September 8 Today in OPC History

On September 8, 1989, Merrimack Valley Community Church in North Andover, Massachuetts, was established as a particular congregation in the Orthodox Presbyterian with John Van Meerbeke serving as the organizing pastor and Rich Mulley and Scott Fitzgerald serving as ruling elders. Three years earlier a small core group had begun gathering for a Bible study on the book of Acts at John and Barbara Van Meerbeke’s home with the hopes of growing into an established church.

One unique feature of the early days of the church was leading individuals on a historical tour of Puritan North Shore, Massachusetts. This was designed not to live in the past, but to promote a future of commitment to the Reformed faith such as that of New England Puritans Cotton Mather, Jonathan Edwards and others. The hope of the tour was that it might be interesting to those people interested in history, but not necessarily the gospel.

Daniel Korzep followed John Van Meerbeke as pastor in 1997. Since 2009, David Booth has served as pastor.

Picture: John, Barbara and James Van Meerbeke in the 1980s.