The Christian Reformed

Church Of Pease

117 West Main Street

Pease, Minnesota 56363

320-369-4228

peasecrc@frontiernet.net

www.peasecrc.org

Church Profile

VISION & MISSION

With love, our mission is to proclaim and celebrate

God’s love in Jesus Christ, to live and minister as

God’s children in our world, sharing our faith with

each other and our community, and caring deeply

about all God’s creation.

Through Christ

OUR CONGREGATION

Our Sunday morning worship service is a blend of contemporary and traditional

musical styles. The worship services are put together as a joint effort of the worship

leader and the pastor; and are led by the worship leader, praise team and pastor. We try

to involve all ages in our worship services through children’s messages, youth helping with

the offering and special services, and incorporating people’s faith stories into the order of

worship. We are also very intentional about keeping our worship grounded in scripture

and reformed theology.

Our congregation is a welcoming, close-knit community of believers. We currently

average 275 worshipers on a Sunday morning. Youth Sunday school averages 50 kids, and

our adult education offerings average about the same. We are a busy congregation with

lots of opportunities for involvement within the congregation and within the community.

REC & REC JR

Four years ago PCRC hired it’s first full-time youth leader. Since

then, we have seen growth in the program as well as in our kids. In

that first year, the youth were included on picking what the name of

our group would be. They were studying II Corinthians 5:17-20:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The

old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled

us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconcilia-

tion that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not

counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us

the message of reconciliation. We are therefore God’s ambassa-

dors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We im-

plore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

They decided to go with REC to remind themselves that they are

on a mission in this world as well as to remind themselves

that they have been made right with God through His grace

and love.

Youth Group Attendance

REC (High School): 15-18

REC Jr. (7th & 8th): 10-15

FACILITIES

The church structure has undergone many physical changes since it was

built in 1896. In 1989, we moved into a new sanctuary which seats 600.

At that time, a narthex, pastor’s study, church office and handicap acces-

sible restrooms were added. The original building was transformed into a

fellowship hall, kitchen, nursery, and classrooms. In 2001, another building project led to

the addition of a fireside room and classrooms that serve as our Children’s Worship Center.

In 2005, a multimedia system was added with three large screens in the sanctuary. We have

also recently installed a smart tv system in the Fireside Room and upgraded our Wi-Fi.

Our grounds not only include the church and parsonage, but a park with a band shell, an

enclosed structure that we call the “Canteen,” a playground, and a lighted baseball field.

Currently, REC and REC Jr have been meeting in the church on Wednesday nights. They have

been utilizing the Fireside Room, the Fellowship Hall as well as the sanctuary and park.

LEADERSHIP

The Church Council

The organizational structure of PCRC consists of Council and Leadership Teams.

The Council is made up of nine elders and nine deacons and is divided into an

Administrative Team and a Shepherding Team. The term of office is three years.

One elder or deacon serves as a representative on each of our Leadership

Teams.

The Staff

The Council and staff work together to keep ministries flowing and the

congregation growing. Currently, the staff includes our head pastor, an adminis-

trative assistant, and a custodian.

Leadership Teams

Leadership Teams serve as extensions of the council and are directly

accountable to the council. Their primary purpose is to assist the council in

carrying out PCRC’s mission and ministry in Christ’s name. Each team strives to

use the God-given gifts of each team member and through these teams, the

gifts of all church members. The Leadership Teams, their missions and

responsibilities are outlined below.

Worship Team Mission: To provide celebrative worship services which praise God, uplift worshippers, promote the Reformed faith, and which are sensitive to both church members and guests.

Education Team

Mission: The Bible commands both parents and the church to train and disciple children and members of all ages. To assist parents and to keep our covenantal responsibility in training, the Education Team provides educational programs for all ages. These programs are based on scripture, taught from a reformed perspective, and are intended to deepen a person’s walk with Christ.

Outreach Team Mission: To encourage and facilitate the body of believers at PCRC to reach out with love into our community, both local and global, by sharing the good news of salvation found in Jesus Christ and then encourage non-churched people to find a church home.

Building Team Mission: PCRC’s buildings and equipment are dedicated to God for His worship, for building up the body of Christ, and for a witness to the community. In line with these goals, the Facilities Team supervises the use and maintenance of PCRC’s buildings, grounds, parsonage and equipment.

Fellowship & Food

Mission: To help organize meals that enhance the fellowship of PCRC

HISTORY

In 1893, a group of Dutch settlers from Iowa, South Dakota, and Wisconsin migrated to what is now known as Pease, MN. On June 15, 1895, under the leadership of Rev. C. Bode of Classis Iowa, thirty one members officially organized under the name of The Holland Christian Reformed Church of Pease, MN.

The following year, in 1896, a modest wooden church was built along with the first parsonage which was completed in 1900. The original brick church was built in 1907, along with the present parsonage in 1920. The cornerstone of the church reads “Eben-Haezer,” which translates to “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

John De Groot accepted the call to be our first pastor in 1900. He received a yearly salary of $400 plus free housing, firewood, and enough hay to feed one horse and two cows. In 1925, the church name was legally changed to The Christian Re-formed Church of Pease.

Since our humble beginnings, we have undergone many changes. Our church ex-perienced a time of growth during the late 1970’s which led and gave birth to our sister congregation, The Bethel Christian Reformed Church, in Princeton, MN. This decision was characterized by an exciting, cooperative spirit and we maintained a supportive and financial role for many years.

In the 1980’s, it became evident that we needed more room to worship. In March 1989, we opened our new sanctuary and narthex. Members still recall the excite-ment and symbolic carrying of the Bibles and hymnals from the old sanctuary to the new.

In the same confidence that got us this far, we continue to go forward striving to live out God’s plan for us by proclaiming his love.

“Thus far, the Lord has helped us.”

COMMUNITY

Pease, Minnesota is a rural community located in Mille Lacs County and is situated in

central Minnesota. Pease CRC is located approximately one hour north of the Minneapolis/St.

Paul metropolitan area (Population: 3.2 million) and 30 minutes east of the city of St. Cloud

(Population: 67,000). As these metropolitan areas continue to expand, changes are taking

place to the face or our community as well. Twenty-five years ago, the Pease area was primar-

ily agricultural. Today, more people are finding employment in the service and industry fields

as the surrounding business communities expand. Many people also commute daily into the

metropolitan and suburban areas. As the changes continue, it presents a challenge to our

church to meet the ministry needs of our surrounding community.

Medical care is excellent. A clinic and hospital affiliated with the Fairview Healthcare

System are located in Princeton, a community of 4,700 people located ten minutes south of

Pease. A care clinic is also located in Milaca, a community of 3,200 people located five

minutes north of Pease. Both communities have numerous dentists, chiropractors, optome-

trists and pharmacies.

Community Christian School, for children in grades Pre-K through grade 8, is supported

by our church and located in Pease and presently has an attendance of 100 students. Elemen-

tary, middle and high schools are also located in Milaca and Princeton. State and private col-

leges are located in St. Cloud, Minneapolis and St. Paul.

There are many opportunities for recreation and entertainment in our area. Recreation

includes numerous lakes for fishing, swimming and boating, golf courses, snowmobile and

biking trails and state parks for hiking, camping and cross-country skiing. The greater area also

contains many shopping malls, restaurants, theaters, museums and professional sports

teams.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Contact Pastor Michael Ten Haken with any questions:

320-369-4228

peasecrc@frontiernet.net