Franklin Street CRC, Grand Rapids, MI, 1887-1966
History[]
Franklin Street CRC was organized in 1887 by members of First CRC. Franklin Street was the sixth Christian Reformed congregation in Grand Rapids.
When the US-131 expressway was built in the early 1960s, much of Franklin Street's neighborhood was removed. The congregation chose to merge with Rogers Heights in 1966.
Historical Details[]
Names[]
- Holland Christian Reformed, 1887-1910
- Fifth Avenue, 1910-12
- Franklin Street, 1912-66
Location[]
- 460 Franklin St. SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49509 (built 1886?, addition 1889, new building 1921)
Pastors[]
- W. R. Smidt, 1888-1902
- W. D. Vander Werp, 1903-06
- Lambertus Veltkamp, 1906-18
- A. W. De Jonge, 1918-21
- B. Essenburg, 1921-25
- Henry Baker, 1926-37
- J. Gritter, 1938-48
- J. H. Piersma, 1949-53
- R. H. Haan, 1953-59
- H. Sonnema, 1959-63
- Jerome M. Julien, 1963-66, pastor of Rogers Heights after merger
Daughter Churches[]
- Grandville Avenue, 1891-1994
- Grant Street Mission, 1909
- Bethel , 1912-1994, cosponsored with Grandville Ave.
- Hillcrest Chapel, 1947-92, later sponsored by Kelloggsville and First Hudsonville
Merger[]
- Rogers Heights, 1966
Membership Overview[]
Membership data, Franklin Street CRC, Grand Rapids, MI
Membership Data[]
Green (lower) line shows membership in families; blue (middle), professing members; red (top), total members; and magenta (thin), non-professing members. Note effect of constructing the US-131 expressway just blocks away in late 1950s.
Youth ratio, Franklin Street CRC, Grand Rapids, MI
Youth Ratio[]
Red line shows nonprofessing members as a percentage of total membership.
Five year growth rate, Franklin Street CRC, Grand Rapids, MI
Five Year Growth Rate[]
Red line shows five year growth rate. A five year growth rate between 10% and -10% is considered stable; greater than 10% indicates a growing congregation; one below -10% indicates a church in decline. This makes no allowance for daughter churches.
Data source: Yearbooks of the Christian Reformed Church. Dates are year prior to publication date since data is gathered at the end of one year and published in the next.