We also believe that the Bible contains a core set of beliefs.

As a ‘confessional’ church, we have not written our own list of dogmas or made up new doctrines. Instead, we hold to the creeds and confessions of the early Church, such as the Apostles’ Creed:

I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy universal Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.

Amen

Ferry Church is associated with the Reformed Church in America, the oldest denomination of churches in the United States, dating back to 17th-century New York.

People often ask: Reformed from what? The word ‘Reformed’ comes from the Protestant Reformation, sweeping Europe in the 1500s.

Our roots in Michigan run back to some of the first European settlements in this area. Although originally Dutch-American, most of our denomination now consists of people from all sorts of different ethnic and religious backgrounds, with a significant proportion of churches that speak Spanish and are composed of immigrant populations. The needs of the local congregation and communities uniquely shape each of our congregations. There are many different languages and musical styles within the Reformed Church. Yet each of us emphasizes certain core characteristics: good preaching rooted in the original languages of the Bible, strong programs of Christian formation for youth and adults, and a commitment to improving our communities through service. To belong to a Reformed church is to be part of a warm and caring Christian family.

Our denomination holds to something called the Four Forms of Unity, which are three statements of beliefs about Christian teaching and belief. Three of them - the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Confession, and the Canons of Dort - were written during the Reformation era to distinguish us from Catholicism. In contrast, the final one, the Belhar Confession, is only thirty years old and directly condemns racism and division. The Reformed Church does not require every individual to agree with every word in these historic expressions of faith, but at Ferry Church, they are often the starting points for discussion in our teaching.