History of Big Rock Community Church
The corner of H Ave. and 3rd Street in Oshtemo township, Kalamazoo county gives a glimpse into the
past of rural America. There is the historic Oshtemo Grange Hall on one corner and a country church
on the other corner. At one time there was a rural school house about one mile north of H Ave. and
there are maybe 20 to 40 homes in the area immediately around that intersection that have been in the
neighborhood for 50 years or more. A pretty typical rural assemblage of community buildings from the
first settlers in an area until the 1960s or so. There also is an Oshtemo volunteer fire department station
that has been added next to the Grange Hall in recent years. The church is Big Rock Community
Church, which has been serving that rural community for about 140 years.
In January 1883 a building committee was appointed to
build a new church on that corner to serve the community
there. In November of 1883 the church was completed
and on December 16th it dedicated by Elder I. Taylor. The
cost (not including the large amount of donated labor) that
had to be mortgaged was $1390. The church gave three
different notes to cover that amount, at 7 % interest all due
October 1884, at which time they were paid off.
The horse sheds, which were located on the east side of the church were built in 1893, and lasted until the 1950s before being torn down. In the early years Sunday School attendance averaged 20 to 30 children and the collection taken averaged 15 to 25 cents. In 1959 the congregation started on a project to expand the church, again using mainly the labor and expertise of its members. It was completed in 1965. Over the years the Grange and the church worked together on many projects to create a synergy of support for that rural community, and indeed many of the congregation members were Grange members also. That church was originally known as West Oshtemo Methodist, but the name was changed to Northwest to eliminate confusion with the Oshtemo Methodist Church.
“We’ll leave the light on for ya.”
After separation from the UMC the congregation chose the name Big Rock Community Church. The ‘new’ one hundred forty year old church will continue the tradition of the small country church where the preaching is from the Bible, the hymnal contains religious hits from the 1760s, the 1890s and even later, the fellowship is warm and there are no strangers. If your heart longs for the feeling and comradery of the small country church that was a part of the foundations of our great nation, stop on by and try us out to see if we are a good fit for that empty spot you feel in your soul. We ring our old church bell just before 10 am to call everyone to worship every Sunday.