Fire Resets LaGrave Church’s Community Center Plan

A fire late in the evening of Aug. 26 destroyed a historic building on the property of LaGrave Avenue Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., but not the congregation’s primary worship space.

The fire destroyed a vacant structure that had once served a Seventh-Day Adventist congregation, which LaGrave acquired shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic. That building dated back to 1894 and was designated as a historical landmark by the city’s Historic Preservation Commission in 1977, said Kristin Batts, director of community engagement at LaGrave.

LaGrave’s main worship space was not affected by the fire.

The church was in the process of developing architectural designs and coming up with cost estimates for renovating the former Seventh-Day Adventist building to be used as a community and service center that could be open seven days a week, Batts said.

“The planning committee was nearing the time to go both to (the church) council and congregation in the fall of 2026 for project approval and a capital campaign launch,” she said. “The long-term church campus plans also included new and renovated spaces for youth ministry and congregation fellowship, along with the community service and ministry components.”

Pastor of preaching Peter Jonker had earlier told the local news outlet MLive that the church was hopeful for the community project to be operational in a new facility by 2028.

LaGrave has had a longstanding commitment to downtown Grand Rapids since the congregation was founded in 1887. It has a long history of working with nonprofit and faith-based agencies that serve the unhoused and those on limited incomes using supportive and subsidized housing. Over the past two winters, LaGrave has collaborated with downtown churches of other faith traditions and nonprofits to provide a weekday community and service center for the unhoused and other interested neighbors. The collaboration has been named Partners in Ministry.

The fire has forced LaGrave leaders to pivot on their plans.

“The coming months will be redefining how LaGrave's planning committee, council, and congregation, as well as the Partners in Ministry, plan to meet our community ministry growth goals,” Batts said.

She noted that while the lot has been secured, “everything is still standing as it was from when the firefighters” completed their work. “We’re working with the city and state historic commission processes to see what the path forward is.”

“Because of the instability of the east wall,” which is very close to LaGrave’s functioning church building, Batts said the city “advised us not to use our nursery space, in case the highest part of that unstable wall would topple into the building.” The congregation relocated their nursery classes on Aug. 30 and might have to do so again.

Batts said the church is waiting for a fire department report on a possible cause, but she said, “There’s no indication that there was anything nefarious.”