Reformed Church. Eureka Classis.

The present-day Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) is the continuing remnant of the German immigrant denomination of the same name which was founded in 1725 by the Rev. John Philip Boehm. The old RCUS continued as a separate denomination until 1933-34 when the larger part of it united with the Evangelical Synod of North America to form the Evangelical and Reformed Church. The new church merged with the Congregational Christian Churches in 1957 to form the United Church of Christ. One Classis--the Eureka Classis-- refused to participate in the 1934 merger. The Classis continued as a separate entity for the next five decades. During this time, several congregations of like mind have become a part of it. The North Dakota Classis dissolved in 1936 and its ministers and churches joined the Eureka Classis. During the 1950's, congregations at Menno, SD; Manitowoc, WI; Garner IA; Sutton, NE; and Shafter and Bakersfield, CA, which had either left the Evangelical and Reformed Church or had been independent, joined the Eureka Classis. The 1970's welcomed the arrival of several churches from the General Association of Regular Baptists that had become Reformed. In subsequent years, several groups (some as whole congregations) have left the UCC to join the RCUS. The Eureka Classis constituted itself as the Reformed Church in the United States at its Synod meeting in 1986. Today, the RCUS numbers about forty congregations.