Church History

Nestled in the rich green prairies of Northern Illinois, you will find the small town of German Valley. A group of German immigrants, consisting of hard-working farmers, shop keepers, railroad workers, fathers, mothers, and children—young and old—established the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Silver Creek in 1851. The first church services took place in a log cabin, and the congregation later built a beautiful stone church in which to worship. Early services were held in German for the benefit of those elder immigrants. Recognizing the importance of a high-quality Christian education, they also established the Pleasant Prairie Academy, which began preparing young men for the ministry, and later became a parochial high school.

 On September 24, 1953, lightning struck the beautiful stone church and burned it to the ground. The community was devasted but vowed to continue with God’s work. Sunday school, church services, and even a couple of weddings were held in the Academy classrooms and gymnasium. The congregation realized that the church was much more than just a building; it was God’s people that mattered. “For where two or three of you are gathered in my name, I am in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20.

In 1956, the congregation moved into our present day building. While they had been terribly saddened by the loss of the old building and the Academy that closed the end of the school year in 1958, they acknowledged that God’s timing is always perfect. They were able to build a beautiful structure (likely too expensive to build today) with many exquisite stained glass windows and plenty of room for worship services, Sunday School, meetings, potlucks, weddings, and other ways to fellowship and praise God. The new church was dedicated on September 23, 1956.

Today Christian education is still a high priority for all age groups at Silver Creek Reformed Church. We try very hard to have a group to join where anyone can feel welcome. We also believe in contributing to missionary work all over the world. We have faith in the Great Commission, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and tof the Holy Spirit” Matthew 28:19. Many changes have taken place in our small community of German Valley since those early services in a log cabin, but our commitment to spreading the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ remains constant.

We are affiliated with the Reformed Church of America. For more information, please visit their website at www.rca.org.