Psalm 111:1-4, “Praise the LORD. I will extol the LORD with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly. Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them. Glorious and majestic are His deeds, and His righteousness endures forever. He has caused His wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and compassionate.”
Falls Presbyterian Church of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin stands in a rich heritage. At our beginning, we received a godly imprint from two nearby churches committed to proclaiming the glory of God: Bethel Presbyterian Church in Oostburg and Calvary Presbyterian Church in Cedar Grove. While these churches gave generously of their time, talent, and treasure to launch us, they insisted that God receive all the glory. Today, we do the same. God alone is to be thought worthy of praise for these 50 years of blessings.
In the swirling times of change these last five decades in our nation, God has kept Falls Church steadfast in the belief that the Bible is His Word. Through the Bible, God calls us to worship Him each Sunday. Our Lord fills our hearts with songs of our deliverance that are faithful to the Old and New Testaments. God’s Word is read and explained to us. The Faithful Shepherd Himself receives our petitions and praise in prayer. The Alpha and the Omega is exalted through the collection of gifts. We have benefited from God’s gifts of musical skills: choir, special music, accompaniment on organ and piano.
As God prospers our church body with young people, He commands that His way be taught to them. God causes His wonders to be remembered! In addition to the training that parents give at home, the training of the next generation in the knowledge of God has been done in a variety of ways by our church. Each week we have had classes for all ages in our Sunday School program. Each Summer we have had Vacation Bible School. When we could, we have had youth groups for Junior High and High School students. The careful study of the Bible’s teaching of the way of salvation has been given in catechism classes. Lastly, a class is offered before believers make a profession of faith. We have strongly encouraged students who graduate from high school to immediately join the adult Sunday School classes.
As Christians mature, we become more and more interested in the spreading of the gospel through missionary efforts. We see this in our focus on 12 missionaries or ministries each year. We pray for and support through our Mission of the Month program. A bulletin board is reserved for this ministry, and it gets changed each month by the Missions committee. On a weekly basis, we pray for one foreign missionary and one home missionary in worship.
The church has been faithful and active in many other ways through the years. We have had intern pastors, we have maintained ministries to nursing homes, to the rescue mission, and other special events and conferences. God’s hand of faithfulness can be seen in causing Pastor Tolsma to go to the same nursing home each week for nearly 40 years!
Because God has made us brothers and sisters in Christ, fellowship is important to the people of this church. We like to get together! The meals at the church have been too many to count. The fellowship committee has worked diligently to organize the many volunteers who bring favorite dishes to share. One highlight that we have come to enjoy is our annual Easter breakfast. We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus each year with a hot breakfast and an extended time of fellowship, a picture of heaven.
Speech by Mark Theune 9/16/2017 at 50th Church Anniversary celebration:
Speech by Sue Dykstra 9/16/2017 at 50th Church Anniversary celebration:
Speech by Nick Van Ess 9/16/2017 at 50th Church Anniversary celebration: