What is now Good Shepherd Christian Reformed Church actually began as the First Christian Reformed Church of Flint. A small group of people of Christian reformed background started meeting in the Flint, MI area in 1929; and the church was officially organized in 1931.
A small white building on Dupont Street between McClellan and Dayton Streets was home to the congregation into the early 1970’s. During that time the church was served by several pastors including: Revs. H. Radius, G.B. Boerfyn, A. Baker, H. Moes, E. Bradford, B. Newhouse, C. Witt, N. B. Haan, and D. Baak.
While serving the immediate spiritual needs of the Christian Reformed people in the Flint area, the church was also active in such projects as founding Flint Christian School. A very functional school building was erected; and over the years, many young people were educated. Unfortunately, economic and other conditions caused the school to close by the late 1970’s
By the mid 1970’s it became obvious that if the church was to grow, some drastic changes had to be made. When in God’s providence, Urban Renewal permitted another congregation to buy the existing building, the First CRC congregation decided to move. For a time they held worship services in a school building. Finally, property was located on Coldwater Rd. on the north side of Flushing. Under the leadership of Rev. Al Machiela, the congregation built a new facility on the property. The first worship services and dedication were held in the new facility in September, 1977. A more community focused ministry was started, and the name of the church was changed to Good Shepherd Christian Reformed.
From 1977 until 1981, when Rev. Machiela left, a new organ was installed in the church and a ball field was constructed. The church also celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1981. Later in 1981, the congregation called a recent seminary graduate – Rev. David Koll – to be its next pastor. Rev. Koll was ordained in September, 1981 and began a thirteen year pastorate at Good Shepherd. During that time the church saw significant growth. In order to accommodate the increasing size of the congregation and its programs, a combination garage and youth building was built in the mid 1980’s. The building was done with all volunteer labor from the congregation and the denomination. During that period, the parking lot was paved, and the sound system was significantly upgraded.
The increased size of the Sunday School and other programs compelled the church to expand the main building in 1991. While the building was built by commercial contractors; the design of the building, interior painting, and some of the finishing work was done by the congregation. In 1994, Rev. Koll completed his time at Good Shepherd and left to become the pastor of a church in California.
In 1994, the congregation called Rev. Tim Koster to be its new pastor. Rev. Koster led the congregation until 2001. During his time at Good Shepherd, two teams were sent from the church to Honduras. There they worked with missionaries John and Shirley Wind. They engaged in some “soccer evangelism,” medical clinics, school painting ;and they helped with worship services. This was a very exciting time for the young people of the congregation.
After Pastor Koster’s departure, Rev. Robert Berkey became the congregation’s interim pastor. Pastor Bob brought a great deal of experience after retiring as the pastor of the Tyrone Hills Presbyterian Church. Pastor Bob was a great example of leadership, kindness and sharing. One of the highlights of the time Pastor Bob was with the church came when seminarian Trevor Payton came as a summer intern. Unfortunately, after a couple years with us, Pastor Bob’s health took a downward trend. He passed away a few months after Good Shepherd’s current pastor – Rev. Adrian Eising – took the reins.
Pastor Adrian came to Good Shepherd in the fall of 2004 and has been with the church since that time. In August, 2006, the church celebrated its 75 year anniversary. The major physical addition to the church that year was a new sign. The church continues to minister to the community with Sunday worship, hymn sings, Bible studies, Sunday School, pot lucks, youth groups etc. A monthly service is also held at the WillowBrook Nursing Home.
