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About Us

We are a Christian church committed to historic Protestant Reformation theology. We preach Christ from all of Scripture with the goal of strengthening the body of Christ and witnessing to those who do not believe. We are a welcoming congregation of families who understand that our righteousness comes from Christ alone, that we are saved by grace alone, and that we are called to live thankfully before him in how we serve and love one another.

History

On January 19, 1997, nineteen households with the vision of cultivating a Christ-centered, Gospel-preaching, confessionally-Reformed witness met for an inaugural worship service in the Ebenezer Christian School gymnasium. The need to form a new church was due to the fact that many Reformed churches had, for several years, been departing from the authority of the Bible and from the historic Christian creeds and confessions. The result was a breakdown of Biblical worship, gospel preaching, and church discipline. After years of prayerful struggle, it became clear that obedience to God required the formation of a new church.

On March 21, 1997 the United Reformed Church of Lynden was officially organized and accountable to the Federation of the United Reformed Churches in North America. In the few years that followed our membership outgrew the available rental facilities, and the Lord blessed us with a new worship facility on Benson Road in June of 2000. Today we are blessed to have over a hundred families who gather every Lord’s Day to worship and glorify God through Word and Sacrament.

While we greatly lament how divided the church of Jesus Christ is today, we believe that love and unity cannot be pursued at the expense of the truth of God’s Word.  The truth as it is in Jesus is our guiding light.  The Lynden United Reformed Church seeks to advance the truth in love.  We desire to maintain fidelity to the infallible and unchanging Word of God. It is our joyful goal in the Lynden URC to walk in unity and stand with all others who share this commitment.

Please take the time to visit the Our Beliefs page to understand our convictions as a Reformed Church. The truth matters!

Pastors

Rev. Mark Stromberg

Preaching Pastor

Mark Stromberg is a native Montanan, growing up in the shadow of Glacier National Park. He attended Montana State University and Evangel College where he met his lovely wife, Krista. They married in 1987, and soon after, God blessed them with three beautiful children. He is grateful that he finds such immense pleasure in fulfilling his duties as a husband, father and grandfather.

He was ordained to the Ministry of the Word in March, 2003, and prior to serving as a United Reformed minister, he pastored in the Assemblies of God for twelve years. As a result of reading and studying the Bible, he became Reformed. Based on his newfound beliefs and theological convictions, he consequently moved his family to Escondido, California, where he attended Westminster Seminary. This was a great blessing for him and his family, for which he is eternally grateful.

Prior to accepting the call to the Lynden URC, Mark pastored the United Reformed Church in Belgrade, Montana for ten and a half years. He is very thankful the Lord has provided him with a great passion for ministering the Word and the sacraments to those under his care.

Mark loves spending his free time with his wife, adult children and grandchildren. As a family they enjoy all kinds of water sports, downhill skiing, reading aloud, watching movies, and their annual Thanksgiving backyard football game. Mark also enjoys fishing and is an avid reader, particularly in the areas of history and theology, but his real passion is for God’s Word and preaching Christ.

Rev. Mark Vander Pol

Pastor of Congregational Life

Mark Vander Pol was installed as Pastor of Congregational Life at Lynden URC in April 2016. He received his M.Div. from Westminster Seminary California and holds a B.A. in Chemistry with a minor in Biology from Trinity Christian College. Mark was ordained to the ministry of Word and Sacraments in February 2014 and previously served as an Associate Pastor at Christ URC in Santee, CA. He has also worked at Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago as a Radiochemist, served as Webmaster for White Horse Inn, and worked as an Analytical Chemist for Air Products and Chemicals near San Diego.

As a pastor, Mark loves to teach and preach God’s Word, highlighting the grand drama of redemption with a focus always on the perfect work of our Savior Jesus Christ. In his role at Lynden URC, he has the privilege of ministering to the saints and being an extension of the regular preaching ministry through his visiting and counseling of those in particular need.

Mark is married to his wonderful wife, Michelle, and together they have two beautiful children. When they are not working or serving the church, they love to be outside enjoying God’s beautiful creation, camping, or hiking, especially in the mountains.

Reverend Mel Dotinga

Rev. Melvin Dotinga

URCNA Missions – MINTS, Papua New Guinea

Rev. Melvin Dotinga is a pastor and Bible teacher called to serve with Miami International Seminary (MINTS). He travels regularly to Papua New Guinea to assist with instructing at the Reformed Churches Bible College located in the capital city of Port Moresby. He also travels to the jungles of the Sepik River region to teach village pastors. When he is not teaching and preaching in Papua New Guinea, Rev. Dotinga writes courses on the Bible and theology to be used in Papua New Guinea as well as other parts of the world. The purpose of these trips and the writing of courses is to train up national leaders for Christ’s church so that the good news of the gospel may be proclaimed to the ends of the earth.