FEATURE

Something exciting is happening in southwest Michigan: Grace & Peace for Battle Creek. The Presbytery of Michigan and Ontario’s Church Extension (CHEX) Committee is seeking to plant a new OP congregation in Battle Creek! The metro area’s population boasts a figure of 136,000, yet there is very little Reformed witness. There has never been a NAPARC congregation there.

The city of Battle Creek was once famous as a major stop on the underground railroad and for its sanitarium established in 1866 by Seventh-day Adventists. John H. Kellogg, M.D. (director of the sanitarium and inventor of healthy breakfast cereals) along with C. W. Post, and their food empires, helped put the city on the map. In recent decades, however, Battle Creek has not enjoyed the growth and economic vitality seen by nearby metro areas like Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids.

OP minister Markus Jeromin (Pastor of Outreach and Evangelism at Community Presbyterian Church in Kalamazoo) is working with the Presbytery’s CHEX Committee to gather a group for Bible study, fellowship, outreach and community service. This work has been named Grace & Peace for Battle Creek.

Beginning on January 8, a local Christian school will provide the space for Wednesday family nights which will include dinner, Bible study and a kid’s club. An outreach conference is planned for February 28, where Dr. David Murray of Puritan Reformed Seminary will speak on the topic of mental health. Other events and activities are in the works.

Would YOU consider supporting this effort through your prayers and contacts? Do you know anyone in the Battle Creek area who might be interested in getting involved, or know someone who would? If so, please put them in touch with Pastor Markus and direct them to the work’s website, www.graceandpeacebattlecreek.org or to its Facebook page with the same name. Markus can be reached by emailing jeromin.1@opc.org or by calling 269-808-4287.