Maple Avenue Ministries celebrates its centennial

Maple Avenue Ministries (MAM) is celebrating its centennial. Over its 100 years, the Holland church has been groundbreaking in many ways.

MAM was the first Christian Reformed Church in Holland to have English-speaking services. It was also the first Christian Reformed Church in Holland to have women elders. And, with the appointment of Denise Kingdom Grier, MAM was the first Christian Reformed or Reformed Church in America church in Holland to have an African American woman as the senior pastor. 

“Maple Avenue has always been a church where we worked to engage the world in new ways,” says longtime parishioner Chris Theule, noting that the church’s history has been documented in a book by John Cox, a retired Hope College Professor and MAM member.

Theule, a regional director at Young Life, discovered Maple Avenue Ministries, located at 427 Maple Ave., after moving to Holland in 2013.

“We were looking for more diversity in our lives. We thankfully found this in the Holland Public Schools, where my son, Zeke, is now a sixth-grader, and we thankfully found it at Maple Avenue Ministries as well. It’s a beautiful church committed to multi-ethnic, multicultural, and multi-generational relationships and work in the Holland community,” says Theule.

Impacting the next century

He’s optimistic about the impact MAM will make in its next century. 

“I’m not sure what the rest of the congregation would say, but I would simply say that we would continue our current mission: Centered in Christ, Called to the Core City, Committed to becoming a multicultural community reconciled to Christ and to one another,” says Theule.

In honor of its centennial, MAM is planning a Worship Celebration Service on Dec. 11 led by the congregation’s new pastor, Winfred Burns ll. 

Burns, who is originally from the south suburbs of Chicago, received a bachelor’s degree in finance from Langston University, a historically black college in Oklahoma. He worked for 15 years in various financial services positions before pursuing his faith full time. 

He interned at MAM while pursuing his master’s of divinity at Western Theological Seminary in Holland.  

Pushing boundaries

“I immediately fell in love with the warm people and the way they embraced me and my son. I was hooked after the combination of the spirit-led worship and gospel message,” says Burns. “The effect Maple Avenue has had on so many lives in Holland and across the world (is inspiring). From Mac Rec to working with families in South Africa, MAM has consistently been present in embracing and loving people.”

He thinks MAM will continue to build upon its history of pushing boundaries to be more inclusive.

“I see MAM being a part of the solution to end the homelessness issue in Holland. I envision MAM helping people step deeper into their purpose and showing God’s love everywhere. I envision MAM raising up the next leaders who will steward their gifts and talents well,” says Burns.

He’s inviting people to join the congregation for its weekly Worship Celebration Service at 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 11, followed by a Worship Night and Fundraiser at 5:30 p.m.

“MAM has such a unique worship culture in that we step into all kinds of styles and forms. You will see dancing, flags being waved, hands lifted, gospel, contemporary, and whatever the Spirit leads us to do,” says Burns. “If you want to experience a glimpse of what heaven will sound like, you want to be in the building.”