A Reformed Church in Petoskey
for Those Exploring Christianity and Those Longing to Grow in Christ
Why a new church in Petoskey?
We believe that the mission of the church is to “make disciples” of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19-20). This task consists of “gathering and perfecting the saints” (Westminster Confession of Faith, ch 25, sec 3)—bringing new people into the church and helping them mature in their faith. While there are faithful churches already laboring in Petoskey, we believe that a new church can help further this God-glorifying work of evangelism and discipleship.
Additionally, the Reformed and Presbyterian presence in the Petoskey area is quite thin. Our church, consciously and happily operating within the Reformed tradition, will be a rich blessing to residents and communities in Northern Michigan.
We are a daughter plant of University Reformed Church in East Lansing, MI and a church plant within the Great Lakes Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).
Our Core Values
Reformed Doctrine
Theology, meaning the knowledge of God, is the purpose of human existence. Every effort we make to better understand our God and his Word is a work with essential and eternal value. Every church has a theology; ours is self-consciously Reformed, takings its cues from the Westminster Confession and Catechisms.
Community
The adoption that makes us God’s children also binds us together as God’s family. Christian relationships are characterized by loving warmth and mutual service, since we understand ourselves to be individual members of one, united body.
Worship
for the courts of the Lord
– Psalm 84:2
Worship is something we do in all of life, and especially when we gather on Sundays as the church, the body of God’s redeemed people. The Bible gives clear direction for how we are to worship: through preaching, praying, singing, confessing our sins, and professing our faith together.
Disciple-Making
The church is both the object of God’s redemptive mission and the agent of it. Christians are called to mature as disciples themselves, to help other Christians along the path of discipleship, and to bear gospel witness to nonbelievers, so that they might turn to Christ as new disciples of him.
Ben Preiser
Ben and Alyssa met as biochemistry students at Michigan State and were married in 2015, once Alyssa had graduated. For the next five years, Ben worked in campus ministry while Alyssa studied for a doctorate in plant biology. In 2020, they moved to North Carolina so Ben could earn his Master’s degree at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte. Since 2024, Ben has worked for University Reformed Church in East Lansing as a pastoral fellow and church planter. The Preisers have three boisterous and fun-loving boys: Calvin, Sebastian, and Theodore.
When and where are you meeting?
The Preisers will be moving to the Petoskey area in the fall of 2026. Once there, the core group will be gathering for equipping and discipleship. Our goal is to launch public worship services in 2027 or early 2028.
Give to support the Petoskey church plant
Want to partner with us and support our church planting work financially?
“Unto [the local] church Christ hath given the ministry, oracles, and ordinances of God, for the gathering and perfecting of the saints, in this life, to the end of the world: and doth, by his own presence and Spirit, according to his promise, make them effectual thereunto.”
— Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 25, section 3
Connect with us
I’d love to hear more about you and share our vision. Click below to find a time to meet via phone or online.