Christian Reformed Church - Medicine Hat

     I am often asked what a Christian Reformed Church is. I like to explain it this way. Unless you are First Nations either you or your ancestors are immigrants to Canada. (Provided, of course, you are a Canadian reading this Canadian web site!) During the 1800s a number of immigrants arrived in the USA from the Netherlands. They brought their church, the Christian Reformed Church, with them and the Christian Reformed Church in North America was established. Throughout the 1900s waves of immigrants from the Netherlands also arrived in Canada and many Christian Reformed Congregations were established in this land, including the Medicine Hat Christian Reformed Church in 1953.

Some 50 years after being established, our membership is comprised of people of many backgrounds and nationalities. While the language and other traditions of the past have been left behind, we continue to have this in common with the church of the past: we believe the Bible is the infallible and inerrant Word of God. We believe "the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes"(Romans 1:16). The pure preaching of the gospel in our worship services and the pure teaching of the gospel in all of our ministries is our priority. This preaching and teaching of the gospel moves us to respond in joyful worship and joy-filled living.

In 2 Timothy 4:14,15 Paul writes "Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. You too should be on guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message." Since the days of Paul, the church has jealously guarded the truth of the gospel. The Christian Reformed Church officially embraces 6 defenses of the truth. They are The Apostles' Creed, The Nicene Creed, The Athanasian Creed, The Belgic Confession, The Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dort. The Belgic Confession, The Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dort are summaries of the Christian Faith which were written to defend Biblical truth from error in the years following the Protestant Reformation of the 1500s. It is from that event that the name "Reformed" is derived.

In addition to these six creeds and confessions, we acknowledge the fine work of many other Christian denominations and Christian traditions in defending the truth of the gospel against error. With Christians throughout the ages and throughout the world, we stand on God's Word alone, and continue to defend Truth against false prophets and teachings.

And so we come back to where we began. The Medicine Hat Christian Reformed Church is a church that embraces the Bible as God's infallible and inerrant Word and seeks to be guided by its truth alone. We thank you for taking the time to explore what a Christian Reformed Church is and extend an invitation to get to know us better.