The History of
University Reformed Church (URC)
Celebrating 60 years (1966–2026)
In 2026 we mark sixty years since University Reformed Church first gathered for worship. We celebrate that milestone as a testimony to God’s faithfulness — not to our cleverness, but to his kindness in keeping a congregation near Michigan State University.
From a first service of about thirty-five people in the Alumni Chapel in October 1966, to a building of our own on Hagadorn Road, to our present home on Timberlane Street, the Lord has kept this church preaching Christ. Tom Stark, Kevin DeYoung, and Jason Helopoulos have each shepherded this flock. In 2015 we were received into the Presbyterian Church in America.
By God’s kindness we hope for another sixty years and more as a church that loves Christ in East Lansing.
1966–2026
Milestones
Scroll through the places we have worshipped and the moments that have marked this congregation.
Land across from campus
Under the leadership of Rev. James Schut, the Reformed Church in America purchased a building site on the east side of Hagadorn Road, across from Michigan State University. The hope was a congregation that would serve both the campus and the neighborhood around it.
1966–1976
Alumni Chapel
Tom Stark was called to East Lansing, ordained in September 1966, and led the first worship service that October. About thirty-five people gathered in MSU’s Alumni Chapel. Evening services began in the Union and later moved to the chapel basement.
Organized as a congregation
In the spring the campus ministry was recognized as a congregation of the Reformed Church in America — some thirty to forty members, with a consistory of three elders and two deacons. The church continued to meet in the Alumni Chapel.
1976–2012
Hagadorn Road
In late June the congregation moved into its own building on Hagadorn Road, just east of campus. This would be home for the next thirty-six years.
Ministries House
The church purchased the property to the north. The building, now the Ministries House, holds offices and meeting rooms.
1999–2003
Classrooms and a larger office
In 1999 and 2000 the congregation built a two-story addition for more classroom space and expanded the church office. The kitchen, nursery, and toddlers’ room were remodeled in 2003.
Tom Stark retires
Tom Stark retired in July 2002 after more than thirty-five years as the church’s first pastor.
Kevin DeYoung
Kevin DeYoung became URC’s second senior pastor. He is a graduate of Hope College and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
2012–present
Timberlane Street
The church moved about a mile east to its present home, renovating a former church building on Timberlane Street. That summer Jason Helopoulos accepted the call as assistant pastor.
Received into the PCA
After a congregational vote in November 2014, University Reformed Church transferred from the Reformed Church in America to the Presbyterian Church in America in the fall of 2015. It belongs to the Great Lakes Presbytery.
Jason Helopoulos
In the spring of 2018 Jason Helopoulos was installed as URC’s third senior pastor. He is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University and Dallas Theological Seminary.
Sixty years
Sixty years after that first service in the Alumni Chapel, we give thanks for God’s faithfulness and ask him to keep this church proclaiming Christ in East Lansing for years to come.
50th Anniversary History Video
Recorded for the church’s fiftieth anniversary, this film tells the story of God’s work among us.