We are excited to announce that the United Reformed Churches in North America are planting a church in the heart of Central Oregon.

Our Story

Over the past three years the Lord has providentially brought together several families and individuals all from different walks of life and regions around the country. After many years of prayer, we were deeply encouraged when the Consistory of Grace URC in Portland, Oregon began forming a Joint Venture Committee (JVC) for the purpose of planting a church in Central Oregon. Then, leading up to Classis this past June, four additional churches in the Pacific Northwest joined the JVC and committed elders and resources to the work of the plant. The churches currently involved with the church plant are Grace URC (Portland, OR), Bellingham URC (Bellingham, WA), Peace URC (Vancouver, WA), Imanuel’s Reformed Church (Salem, OR), and Christ Reformed Church (Nampa, ID). Currently, our group is thrilled to be meeting each Sunday evening for a new members’ class taught by Rev. Stephen Donovan. We joyfully anticipate the JVC calling a church planter and beginning Word and sacrament worship soon.

Our Mission

While our group enjoys the general fellowship of one another’s company, what primarily draws us together is our shared passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ, believing that it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Rom 1:16). For this reason our group also shares a love for the Ecumenical Creeds and the Three Forms of Unity. We believe that these creeds and confessions are the clearest expression of the one Christian Faith and that the Word and sacrament ministry is the means through which the Holy Spirit creates and sustains faith in our hearts each Lord’s Day (Heidelberg Catechism 65). The theology of the Three Forms of Unity draws us together and also informs our desire to invite our neighbors to a church where “Christ crucified” will be preached each Lord’s Day.

How you can pray for us

• That our Lord would be pleased to grow his church through this local URC plant in Redmond, Oregon.
• That the Lord would grant wisdom to the JVC as they seek to call a church planter to the work.
• That the Lord would provide a fitting location to meet for worship services.

For more information and updates, please visit our website.

©Joseph DeChristopher. All Rights Reserved.

RESOURCES

• Subscribe To The Heidelblog!
• Download the HeidelApp on Apple App Store or Google Play
• Browse the Heidelshop!
• The Heidelblog Resource Page
• Heidelmedia Resources
• The Ecumenical Creeds
• The Reformed Confessions
• The Heidelberg Catechism
• The Heidelberg Catechism: A Historical, Theological, & Pastoral Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2025)
• Recovering the Reformed Confession (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2008)
• Why I Am A Christian
• What Must A Christian Believe?
• Heidelblog Contributors
• Support Heidelmedia: use the donate button or send a check to

Heidelberg Reformation Association
1637 E. Valley Parkway #391
Escondido CA 92027
USA
The HRA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization

Post authored by:

• Joseph DeChristopher

  

  Joseph DeChristopher is a high school English teacher. He lives in Oregon with his wife Elsa and their children Carlo and Maria. They are members of the United Reformed Churches in North America.

  More by Joseph DeChristopher ›