Hundreds, thousands, of people pass Old First on Seventh Avenue every day. Questions are often heard, sometimes answered. Here are our responses to the most common:

Q: What on earth is the Old First Reformed Church?

A: In 1654, by order of Pieter Stuyvesant, when New York was Nieuw Amsterdam and Breukelen was a village surrounded by farms, and the people were mostly Dutch and Protestant, three congregations were established in Flatbush, Flatland, and Breukelen, “Old First.” All three live on (we are from the Breukelen church). This is our third location and fifth building, from 1891.

Q: What does “Reformed” mean?

A: The holy catholic church, reformed according to the Word of God.
The Reformed Church in America (originally “Dutch Reformed”) is 1000 congregations across North America. We are the heirs of the Reformation of the 16th Century.

There are 83 million Reformed Christians in 218 countries. For instance:

Plus all the Presbyterians and Congregationalists

RCA: Reformed Church in America

Old First Reformed Church is a congregation of the Reformed Church in America.

Learn more about the Reformed Church in America by visiting their web site www.rca.org.

RCA Global Missions

How is the Reformed Church in America helping in the world?
Link to RCA Global Missions
Learn about Reformed Church World Service projects

Perspectives: A Journal of Reformed Thought
Read material contributed by members from around the US and world.

Belhar Confession

The Belhar Confession is the newest statement of faith of the Reformed Church in America. The RCA had been considering the Belhar Confession since 1985, three years after it was written in South Africa in response to divisions in the church during apartheid. In the year 2000, General Synod invited its members and congregations to a decade of study and reflection on the confession. As a result of this ongoing effort, the 2007 General Synod voted to provisionally adopt the confession for two years. It 2009, it was adopted permanently.

back to top