A Church Community That Feels Like Home

Founded by Dutch immigrants from the Netherlands, the Christian Reformed Church in North America has long welcomed immigrant and ethnic communities. That legacy continues today in places such as Chin Christian Church of Kentwood, Mich.

The seed of Chin Church was planted when three Burmese refugee families began searching for a church that would allow them to worship in their native language. The families were from the Chin State in Burma (now Myanmar), a predominantly Christian region in a largely Buddhist nation where minorities faced decades of political and religious persecution. Many Chin fled to Malaysia, where they lived without legal status until the United States began resettling Burmese refugees from Malaysia in 2006.

One of the young people shaped by this resettlement was Van Par Mi, who arrived in Grand Rapids with his family in 2007. At 18, Van spoke the dialect Chin Falam and Burmese. While attending local churches helped Van and other Burmese refugees learn English and adapt to American culture, they also longed to worship in their mother tongue. Rivertown Community Church, which already hosted a Hispanic congregation, responded. On April 8, 2008, three Chin families hosted their first Saturday evening gathering there. At the time, they had no pastor.

The partnership with Rivertown gave the budding church stability, and the growing congregation embraced the opportunity to support fellow refugees as they began their new life in America. As Chin Church’s ministry expanded, it needed opportunities to gather during the week.

In 2011, Princeton CRC opened its doors to the Chin congregation, providing Sunday worship time and space for weeknight gatherings. By then the Chin congregation numbered 70. Today, Chin Church uses Princeton’s building from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sundays and several evenings during the week, hosting Sunday school classes, youth worship, women’s gatherings, and prayer meetings.

Princeton was instrumental in fostering Chin’s development as a church. In 2016, Chin’s pastor, Kei Lian Mang, was installed as a CRCNA-ordained minister, and Chin Christian Church became a CRCNA organized church. Van, who arrived as a teenager, now serves as the youth pastor and leads the search for a permanent location. He said, “Chin is grateful for its partnership with Princeton, which provides space at no charge; Chin gives an annual thanks offering in return.”

Since partnering with Princeton, Chin Church’s numbers have doubled, with 140 people now attending. A couple of years ago, the congregation began looking for a home of their own. They were preapproved for a loan under the CRC Loan Fund’s First Church Building Loan Program and almost purchased a childcare building in Alto, Mich., but inspection revealed significant maintenance issues. Undeterred, they remain hopeful and have been in conversation with another CRC congregation about its church building.

Van underscored the congregation’s longing for a permanent home, especially during the holidays when meals, worship, and fellowship extend throughout the day. Guided by faith and sustained by community, Chin Christian Church continues to grow and dream of a place to call its own—a space where generations can worship, celebrate, and build a lasting home together. As part of the CRCNA’s long tradition of welcoming immigrants, Chin Christian Church embodies the enduring hope, resilience, and faith of a people building a home in a new land.