After 35 years of serving as the Senior Pastor of the Pompton Plains Reformed Bible Church (URCNA) in Pompton Plains, New Jersey, the Council and congregation of PPRBC confirmed  Rev. Rich Kuiken’s sense of calling to become a Church Planter in the Pocono Mountain region of the State of Pennsylvania, specifically in East Stroudsburg, PA, under the auspices of the Elders at PPRBC and Classis Eastern U.S. of the URCNA.  Consequently, Pastor Kuiken was officially commissioned as a Church Planter in a worship service held at PPRBC on Sunday, January 6, 2019, and Pastor Rich and his wife, Margaret, moved into their 100 year old farm house in East Stroudsburg on Saturday, January 12, 2019. 

Rev. Kuiken had been leading monthly meetings throughout 2018 with a core group of about 20 brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, some of whom had literally been praying for decades for a faithful Reformed church to be planted in their region of PA! Those monthly studies were focused on the Mission of the Pocono Reformed Bible Church, namely, “To love people where they are and to disciple them to where Christ wants them to be”, as well as on the Vision of the Pocono Reformed Bible Church, namely, “To be a biblically based, faithfully Reformed, caring congregation with an evangelistic, missionary zeal”.  After moving to PA in early 2019, Rev. Kuiken began a several week series of studies on the Canons of Dort, after which official worship services were begun on Sunday, April 7, 2019. 

Worship services originally were held in a room off of a restaurant called, “The Huddle House”, but the Lord graciously blessed and more space was needed due to numerical growth. Subsequently this “fledgling flock” moved to a much larger room located in the adjacent Days Inn called “The Blue Tequila”, a room which provided space for a nursery as well as for a Family Sunday School.  In God’s gracious providence, a much more conducive facility was located just several minutes away also conveniently located off of Interstate Route 80 in a Better Homes real estate building.  This building provides space for up to 100 worshipers, a large classroom and fellowship area, as well as its own rest room and kitchen facilities!  Unfortunately, the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has currently halted our relocation to this facility, but in the meantime the folks of the PRBC continue to be in contact via regularly scheduled Zoom Prayer Meetings as well as being fed God’s Word through weekly selected Sermon Audio sermons by Pastor Kuiken. 

Your Brothers and Sisters in the Lord at the Pocono Reformed Bible Church are deeply desirous of and extremely grateful for the prayers and financial support of the members, councils and congregations in the United Reformed Churches in North America!  Should you desire to contact Rev. Kuiken you can do so by calling him at 272-200-2585; by texting him at 201-957-2019; Emailing him at:  revkuiken@ptd.net or by writing to him at:  11 Schoolhouse Road, East Stroudsburg, PA, 18302.  Thank-you so much, dear friends, and the Lord’s RICHEST BLESSINGS to you!!

Pastor Kuiken can be reached at: revkuiken@ptd.net