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).
The Gospel
When we talk about “the gospel,” we mean the Good News of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ and by his Holy Spirit.
The gospel is God’s work of redemption, accomplished on behalf of his people through the work of his Son, Jesus. For us and for our salvation, Jesus, the Son of God, took on a human nature, lived a sinless life, suffered and died in our place to quench the wrath of God against sin, and rose from the dead after three days.
The gospel demonstrates both God’s grace and his righteousness: his grace because we cannot earn such magnificent blessings and can only receive them through faith alone, and his righteousness because the penalty for our sins is paid in full.
The gospel changes everything for those who receive Jesus Christ by faith. Our relationship with our Creator God is restored, and how we relate to one another is also changed. We are brought from death to life, from condemnation to pardon, from hostility to peace.
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
1 Corinthians 15:1-5
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, taking 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 biochemistry. 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.