Mount. Lynn Edginton leads the group.
Anchored is a ministry for moms with children in Providence Kids, meeting in the Attic on Tuesday evenings (7:00 to 8:30 PM Bible study) and Tuesday mornings (10:00 to 11:00 AM play group), with the two rotating by week. It is led by Amber Olinzock, Bridget Bahner, and Marcy Rodriguez.
The Adult Bible Study gathers on Thursday mornings at 10:00 AM in the Loft, working its way through the Heidelberg Catechism. Every third Thursday the group goes out to lunch together. No sign-up is required; just show up. Questions can go to John Hutt.
Men's Ministry: From Bible Studies to Handyman Projects
Men's ministry at Providence is built around the conviction that "when men grow in faith, families are strengthened, the church flourishes, and communities are transformed." A wide range of options is available:
- Guys Life Groups for men in their thirties and forties, with one meeting on the north side of Holland and another on the south side.
- Men's Bible Study networks: a South Side Men's Bible Study hosted by Rob Olinzock in Saugatuck, an Evening Men's Bible Study led by David Bultman and Steve DeLoof in Providence's Conference Room A, a Morning Men's Bible Study led by Pastor Dean in the Providence Library, and a book discussion on 2084 with Gene Klassen.
- 12.2 Accountability Group with Pastor Toby for men who want Christ-centered accountability and encouragement.
- The Sabbath Way, a four-week online Zoom study with Travis West about building a rhythm of sabbath.
- A Prayer Team meeting Tuesday nights at 6:30 in the Library.
- Men's Large Group Gatherings planned for fall and winter.
- A Men's Weekend / Retreat planned for February or March.
- Men at Work, led by Phil Tucker, which forms handyman and hobby teams to bless the community and make disciples.
Connect Groups, Table Talk, and Other Small-Group Paths
Providence offers several short-term, on-ramp communities for people looking to get to know a few others at the church.
Connect Groups are small groups of roughly five to twelve people in similar life stages. They meet five times over a couple of months, kicking off at a Connect Night (the next is set for October 5) and then gathering on their own for the remaining sessions, using a guide the church provides. At the end, the group decides whether to keep meeting.
Table Talk is a monthly dinner group: three or four couples or individuals gather over a meal, rotating hosting duties or meeting at a restaurant, to build friendships beyond Sunday morning. Sign-ups come and go each season.
A Peace of Community: The Box-Truck Ministry
One of the most distinctive ministries at Providence is A Peace of Community, a box-truck outreach that began in 2021 when members first knocked on doors at Woodspring Suites. The team now drives a mobile food truck filled with groceries and essential supplies into neighborhoods across Holland, Zeeland, and Hamilton, meeting people where they are. They share meals, stories, prayer, Bible studies, and practical help, and they connect residents with local resources.
The ministry also welcomes people to come to the church itself for help, prayer, and connection. A long wish list of needed items - toiletries, cleaning supplies, canned goods, snacks, paper goods, diapers, bus passes, socks, and more - is published for anyone who wants to help fill the truck. Volunteers, prayer partners, financial donors, supply-drive organizers, and helpers with truck and trailer maintenance are all invited to sign up.
The ministry is led by Pastor Lisa Urivez-Karp, Pastor of Outreach and Community Engagement.
RIRT: Welcoming Refugees and Immigrants
The Refugee and Immigration Response Team (RIRT) supports refugees and immigrants who are new to the area with practical help in housing, transportation, education, and counseling. To be eligible, applicants must be newly arrived (within 24 months), live in the Hamilton, Holland, West Ottawa, or Zeeland school districts, demonstrate financial need, and be referred by a church member, a local partner, or a community agency. The RIRT builds support teams around each individual or family and meets monthly with church staff, elders, and deacons represented on the team.
Local and Global Missions
Providence partners with a number of local organizations, including the Holland Rescue Mission, Benjamin's Hope, Community Action House, and Doors of Hope Ministries.
Globally, the church supports native pastors in Africa and India, and it reaches into Europe, Eurasia, and the Far East by resourcing those quietly bringing the Gospel to people who want to know Jesus. Providence also helps supply the needs of widows and orphans in India and Central America, funds training for pastors and lay leaders in India and Uganda, and takes part in building projects that support missionary partners. The missions team is led by Pastor John Hutt.
Grace Place: Christ-Centered Counseling
Grace Place is the counseling ministry of Providence Church. Three counselors serve there:
- John Hutt, D. Min., BCC, a bilingual pastor, preacher, teacher, CPE-trained chaplain and pastoral counselor, who incorporates the seven biblical "Steps to Freedom in Christ" and healing and deliverance prayers into his sessions.
- Lynn Edgington, LMSW, with more than twenty years in counseling ministry, walking alongside people facing depression, grief, trauma, interpersonal issues, and other difficult seasons.
- Ralph Edgington, LMSW, who spent thirty-five years in the addictions field and specializes in counseling for individuals and family members dealing with addictions, anxiety, depression, and problems of daily living.
ESL Classes: An Hour a Week That Changes Lives
Providence's ESL ministry pairs volunteers with two adult English learners for small group conversations each week. No teaching experience is required; the church provides materials and support, and each semester runs about twelve weeks. Classes meet at local manufacturing partners: Integrated Fabric Resources on Mondays from 3:00 to 4:00 PM, and Bradford Company on Thursdays from 4:30 to 5:30 PM. Karin Gabrielse, the Discipleship and ESL Coordinator, organizes the program.
Worship Ministries: Four Teams, One Song
Worship Ministry at Providence is designed to give people a space to "corporately meet with the Living God, expand [their] view of Him, and respond to Him wholeheartedly." Four volunteer teams make it happen:
- The Vocal Team rehearses on Thursday nights and Sunday mornings.
- The Instrumental Team rehearses on the same schedule.
- The Tech Team handles audio and visual for worship and events.
- The Aesthetics Team brainstorms and assembles the visuals for each sermon series.
Worship Director Leo Ojeda, Pastor of Worship and Congregational Life Dean Slenk, and Media and Creative Director Arturo Rojas lead the work.
Meals Ministry: Caring in Practical Ways
The Meals Ministry coordinates church members to prepare meals for others who are ill, in crisis, or grieving. Sign-ups go out through the prayer chain, and a standby list of meal preparers is kept for times when fewer people are able to sign up. No ongoing commitment is required.
Disciple Path: A Guided Process for Making Disciples
Disciple Path is Providence's structured, multi-chapter program for people who want to follow Jesus and help others follow him. Designed for groups of two or three people, it includes chapters on Prayer, Calling, Self-Denial, Gospel, Forgiveness, Hospitality, Suffering, and Justice, with a first meeting, a final "Watchfulness" meeting, and printable PDFs for each chapter. A leader guide and the REAP Bible-reading method are available as resources.
The process moves at the group's own pace, with a covenant that commits participants to faithful attendance, honest and kind conversation, and respecting one another's privacy. The goal is multiplication: each person who finishes Disciple Path is encouraged to walk through it again with someone else.
Karin Gabrielse coordinates Disciple Path. A Providence podcast on forgiveness is also available on Spotify.
What Providence Believes
Providence's beliefs are summed up in thirteen statements, each rooted in Scripture. The church believes the Bible is the written, fully reliable Word of God, and that God is one being in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- God the Father is the creator and sustainer of all things, holy, good, loving, and faithful.
- God the Son, Jesus Christ, became fully human, lived a perfect life, died on the cross, and rose again so that those who trust in him have new life. He is coming back to raise all people before God.
- God the Holy Spirit guides, comforts, sustains, convicts, and is remaking believers in the likeness of Jesus.
- Humanity was created in the image of God, but is now separated from God because of sin.
- Salvation is a free gift received by faith in Jesus Christ, not by moral effort or religious ceremony.
- The church is God's gathered people, committed to the Bible, to one another, and to prayer, sent into the world as the representation of Christ.
- Communion is celebrated regularly as a way to remember Jesus' sacrifice and experience his presence through the Holy Spirit.
- Eternity is real: those who trust in Christ will experience the full presence of God; those who do not will experience a complete separation from him.
- Baptism is a tangible representation of the forgiveness and new life in Christ.
- Profession of Faith is the public, personal declaration of accepting God's promises as one's own.
Five values shape daily life at Providence: Rooted in the truth of Scripture and the guidance of the Holy Spirit through a Reformed perspective, Belonging in a community that walks through every area of life together, Family equipped with biblical instruction, Empowerment to flourish in spiritual development, and Mission in local and global service.
Leadership
The staff team is led by Toby Gruppen, Lead Pastor. Dean Slenk serves as Pastor of Worship and Congregational Life. Kevin Heeres is the Youth Pastor. Lisa Nyeboer is the Director of Operations. Arturo Rojas is the Media and Creative Director. Lisa Urivez-Karp is the Pastor of Outreach and Community Engagement. Marcy Rodriguez is the Director of Children's Ministries. Leo Ojeda is the Worship Director. Karin Gabrielse coordinates Discipleship and ESL. John Hutt serves as Congregational Care Pastor and leads the Missions Team.
The church is governed by a Council made up of Executive Elders (who uphold the unity of the church and oversee its mission and vision), Shepherding Elders (who provide pastoral care in times of joy, uncertainty, sickness, and loss), and Deacons (who lead the church's works of justice and mercy, including the Charity Fund).
A Building That Hosts a Childcare Community
During the week, Providence's building is home to Lakeshore Little People's Place, a Christian childcare organization. The arrangement reflects the church's broader desire to see its building used as a resource for the surrounding community, week in and week out.
Getting in Touch
Providence Church is located at 821 Ottawa Avenue, Holland, Michigan 49423. The phone number is (616) 396-5661, and the general inbox is info@providencechurch.net. Office hours are Monday through Thursday, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. A printable directory, an online directory login, and sermon messages are all available, and online giving is set up through the church's giving page. The Providence app carries messages, event updates, and giving for Apple, Android, and Amazon devices.
Providence Church is part of the Christian Reformed Church denomination.