About Us

Mission Statement:

Our mission: God has called us to be his faithful and grateful family in the Renville area by practicing hospitality, enjoying the gift's God has given us, while embracing and supporting God's mission in our own neighborhood and the world.

Christian Reformed Church:

We call ourselves Christian to mark us as followers of Jesus Christ, God's Son and our Savior.

We call ourselves Reformed because of the Protestant Reformation, which happened in Europe in the 1600s.  At that time, people re-examined the Bible to better understand God's will, which led to the beginning of the protestant churches, of which we are one.

We use the word Church to mean that we are part of a group of Christian believers which extends through the whole world and all of history.

As a church, we affirm the truth of the Trinity, the virgin birth of Jesus, Jesus' suffering and death on the cross for our sins, his bodily resurrection from the dead, and that we humans are sinful and only saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus and his death and resurrection.

Our History:

In 1890, a group of people who lived south of Prinsburg and worshiped in Prinsburg requested permission to organize a church for themselves. They made this request because of the distance they had to travel each Sunday and because they  desired to establish a German-speaking church. Their request was granted and the church began to meet in homes and in a District 52 school building.  Their eventual goal was to build a church north of Renville (where our cemetery is now located).. In 1892, five acres of land, seven miles northwest of Renville was purchased for $5. That place became known as “Emden” because that was where the original members had emigrated from (Emden, Germany).

After 73 years of being a country church, Emden held its last country church service on January 23, 1963 by traveling from the country church to the newly built church in the city of Renville, 7 miles away. The parsonage was moved from the country church to its current location.

Throughout  Emden’s history (125 years and counting), the church has made changes in languages, traditions, buildings and location; but as we look back, we remember the people that have been committed to God and His Word. These members have shared a love for the Christian life by sharing their faith through the preaching of the Word, through music that was sung and through other ministries that Emden has implemented to spread the Word of God to others. It is our prayer that this “Heritage of Faithfulness” will continue to the next generations.