Providence CRC has gathered on the southeast side of Grand Rapids for generations. The congregation meets at 7730 Eastern Avenue SE, just south of 76th Street, where it has built a steady rhythm of worship, Christian education, local outreach, and global mission partnership. It belongs to the Christian Reformed Church in North America and holds to the historic creeds and confessions of the Reformed tradition, while running a calendar that is heavy with hands-on ministry for every age.
Sunday Morning at Providence
The Sunday morning service begins at 9:30 AM and is livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel. First-time visitors who arrive about ten minutes early can grab coffee, find a seat, and read the announcements scrolling before the service. Greeters at the main north-side entrance are ready to point newcomers toward coffee, restrooms, children's ministry check-in, and a place to sit. The dress runs the gamut from casual to business casual, and the only request from the welcome team is to come as you are.
The service itself follows a familiar arc: a blended time of worship that mixes traditional and contemporary songs, a greeting, a time of prayer, an offering, a short children's message, and then the sermon. After the children's message, children ages 2 to 5 are dismissed to their classrooms for the rest of the service. The service closes with a final song and blessing.
Children, from Nursery through 12th Grade
Children and students are at the heart of the life of Providence. The nursery welcomes newborns through age 2 during the 9:30 service in a calm, play-and-music space staffed by background-checked volunteers. Rocking chairs, a nap room, a nursing mothers' room, a changing station, and a child-sized bathroom are all available. Kids Min, for ages 2 to 5, gathers during the service after the children's message and uses the DWELL curriculum from Faith Alive and the CRCNA to walk young learners through Bible reading, singing, coloring, and play.
Following the service, Sunday School and Catechism meet from 10:45 to 11:45 AM for students in 1st through 12th grade. The curriculum moves from age-appropriate Bible stories in the early grades through Heidelberg Catechism and Confessions studies in middle and high school. Grades 1 through 5 also spend the first fifteen minutes of Sunday School every other Sunday in a time of worship together, and Bible Memory Camp offers grades 1 to 5 a structured chance to memorize and recite scripture with a leader.
GEMS and Cadets on Wednesday Nights
Two long-standing midweek ministries round out the children's program. GEMS (Girls Everywhere Meeting the Savior) and Cadets run on the first and third Wednesdays of the month from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. GEMS, for girls in grades 1 through 8, is working through the Wayfinder curriculum, built around John 14:6: "I am the way and the truth and the life." The eight key questions of the curriculum are paired with service projects, large- and small-group Bible study, worship, crafts, and scripture memory. Jodie Gritter serves as the GEMS Head Counselor.
Cadets, for boys in grades 1 through 8 (with a Junior group for grades 1 to 2), uses a relaxed approach: Cadet t-shirts instead of uniforms, a lesson, and a hands-on project at each meeting. The current theme, "Mountains of Blessings," is built on Psalm 125:2 and includes an annual Derby Night celebration. Boys who regularly wear their t-shirts and participate throughout the year receive a small gift at the end of the season. Jeremy Vander Vennen is the Cadets Head Counselor.
Middle School and High School Youth Group
Older students have their own dedicated space. Middle school youth group, grades 6 through 8, meets on the first Sunday of each month from 5:00 to 7:00 PM in the Loft. High school youth group, grades 9 through 12, meets on the second and fourth Sundays, also from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. A typical night includes dinner, a Bible message, group games, small group discussion, and occasional service projects and special events. Both groups run September through April, and visiting friends are always welcome.
Women's Ministry and Men's Ministry
Women's ministry offers two Bible study options each week. A Wednesday morning group meets in the multi-purpose room from 9:30 to 11:00 AM, and a Tuesday evening group gathers twice a month from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. The current study walks through "The Names of God," exploring the names Scripture gives to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit over eight sessions, with each name revealing something about who God is and how He relates to His people.
Men's ministry gathers in three rhythms. Open Play Basketball runs Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 PM in the Providence gym and welcomes men of any skill level for a couple of hours of runs and fellowship. A monthly men's breakfast meets on the second Thursday at 8:30 AM at Russ' restaurant in Cutlerville. A Bible study on the first and third Thursdays from 9:00 to 10:00 AM at the church reads and discusses works like Max Lucado's "Life Lessons from 2 Corinthians."
The Weekly Calendar
Around those ministries runs a wider weekly rhythm. Co-ed Pickleball meets Thursday mornings from 9:00 to 11:00 AM in the gym. Spirit Moves Karate, a community program that uses the Providence facilities, gathers Tuesdays from 5:00 to 6:00 PM and Saturdays from 9:00 to 11:30 AM. An AA meeting called "Revive" meets Mondays at 7:00 PM. A Ladies' Craft and Hobbies Night gathers on the third Friday of each month at 6:00 PM.
What We Believe
Providence holds to a simple statement of faith: "We believe that the Bible is the holy word of God," quoting 2 Timothy 3:16. As a Christian Reformed congregation, the church affirms three creeds, the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed, as faithful summaries of the Christian faith. It also affirms three confessions: the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, and the Canons of Dort. Visitors curious to dig deeper can pick up the YouVersion Bible app or read these historic texts through the CRCNA.
Local Outreach in Grand Rapids
Local outreach is woven into the weekly life of the church. Hand 2 Hand, a partnership Providence runs throughout the school year, provides weekend meals for over 100 students in need. Each week a team of volunteers packs and prays over the meals, which are then discreetly distributed to students' lockers. Kids Life Bible Clubs, a separate nonprofit that sponsors after-school Bible clubs in local elementary schools, is run by Providence at two locations, Glenwood Elementary to the north and Countryside Elementary to the south.
The church also hosts periodic community blood drives through Versiti, with online sign-ups for each date. Members who want to mark a calendar moment for giving can direct loose change toward outreach partners, with Hand 2 Hand a frequent recipient.
Missions Beyond Grand Rapids
Missions extend well beyond Grand Rapids. Masters Builders is a Providence team made up of men and women of all ages and skill sets that travels each year to help with disaster relief, recently working with the Craven County Disaster Relief Alliance in New Bern, North Carolina. The Lees serve in Mexico, and the Martins serve in Brasov, Romania. Both families send regular newsletters to the congregation. The Grimbergs partner with Filter of Hope, an organization that shares clean water and the gospel with communities in need around the world. John Grimberg's role with Filter of Hope involves recruiting U.S. churches and campus ministries, coordinating trips, training participants, and leading teams in the field.
Christian Education Ministry
Providence also supports Christian education in practical ways through its Christian Education Ministry, or CEM. The CEM fund assists committed members with the cost of Christian school tuition, reflecting the congregation's belief that parents are the primary educators of their children and that Christian schools can be a partner in raising children to grow in faith and love for the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Building, Location, and First Visit
The office is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Visitors coming from US-131 take Exit 11 south onto Kalamazoo Avenue, head west on 76th Street, and turn south on Eastern Avenue; the church sits on the east side of the road just south of 76th. From M-6, drivers take exit 75 east on 76th Street to Eastern Avenue, then south to the same spot.
For those interested in becoming members, the church offers a New Members Class that walks through who Providence is, what it believes, and how to get connected. Online giving is available through the church's giving portal, and sermons from past series are posted on the church's YouTube channel along with the live Sunday feed.
Staff and Leadership
A single pastor leads the congregation. Pastor K.C. Vande Streek serves as Pastor of Worship and Leadership. Around him sit several ministry directors: Kris Timmer as Director of Worship, Glenn Moerdyk as Director of Music, Luanne Venneman as Director of Prayer Ministry, Alyssa Vajko as Director of Youth Ministries, Allyson Schutt as Kids and Middle School Ministries Coordinator, and Mark Heijerman as Director of Caring Ministries.
Providence CRC continues to be a place where the rhythms of a small congregation, Sunday worship, Wednesday Cadets and GEMS, Thursday pickleball and basketball, monthly men's breakfasts at Russ', weekly Hand 2 Hand packing, and a deep bench of mission partnerships across the Americas and Europe, all gather around a single hope in Jesus Christ.