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OUR HISTORY

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In 1916, seven families who were members of the Leota Chrstian Reformed Church and living in the Chandler area decided to organize into a congregation.  At the organizing meeting on August 31, 1916, Rev. De Groot preached about God's wonderful promise from small beginnings from 2 Chronicles 25:9b: "The Lord is able to give you much more than this."  After meeting for a year and a half in the two-room school house in Chandler, the congregation built a church on three acres of land on the hills of Chandler.  They also called their first Pastor, Rev. Barend Nagel, in 1920. 

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In 1930, Rev. Arie Disselkoen began his service as Chandler's second pastor.  At the time several societies were formed such as a Ladies' Aid society, a Young People's Society, and a Young Girl's Society.  The congregation enjoyed steady increase in the number of families, and in 1935 it was decided to move the church building down the hill, with an addition built for more capacity. 

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In the 1940's, Revs. Abraham Bliek and Gerard Van Laar served our church as pastor.  The council meeting minutes were written in English instead of Dutch for the first time, and the morning services were held in English.

The 1950s saw the beginning of the Chandler Christian School, and the congregation decided to build a new church building located in the parking area across from our current building.  Ministers that served were Revs. John E. Brink, Charles Steenstra, and Timothy Monsma.

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In 1962 a mortgage burning ceremony was held.  Rev. Andrew Van Schouwen served as the pastor of our church.  In 1966 the church celebrated her 50th anniversary.  In 1969 a new parsonage was built, and Rev. Titus Heyboer moved in to begin his ministry.

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In 1977 Candidate Clayton Negen was called to become our next pastor, but sadly he passed away of acute leukemia a year later.  Soon we called Rev. Robert Zomermaand in 1978 and Rev. Dennis Boogerd in 1984. 

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Rev. John Engbers began his ministry in Chandler in 1990.  Discussions began in earnest about our church facilities that were inadequate for the future.  On June 16, 1992, an F5 tornado ripped through Chandler, destroying the homes of many congregation members.  The church building was not extensively damaged, but the building was being held together by rods extending across the top of the sanctuary.  The tornado had destroyed part of the Chandler-Lake Wilson High School building, and insurance money repaired the remaining part of the building.  It was decided that the Chandler Christian School would buy the High School building, and the church would buy the old Christian school, located across the street. 

 

In 1995 Rev. Kevin Vryhof became our pastor.  Work began on adding a new fellowship hall and sanctuary to the existing classroom building of the old Christian School.  The building dedication service took place on June 15, 1997.  In 2003 it was announced that we had paid off the entire debt of the church.

 

Other pastors serving our church include Rev. Mark Klompien in 2005, Rev. Raidel Leon in 2011, and Rev. Josh Christoffels, from 2015-2021.  In 2016 we celebrated 100 years of God's faithfulness to the Christian Reformed Church of Chandler.  Now we give thanks and glory to God for all his grace and goodness to us.        

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