History of The Church on the Hill

In 1927, the Rev. Bradley J. Folensbee moved to Flushing at the direction of the RCA Board of Domestic Missions to begin an outreach to the community. In March, a Sunday School was formed meeting in a rented store on 169th Street. A month later worship services began in that same store. The new congregation soon outgrew the space and the store next door was rented. The wall between the two stores was taken down by members of the congregation to give them more space. The church was chartered in November of 1927 with 69 charter members. 

Plans for a church building soon came to fruition with the lovely Tudor-style building on 168th St and 35th Ave that is still in use today. Under Rev. Folensbee’s leadership, the congregation began to grow. Many organizations were formed (Women’s Guild for Christian Service, Men’s Club, Christian Endeavor, Junior and Senior Choirs) and many traditions began.  

In 1941, Rev. Folensbee left to become a military chaplain in the army reserves. Rev. John C. DeMaagd began as an interim pastor because he was on leave from his missionary work in Japan. When the Second World War began, Rev. Folensbee resigned to be a full-time military chaplain and Rev. DeMaagd was installed as the full-time pastor. During the war years, the church supported many community activities including writing to our service men. The young women participated in many activities and formed a social group. At the end of the war, the returning service men joined them in their activities. This group became “The Hillsiders”. There were over 20 marriages from this large group of young people.

In 1947, Rev. DeMaagd left to resume his work in Japan and Rev. Fredrick R. Bosch became the pastor. During his pastorate, the church began to outgrow its space. The Education Building was built in 1956 with space for classrooms and offices. An addition to the education building was built in 1966 with more classroom/meeting space. During this time, The Hillsiders evolved into the Couples Club a monthly fellowship with dinner and entertainment. Two groups for young people began the Young People’s Fellowship (YPF) for high school students and the Hilltoppers for 5th through 8th grade students. 

In 1970, Rev. Bosch retired and the Rev. Robert A. Perless became the minister. During this time, our community outreach expanded to include the Women’s Homeless Shelter and opening our doors to community groups for meetings. We also began hosting several 12 step programs. The church became a center for community as well as church activities. We developed close ties to the RSNY’s Warwick Conference Center. The church also began service as an internship site for seminary students. An Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service was established with the service site moving among the participating faith communities. Rev. Perless served the congregation for 35 years until his retirement in 2005. 

During our search for a new pastor, the congregation maintained our programs and traditions including outreach to the community and care for our congregation. In 2007, the Rev. Justin Meyers became the fifth installed pastor of the church. Under his leadership, we expanded our outreach to include more support for mission partners in the RCA. The YPF expanded its mission trips to include week long trips to areas outside our community as well as service at local agencies. A number of our adults also joined annual mission trips to Honduras where they assisted in many areas. Our Vacation Bible School was an annual event with up to 50 children participating for one week each summer. In 2013, Rev. Meyers left us to join the Al Amana Centre in Oman. 

In 2015, the Rev. Blaine Crawford became our sixth installed minister. Under Rev. Crawford, we expanded our support for RCA missionaries and continued our community outreach in many areas. We continue to host the Women’s Homeless Shelter along with community groups that meet here. We also welcomed a small worship group from the community to use our space for their services. In 2021, Rev. Crawford left the church as installed minister to accept a call to another church.

As we continue our search for a new pastor we continue to reach out to our community and maintain our many service and care missions.