Central Wesleyan Church

Established in 1866. Central Wesleyan Church exists to help people become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ as we build redemptive bridges of influence to others. We desire to be a biblical community. That means we must grow in our knowledge of-and most importantly-our obedience to the Bible. To be a community, we must function as a body, rat... her than as saved-but-isolated saints. We also aim to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). We take the call to disciple every nation seriously because it was Jesus' last and most expansive command to His church. We must continually keep an eye on the world in order to reach every person with His gospel message. We deeply believe that developing a fully devoted heart for Christ and reaching every person with His life-transforming message is most effectively done as we build redemptive bridges of influence into our community and world (Matthew 5:13-16). In 1866, a layman by the name of Michael Clapper began preaching above a saloon in downtown Holland. On January 13, 1896, seven Holland residents formally organized the Wesleyan Methodist Church. In June 1977, Pastor Paul Hontz accepted the call to become the 22nd senior pastor. In 1980, the congregation embraced "Faith Promise Giving" for world evangelization, and the mission of "Reaching Holland and Beyond." Morning worship attendance grew every year from 1977-2001. Staff, programs, and new ministries have been added as Central Wesleyan has sought to minister effectively, both in Holland and around the world. Our current Worship Center houses a congregation that now numbers 3,000. From those humble beginnings in 1866 God has graciously blessed the people of Central as we have sought to reach Holland and beyond with the gospel.Read More