About Us
Rehoboth Christian Reformed Church
Our Vision
In this place our Creator God provided, we journey together on His path of love, redemption, and reconciliation.
We welcome all.
We follow Christ, growing and learning together.
We care for one another as family and bring hope to our neighbors.
Our Mission
In response to God’s command to be a living expression of Christ, each member of our congregation is called to:
Be His
Belong
Be Changed
Be a Servant
Be a Bridge
Staff
Bob Ippel
Worship Coordinator
Bob Ippel
Worship Coordinator
Peter & Kari Ippel
Worship Coordinators
Phil & Erin Neilson
Worship Coordinators
Selina Lee
Custodian
Dorann Louis
Bookkeeper
Fern Becenti
Adminsitrative Assistant
Church Council
In addition to our pastor, our church council is made up of elders and deacons. The council meets regularly to provide leadership to the church.
Elders
Along with our pastor, elders oversee the spiritual life of the members of our congregation. Our congregation includes four elder groups, each led by one of the pastoral care elders.
If you aren't sure who your elder is, please contact the church office to get connected.
Bob Ippel
Betsy Meester
Short Holwerda
Kevin Jones
Jamie Frederiksen
Cal Feddes
Deacons
Deacons lead our church in its stewardship of resources and in community ministry. Deacons oversee our benevolence ministry, helping to meet the practical needs of congregation and community members, as well as offer support for families whose children attend a Christian school.
If you would like to get in touch with our deacons about assistance for yourself or someone you know, please contact the church office.
Dan Krygsheld
Jon Kamps
Kate Poortenga
Council President
Robert Klein
Lois Harvey
Raina Roan
Rehoboth's History
The history of Rehoboth Christian Reformed Church is directly connected to that of Rehoboth Christian School which is located on the beautiful land of the Dinetah and the Pueblo Peoples. The story of Rehoboth School and therefore Rehoboth Christian Reformed Church is one for which we both praise God and for which we lament.
Rehoboth Christian Reformed Church was established in 1906 on the Rehoboth Christian School campus. Rehoboth Christian School had been started in 1903 as a mission effort of the Christian Reformed Church. In 1896 Herman and Katie Fryling and Andrew and Effa Vander Wagen were sent out from Grand Rapids, MI, to share the Gospel with the indigenous peoples of the Southwest. Their work was under the auspices of the “Heathen Mission Board”. They began their work in Fort Defiance, AZ. Their efforts then expanded to Tohatchi and Zuni, NM, with missionaries Mr. and Mrs. James DeGroot and Leonard P. Brink joining them in the work. In 1903 the mission board bought the Smith Ranch located outside Gallup, NM. There the missionaries began a mission boarding school, fashioned after the government boarding schools of the time.
The old Rehoboth Church (1923-2019)
Rehoboth CRC met in homes and school classrooms until 1923 when a church building was constructed. The church was connected with the work of the Rehoboth Mission which by then also included a hospital. The church served staff and residential students who lived on campus throughout the school year. Because the school continued to grow and a high school was added in the 1940’s, a small addition to the church was built in 1956 to accommodate additional seating.
As Rehoboth Christian School transitioned from a residential, denominationally-run school to a parent-run school, Rehoboth Church became less connected to the school and more of a community church serving a wide geographical region including Gallup, McKinley County and the Navajo Nation. Recognizing the complex impact of past mission efforts, Rehoboth CRC has sought to be a place of healing for all. As the church body grew and the original building decayed, the need for a new building became clear. In 2006, the Rehoboth Church family of faith began to use the current building. In 2019 the old church was finally torn down.
Classis Red Mesa
A classis is a group of churches within a geographical area. It has the authority to deal with all church matters within its region. The Christian Reformed Church has 47 classes within the US and Canada.
Rehoboth CRC is a part of Classis Red Mesa, which includes about twenty Christian Reformed churches and missions in Northwest New Mexico and Northeast Arizona. Our Classis is unique because it was formed from churches created as a result of the first missionary outreach established in the Christian Reformed Church.
Rehoboth CRC highly values her connection with her sister churches in Classis Red Mesa. Although we meet formally only three times a year, the classis works very actively together on various projects including the Red Mesa Leadership Development Network and Cottonwood Pass Bible Conference.
The Christian Reformed Church
Rehoboth Christian Reformed Church is a part of the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA or CRC). Our denomination has about 300,000 members in 1,000 congregations across the United States and Canada. We often call ourselves "the CRC" for short.
We call ourselves Christian because we are followers of Jesus Christ. We believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he is the center of human history.
We’re called Reformed because we grow on a branch of the church tree that emerged from the Protestant Reformation in sixteenth-century Europe.
We’re a Church because we believe God has called us together to be a people who belong to him and live for him.
