A congregation gathered by grace since 1727
A family-oriented church that seeks, by God’s grace, to stand without shame upon the unchanging truths of His Word.
About Old Goshenhoppen Reformed Church
At Old Goshenhoppen Reformed Church (OGRC), you will find a family-oriented congregation that seeks, by God’s grace, to stand without shame upon the unchanging truths of God’s Word. We are a Biblical, Confessional, Historic, and Reformed church in Harleysville, Pennsylvania, where we strive to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all its fullness.
God is holy, and we are not. That is where the Gospel begins. We have nothing to offer Him but our sin, and He has given us everything in His Son. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone. We gather each Lord’s Day because He has called us, and we strive to answer with reverence and joy.
Each Lord’s Day we strive to preach God’s Word faithfully and without shame, now through the Gospel of Luke, proclaiming Christ as our only comfort. We are an elder-led congregation, shepherded by our pastors and elders under the headship of the Lord Jesus.
- Holds fast to the Bible as the divinely inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God, the only rule for faith and life.
- Proclaims salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.
- Exalts the transforming power of the Gospel, which calls sinners to repentance and grows believers in holiness.
- Prioritizes the faithful exposition and preaching of Scripture as the ordinary means by which Christ builds His Church.
- Treasures our historic roots, having been planted in the New World and officially recognized by the Classis of Amsterdam.
- Longs to see the next generation stand firm in the faith once delivered to the saints.
- Welcomes families and individuals from every background into warm, hospitable, Christ-centered fellowship.
- Walks alongside you as you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”Acts 2:42
The Word preached every Lord’s Day, now through the Gospel of Luke, with Adult Sunday School at 9:00 AM.
A communal meal after worship on most Sundays, and gatherings across the church calendar.
The Lord’s Supper every Lord’s Day, where Christ nourishes His people by faith in His finished work.
A prayer meeting each Sunday at 8:30 AM, and prayer woven through the whole of our worship.
Simple, reverent, centered on Christ
Worship at Old Goshenhoppen is simple and reverent. We come before a holy God to hear Him speak: Scripture read and preached, confession of sin and the assurance of pardon, prayer, Psalms and hymns, and the Lord’s Supper. We strive to offer Him acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.
Children worship alongside their parents, hearing the same Word and learning to worship with their mothers and fathers.
Ministries for every age and stage
We seek to be faithful in the ordinary means of grace and in equipping the saints for the work of ministry. Our life together includes:
Nearly three centuries of God’s faithfulness
In the early 1700s, German settlers, many fleeing persecution and drawn by William Penn’s promise of religious liberty, came from the Palatinate to Philadelphia and spread into the Perkiomen Valley. They named their settlement Old Goshenhoppen, after the biblical land of Goshen, where God provided for Israel in Egypt before He brought them into the Promised Land (Genesis 45:10; 47:27).
On October 12, 1727, Rev. George Michael Weiss gave communion to Reformed settlers as they stepped off the boats. In 1730 the congregation was recognized by the Classis of Amsterdam as a New World church plant. In 1732 the Lutheran and Reformed congregations together bought land from the Penn family and built a log meetinghouse that doubled as a school, still standing today.
The Lutheran and Reformed congregations shared the grounds until 1989, when the Lutheran congregation moved. Through wars, revivals, cultural shifts and even a tornado, one thing has remained constant: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
We are part of the one, holy, catholic (universal) Church confessed in the Apostles’ Creed. People from many denominational and ethnic backgrounds have found a spiritual home here, united by the Gospel and the historic Reformed faith.
The comfort that never changes
The foundation of our faith is beautifully summarized in the first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), a confession dearly loved by our founders and still treasured by us today.
This comfort is timeless. It sustained our forebears in the wilderness of the New World, and it remains the solid rock upon which we stand today.
Our pastors & elders
Christ is the Head of His church, and He gives shepherds to care for His flock. We are an elder-led congregation, served by pastors and elders who are called to preach the Word, watch over souls and pray for the people of God.
- PastorRev. Kevin J. Park
- Associate Pastor EmeritusRev. Bruce Clydesdale
- ElderPatrick Frederick
- ElderRob Witwer
- ElderJesse Light
- Licensed Pastoral InternAndrew Zimmerman
Would you like to know this comfort for yourself?
We warmly invite you to worship with us this Sunday at 10:00 AM. Sit under the preaching of God’s Word, be refreshed by the means of grace, and discover the joy of belonging to Christ and to His people.