Connect Church Pella, Iowa

About

Welcome to Connect Church!

W glad that you are taking a little time to explore our website, and hope you get a feel for who we are and what we are all about. The key phrase we use here is “gospel transformation.”  Since every person has a story with holes and hurts because we all experience brokenness, Jesus and the gospel story is so important to us.  Jesus came to experience our hurt and brokenness by having nail holes hammered into His hands and feet in order to take care of what causes our brokenness which is sin.  Jesus is our Gospel (good news) because He brings hope and healing to our lives. He transforms our story.  This transformation is what we desire for everyone and what we desire for you.

Just as every person has a story, we believe here at Connect Church that every person needs a family. Through this website, you can read about us, but we would love for you to come and step into the family and our story. We welcome you to come to a worship service, join a small group. 

Leanna Van Zee

Leanna Van Zee

Administrative Assistant

Darlene Keuning

Darlene Keuning

Operations Coordinator

Benjamin & Maricel Anum-Higher

Benjamin & Maricel Anum-Higher

Custodians

History

In the same year Andrew Johnson was serving as our nation’s 17th President and Jesse James was robbing his first bank, God was planting a church. On August 2, 1866, First Christian Reformed Church of Pella was planted. The church started when forty-two members of the Protestant Holland Reformed Church (now First Reformed) desired to return to the teachings and ways of the True Dutch Reformed Church of the Netherlands, from which they immigrated. Historically, we became the “first” Christian Reformed Church west of Chicago.

Within months of this decision, members decided to establish a location for the church at the intersection of Liberty and Patience (now called West Second Street), where we still call home today.

Since 1866, much has taken place and many events have happened. Many presidents have been elected and have left office. The Wild West has passed, and Generation Z is present. The language changed from Dutch to English. The church building changed when a new facility was created in 1941.

Inside and outside our church, styles have changed, technology has advanced, people have been born and others have passed away. Even our name has changed. In April 2019, we decided to create a new “Doing Business As…” name so that now we are Connect Church.

This name communicates that even though so much has changed, something has not changed throughout all these years. We today—as in 1866—long to connect people to Jesus, because Jesus transforms people’s lives. When people become connected to Jesus, disciples are made (I Cor. 5:17), matured (I Thess. 1:6) and multiplied (Matt. 28:19-20).

We are thankful for this rich history and give thanks to God for all His goodness. We also deeply long to be a church that continues to be changed by the gospel. We continue to innovate how we do ministry so that gospel change can be experienced by others. This is our mission. If you are reading this because you seek to connect to a church community, we invite you to join us in our mission so that further gospel history is made here in Pella and around the world all for God’s glory and praise.

Beliefs

Trinity

We believe in the one true eternal God, who exists in three persons. God the Father, who upholds and rules over creation, is our Father because of Jesus, the begotten Son of God, our Savior, who is both fully God and fully man. The salvation Jesus gives is now lived by us only through the leading and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, who is sent by the Father and the Son.

Bible

We believe the Bible is the authoritative and trustworthy Word of God. Through the Bible, God reveals Himself to us and reveals to us who we are in this redemptive story.

Humanity

God created people in His image, male and female, to be in relationship with Him. God created humanity and the world with diversity which magnifies His creativity and the depths of His beauty.

Sin

We believe that because of humanity’s rebellion against God [sin], there is separation in our relationship with Him and brokenness in us and the world.

Salvation

We believe that Jesus suffered, was crucified, died, was buried, and rose again. He then ascended to the Father’s right hand where he now reigns as Saviour of the world. Because Jesus is Savior, we are called to follow Him as His disciples today, who do life in the presence and power of the Spirit so that we become like Jesus as ones reconciled to God the Father.

Church

We believe we are created for community and called, in Jesus, to be a part of the community called the Church. The Church is the body of Christ, where He is our Head and each person has a vital part to play in the redemptive story of God. We are to be a community that lives the way of Jesus, proclaims the good news of Jesus and exists as the presence of Jesus to others.

Denomination

Connect Church belongs to the Christian Reformed Church in North America. To learn more about what we believe and who we are, visit: https://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs