About
VISION
First Church is committed to becoming a church that is filled with the Holy Spirit. To be prayerfully motivating, nourishing, and equipping our congregation to serve God by reaching out to one another and our neighbours.
Who are we? We are a faith community of imperfect people seeking to live out the way of Jesus Christ. We welcome all who enter our doors. We appreciate seniors, we adore children, and welcome everyone in between. We pray together, help each other in time of need, and listen to God’s word.
PURPOSE
The purpose of First Church is to love, share, and care.
The love of God is celebrated
Our love for God is demonstrated
Our love for our neighbours everywhere is evident
What do we do? We strive to show our community the love of God. We partner with Habitat for Humanity, The Inn of the Good Shepherd, YMCA Friendship Houses, Neighbourlink, The Garden of Eatin. We sponsor refugees. We support relief organizations such as World Renew. We bring Christ’s message of love to the community.
We show this love by:
Sharing God’s word and our gifts with each other and our neighbours
Caring about and working towards the advancement of God’s kingdom by shining Christ light in our world
CORE MINISTRY VALUES
Worship – Biblically based relevant worship services which offer diversity and involvement of people of all ages
Education – The encouragement of lifelong learning, spiritual guidance, and growth
Fellowship – Caring, loving, nurturing and praying for each other within the body of Christ
Prayer – We cherish and embrace the power of prayer for one another, the community, and our world
Service & Witness – Reaching out to our neighbours near and far, with the heart and hands of Christ
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Meet Our Pastor
Pastor Dave VanBerkel
Originally from St.Thomas, Pastor Dave moved back to Ontario a couple years ago, after serving a church in Anchorage, Alaska for 7 years. Prior to graduating from Calvin Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Dave led the English ministry at a church in South Korea for a year, and enjoyed numerous overseas ministry opportunities in places like India, Turkey, Romania and Rwanda. Dave has a passion for helping people discover the abundant life God created them to live and gets excited when people experience and talk about God at work in their lives!
In his free time, Dave loves playing volleyball, trying exotic foods, and collecting passport stamps.
Meet Our Staff
Betty Boot
Betty is our Office Administrator (and so much more!). Betty was born and raised in Sarnia; baptized and married right here in Sarnia First. Except for the first 5 years of marriage when she lived in Chatham with her husband John, she has lived in the Sarnia area (and been a member of Sarnia First) all her life. She was a stay-at-home mom until her youngest went to school, when she re-entered the work force part time. In 2007 when the opportunity came up, she applied to become the church’s office administrator. Working in the church office gives her lots of opportunities to speak to people within the church and the neighbourhood.
In her free time Betty likes to read, knit, crochet, Sudoku, and spend time with her 8 grandchildren.
Karly Schenk
Karly is our Children’s Ministry Director and we are blessed to have her as the newest member of our staff here at First Christian Reformed Church. She holds a Bachelor of Education from Nipissing University, and currently substitute teaches at John Knox Christian School and Sarnia Christian School. She was born and raised in Sarnia and has been a member of First Church for as long as she can remember. She was baptized, married, and did her Profession of Faith, all at First Church, and has since baptized her own three young children here. She has been involved in children’s ministry at First Church for a while now, serving as co-coordinator of the Sunday School program. She has a strong desire for our church to be place where children and young families want to come; to have a good time, strengthen their faith, and be embraced by a loving church family. Karly feels blessed to serve as Children’s Ministry Director at First Church.
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