Where did the idea for Good Shepherd come from?

On September 11, 2015, three families began to meet as a small group for the first time. As they studied God’s word together, they began to dream of more churches committed to the Bible, the Reformed faith, warm fellowship, bold and winsome gospel proclamation, and loving service to the Kalamazoo community. They also hoped for a church that would intentionally reach students at Western Michigan University (WMU) and the other college campuses. They were united in their desire to see more Bible-believing and outward-facing churches in the area.

University Reformed Church Initiates Our Church Plant:

In December of that same year, these three families began to speak with the Great Lakes Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Through these conversations, they were connected with University Reformed Church, a church in East Lansing, MI with a history of successful ministry at Michigan State University. After prayer and thoughtful deliberation, University Reformed Church agreed to serve as the mother church for a new PCA church plant in Kalamazoo.

University Reformed Church Finds a Church Planter:

In February of 2016, two elders from University Reformed Church began to lead a Bible study with these families twice a month on Friday evenings. Over time, other individuals and families began to join these studies. Later that fall, a search committee was formed to call a church planter to lead this growing fellowship. That process led to the call of Rev. Neil Quinn. Neil had grown up at University Reformed Church, had become a Presbyterian pastor (PCA), and had been ministering in the Chicago metro area. Pastor Neil and his family joyfully accepted the call and officially began work with the church plant on Feb.1, 2017.

Early Stages of Our Church Plant:

Over the course of 2017, the group continued to grow as we met every other Friday evening at a local school. On September 10, 2017, we moved out of the school and began holding a church service on Sunday evenings at Kanley Chapel, on the campus of Western Michigan University (WMU). On January 7, 2018, we began morning worship services with our core group. We held our first public worship service on September 16, 2018 in the Kalamazoo Christian Elementary School, where we gathered for worship over the next three years. In the late summer of 2021, we purchased the former Reformed Baptist Church building at 708 Nichols Rd. We continued meeting in the elementary school until we completed some basic building renovations, and met in the school gymnasium one last time on December 12, 2021.

Where We Are Now:

On December 19, 2021 we held our first worship service in the new Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church building. We continue to meet there every Sunday morning and evening for worship, at 10:00 AM and 5:30 PM, respectively. Feel free to come be a part of what the Lord is doing at Good Shepherd!