Sherman Street Christian Reformed Church was founded in 1907 by a group of young adults from East Street CRC (now Eastern Avenue) who wanted to worship in English instead of in their native Dutch language. The church grew quickly, and by the 1920s it was one of the largest English-speaking churches in the Christian Reformed denomination, with over 280 families (1,400 members).
The church continued as a large congregation for the next several decades, primarily serving the Dutch-American community that surrounded the church. After World War II, many of these families began moving to the suburbs, and the composition of the neighborhood started to change. Due, in a large part, to white flight from the city, membership declined steadily, and by 1979 only 75 families remained. At this point, the church faced a critical decision: stay in the neighborhood, move to the suburbs, or close entirely. The congregation renewed their commitment to serving the surrounding neighborhood. New pastors brought new energy to the church, and the congregation began to grow again. In 1997 Sherman Street reaffirmed the decision to stay in the neighborhood, and adopted the current mission and vision. In 2015 our Mission Implementation document was written, which puts to words some of our hopes and dreams for our community. |