Our Dutch Heritage 

     The first Canadian Reformed Church was instituted on April 16, 1950, in Lethbridge, Alberta. Its members were people who emigrated from the Netherlands following the end of the Second World War. The War had left Europe in ruins, financially and politically, and with the scare of Russian Communism on the horizon, so many people emigrated to other countries. The Dutch settled in Australia, Canada, South Africa and The United States. The people who formed the Canadian Reformed Churches belonged to a church in The Netherlands called the Gereformeerde Kerken in de Nederlanden - (Vrijgemaakt) - known in English as the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands - (Liberated).  This church had been formed in the 1944 due to a seccession from the Reformed Churches of The Netherlands (Synodical). 

Relations with the Christian Reformed Church 
 
     Due to these recent happenings in The Netherlands, the Dutch immigrants were very concerned and involved in their faith.  When they arrived in Canada, many immigrants joined the Christian Reformed Church. This church had been formed in 1857 by Dutch immigrants to the United States and Canada. However, many post-War immigrants realized that the Christian Reformed Church was similar to the Reformed Churches of The Netherlands which they had left in 1944. Therefore they tried initiate the same reform in the Christian Reformed Church as they had in The Netherlands.

The Break with the Christian Reformed Church 

     In 1946, the Christian Reformed Church decided that they would discontinue ties with the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands - Liberated.  Since this was the church which the immigrants had gone to in the Netherlands, the post-War immigrants looked at moving to a different church.  They examined the Protestant Reformed Churches, but found them lacking.  Therefore the immigrants set up their own churches, and joined them together into a federation called the Canadian Reformed Churches. 

The Beginings at Carman 

     In Manitoba, there are currently four Canadian Reformed Churches. Two in the rural town of Carman, and two in the capital of the province, Winnipeg. The first Manitoban congregation was instituted in Carman. In 1948, Dutch immigrants sponsored by Canadian farmers and other recent immigrants, arrived in Homewood, a hamlet near Carman. They intended to work there for a year and then move on to Lethbridge, Alberta. In Homewood, the immigrants worked the sugar beet farms, something they were used to in their native Holland. These immigrants belonged to the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands - Liberated when they were in the Netherlands. After investigating the local Christian Reformed Church, they decided to institute their own congregation in August of 1951. 

On to Winnipeg 

     Eventually people began to move to Winnipeg for work since Homewood couldn't accommodate all the labourers. They began to worship in Winnipeg and instituted the church there on February 15th, 1953, with 41 members in total. Since then things have grown. A church building was erected at 211 Rougeau Avenue, a school society begun and Immanuel Christian School was built.

Through these times the following ministers pastored the congregation:

• Rev. C. de Haan (March 1958-July 1965)
• Rev. H. A. Stel (March 1967-December 1973)
• Rev. S. de Bruin (September 1975-July 1978)
• Rev. B. J. Berends (December 1979-June 1984)
• Rev. W. den Hollander (October 1984-June 1989)
• Rev. K. Jonker (June 1991-June 2007)
• Rev. R.J. den Hollander (October 2008-present)

Over the years the Lord blessed the congregation and the church membership grew to such a size that in 1998 there were 518 members. It was in this year that the church divided into the Grace and Redeemer congregations. The Grace congregation continues to worship in the 211 Rougeau Avenue location while the Redeemer congregation built a new building at 15 Bates Avenue.

God has continued to bless the congregations in Manitoba. As of January 2002 the Grace congregation has 292 members whereas there are 295 members in the Redeemer congregation. Meanwhile the Carman congregation also grew and split into Carman East (333 members) and Carman West (333 members).  

For more information about the history of the Canadian Reformed Churches, see Inheritance Preserved:  The Canadian Reformed churches and Free Reformed Churches of Australia in Historical Perspective by W.W.J. VanOene, M.Th.  Published by Premier Publishing, One Beghin Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2J 3X5.