Our Church History
St. Paul's has a history that goes back approximately 140 years to the spring of 1882. At that time, several Evangelical Germans living in the Grand Haven area and its environs came together to form this local congregation. They were mainly Christians from the Lutheran Church in Germany out of the Reformed tradition. German was the language of the church for many years. Over the decades, the church changed and evolved. Our building changed, our language became English. Now we gather on Griffin Street just north of Robbins Road.
Over the years, St. Paul's has always had an eye on the future as it continues to build on the past. The legacy we share is one of welcome and expectation. We look for transformed lives as we continue to seek God's guidance with every step we take. We welcome all to visit and to seek God's blessing as we share with each other and grow in the love of Christ. Our story is still being written by the new, unique, diverse persons who join us in our collective journey of becoming.
Mission Statement
The avowed purpose of this church shall be:
To worship God
To preach the gospel of Jesus Christ
To celebrate the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper
To promote Christian love and unity
To render loving service towards people
To strive for righteousness, justice and peace in our community and throughout the world
A Congregational Church
St. Paul's is a congregational church, which basically means we value every one of our members and their right to vote on important matters of this church. Thankfully, we are a diverse congregation, willing to discuss and debate and disagree, while maintaining unity, trust and love. We do our church business through committees, council and congregational meetings all of which are empowered by the Holy Spirit and a good dose of the grace of Jesus Christ.
A United Church of Christ (UCC)
We are proud to have a covenantal relationship with the United Church of Christ (UCC), a progressive Christian denomination that has its own unique history of seeking peace while being a force for social justice, earth-care, unity and ecumenism, and interfaith dialogue. The UCC proclaims that "God is still speaking", which means the cosmic and divine force that creates and redeems all things is not trapped in the dusty pages of an old book; rather, God is as near to us and dynamic as ever, working to forgive, redeem, and transform this place. Like that prayer Jesus taught his followers to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven..." We pray that this heaven-mixing-with-earth, which is the work of God's mysterious and Holy Spirit, would continue to manifest itself as justice, peace, and love across all peoples everywhere.
As a UCC congregation, we are a part of the national UCC, the regional body of the Michigan Conference, and the local association of the Grand West. For more information about these organizations, please click the links below.
