First Reformed Church (FRC) was organized on May 6, 1871 in order to serve the Dutch Settlers who began arriving in Orange City in 1870.

As a result of population growth and the rising cost of land, a large group of Hollanders moved 300 miles northwest from Pella, IA.

As people of deep and abiding religious faith, the establishment of a Christian church was one of the community's first priorities.

As the community of Dutch settlers continued to grow, the need for an ordained minister became readily apparent – there was no one available to perform baptisms or administer the Eucharist.

"Prairie fires, hordes of grasshoppers which stripped the fields bare, hail-storms, droughts and severe blizzards were commonplace during the first decade of the church’s existence".

Later, when churches organized in Sioux Center and Alton, he preached to these congregations until they received their own ministers.

Ale Burrsma was a Frisian-born Civil War veteran and a member of the first graduating classes of Hope College and Western Theological Seminary.

He was called three times before he decided to leave his church in South Holland, IL to come to Orange City.

Buursma cared deeply about Christian education and was given a three-month leave of absence in 1883 to fill a vacancy at the new Northwestern Classical Academy.

He served for a decade at FRC and left in 1889 to be the pastor of Fifth Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, MI.

Buursma left, FRC was without a minister for over a year, eventually calling Harmen Vander Ploeg.

His pastorate was shortened by ill health, but he was valued for his strong morals and theology as well as his concern for missions.

Kolyn periodically suffered from ill health and after his five years in Orange City, he became a professor at Western Theological Seminary.

Reverend Nicholas Martinus Steffens was born in Germany, educated in the Netherlands, and was a missionary to the Jewish population in Istanbul.

It was surprising to many that a man of his stature accepted the call to a church in a developing and isolated area, but he may have been influenced by the fact that his daughter taught at the Northwestern Classical Academy.

Van Heukelom, FRC recognized the need to expand its ministry and began to increase its staff and services.

Cecil Martens was asked to provide faithful leadership and to lend an outward focus to the church's ministry.

Martens also took great strides in reaching out to the college community and making FRC a place that the local students would want to attend.

Breen continues to serve as the Lead Pastor and lives in Orange City with his wife and two children.