First Reformed United Church of Christ has a long history in Manitowoc.  Our local roots date back to 1868 when our congregation first gathered as Hope Reformed Church.  Originally, our church building was located on the northeast corner of Ninth and Hancock Streets in Manitowoc.  At first we worshiped in a wooden structure, but later a larger building was constructed and when that building no longer met our needs, we moved to our current location on Waldo Boulevard. We first worshiped in our present building in June of 1962.

We are a member church of the United Church of Christ. This relatively young denomination was officially formed in June of 1957 as a merger of the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches, but our roots date far back in history -- back through the Reformation of the 16th century to the time and person of Jesus Christ.

The names of our predecessor denominations say quite a bit about our beliefs.
     We are “Christian” because we follow Jesus Christ.
     We are “Reformed” because we acknowledge the need to constantly “re-form” the
     church in response to Jesus’ call to discipleship.
     We are “Congregational” because the basic unit of the United Church of Christ is the
       congregation. Each congregation has the right and the responsibility to carry on its
       own ministry. And yet, we know that we are bound together to carry on the mission
       and ministry of Jesus.                                             
     We are “Evangelical” because our primary task is to proclaim the good news of
     God’s love in Jesus Christ through our words and through our deeds.

What do we believe?
1.     We believe that we are a united and a uniting church that takes seriously Jesus’
         words; “That they may all be one.”  (John 17:21)
2.     We believe that “in essentials unity, in nonessentials diversity, in all things
         charity.”
3.     We believe that no one formula can be used as a “test” of faith, though we do
       recognize a number of “testimonies” of faith.
4.     We believe in the primacy of the Bible and acknowledge that it offers us new
       insights and help for living today.
5.     We believe that all our members are “ministers” with their own unique gifts to
       contribute to our churches ministry.
6.     We believe that each member is free to act in accordance with his or her
       perception of God’s will for their life. But, we also firmly believe that we are
       bound together in a loving relationship with each other.

Groundbreaking:  July 16, 1961
Dedication:  June 24, 1962
Mortgage Burning:  October 16, 1977
Organ Dedication:  April 29, 1990

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