More than six years ago, in April of 1993, a group of parents met informally at Community Presbyterian Church to discuss the need for a new parent run, Christian School which would (1) be strongly and explicitly committed to the Reformed faith, (2) uncompromising on issues such as inerrancy of Scripture, creation/evolution, headship, the antithesis, and (3) have affordable tuition rates. A steering committee of five men (Dave Alkema, Dave Kloosterman, Curt Veldman, Ken Feenstra and Harold Fennema) was formed. Our committee had a mandate to seek to open a school by September of 1994.
Two months later (June, 1993) the steering committee wrote a letter to the consistory of the Free Christian Reformed Church requesting to meet with them to discuss the possibility of housing school classes in the church’s educational wing (i.e. the gym area with surrounding classrooms). At the time of this request the congregation of the Free CRC had been worshiping together for only 6 months. Members of the congregation had in the previous months given freely and worked hard to purchase, paint, and repair their facility at 3724 Lovers Lane. The Free CRC consistory graciously acceded to the request and met with three members of the steering committee on July 6, 1993.
After due consideration and some further correspondence, the consistory decided to approve the renting of space in the educational wing for a period of one year to the fledgling school (soon to adopt the name “Reformed Heritage Christian School”), subject to congregational approval. The Free CRC congregation gave its formal approval to this proposal at a congregational meeting on November 8, 1993.
In ensuing months the new school association adopted by-laws, legally incorporated, filed for and obtained tax-exempt status, elected a school board (Tom Kiel, Dave Kloosterman, Tom Nagel, Ken Smith and Curt Veldman), adopted a budget, hired a teacher (Sara Houseman), and began accepting student registrations. But in June of 1994 it seemed very doubtful that we would be able to start school in September.
Since the Education wing area had been used as a school by the First Assembly Christian School in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, and had been used as a day-care center as recently as 1992, we had not anticipated problems in getting the facility approved by state authorities again for school use. However, the RHCS Association found out (in late May 1994) from the State Fire Marshal’s office that the facility would have to be evaluated as a new school meeting current building codes. In short, it would be impossible to obtain state approval by fall 1994 to use the “Educational Wing” area for a school. But the fire marshal indicated that the Fellowship Hall area would be much more readily approvable for such use.
The Fellowship Hall, located on the lower level under the sanctuary, was a large attractive open area — newly carpeted — which was frequently used by the Free CRC congregation for various meetings and coffees. The RHCS Board dreaded to have to ask the consistory and congregation to allow us to rent this area for use by our school. But it seemed the only viable option we had, so we again wrote a letter to the Free CRC consistory boldly requesting that they quickly approve this change (we had only three months before school was supposed to open).
We were extremely grateful for the prompt and generous response we received. The consistory approved this at their June 6, 1994 meeting and scheduled a congregational meeting for June 20. At the June 20 meeting the congregation approved our use of the Fellowship Hall for the 1994-95 school year! After hiring another teacher (Kathleen VanderJagt) and doing asbestos inspections and reports, installing a fire alarm system and fire-rated doors, etc., RHCS received approval from the Fire Marshall less than a week before school opened (on September 7, 1994 with 22 students in grades 1-8).
In February 1995 Reformed Heritage Christian School asked the Free CRC for an extended time period for the rental of the Fellowship Hall area. At a congregational meeting held on April 17, 1995, the church graciously granted us five additional years (July 1995 – June 2000)! As a school newsletter written shortly afterwards stated: “Last year we found out how difficult, time-consuming, and expensive it is to get a building approved by the government for use as a school. Only by the gracious and surprising providence of God were we able to obtain approval for the Free CRC facilities in time.
The extra five years which the Free CRC has now allowed us gives us the time we need to properly do the planning, fund-raising, and other work necessary to secure more permanent housing for our school. We are very grateful to the congregation of the Free CRC for their generosity in this decision.
As I write this, we are nearing the close of our fifth year of operation as a school. The Fellowship Hall area has served us very well. The church has been very generous not only in allowing us to rent this attractive area, but also in charging us very little for it, and for being very accommodating and understanding to the school in innumerable ways. Humanly speaking, I do not know how we could have ever started and continued the school without this generosity of the Free CRC/Covenant URC congregation.
Both the school and the church have grown over the past few years. The school started with 2 teachers, and 22 students in grades 1-8. RHCS currently employs 3 full-time teachers, one half-time teacher and one part-time secretary. We expect 43 students to be enrolled in grades K-9 next year. The church in the last five years has doubled in size: from less than forty families to nearly eighty.
In 1997, through the generosity of God’s people, the school was able to purchase at an attractively low price the old “Peter Pan” school on Fletcher Street on the west side of Kalamazoo. This property is an 8000 square foot building on two acres of land in a residential neighborhood. If we compare the cost of buying this building to what the cost of a new facility would be, the savings are enormous. The new building was financed through low-interest loans and interest-bearing promissory notes. Over the last year and a half, our on-going building expenses were largely covered by our tenants, the Center for Developmentally Disabled Adults. In all these circumstances, we cannot but see God’s Providence at work for His covenant people.
But now our tenants have vacated the Fletcher Street property, and we are busily engaged in getting the facility ready for our use come September, 1999. Tearing down and building walls, rewiring, remodeling, painting, installing new heating, new wiring, new doors, new windows, etc. Our Building Committee chairman Henry Kalkman is very hard at work these days! The Lord willing, we hope be able to vacate the Fellowship Hall area of the church this fall, so that it can be returned for use by the church. Even though we are moving out, we continue to depend very much on you all for the future. We as a school association again want to express our deep and heartfelt thanks to the congregation and consistory of Covenant United Reformed Church for your invaluable help these past six years.