Reformed Church in America is incorporated as The General Synod of the Reformed Church in America, a Protestant organization. The doctrines of the Reformed Church have their origin in the Bible as interpreted through the teachings of John Calvin. The minister, elders, and deacons are collectively designated the consistory in each local church, and they run the local churches. A group of churches make up a classis, and a group of classes make up a synod. The General Synod is the highest policy-making assembly of the Church. It consists of delegates from each classis.
The Reformed Church in America is an offspring of the Dutch Reformed Church in the Netherlands. The Reformed Church was organized on Manhattan Island in 1628 by Dutch and Walloon colonists. King William III of England first gave a charter to a congregation of the Reformed Church in 1696.
The Reformed Church founded Queens College (now Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey) in New Brunswick, New Jersey; Hope College in Holland, Michigan; Central College (now Central University of Iowa) in Pella, Iowa; and Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa. In addition, the Reformed Church has seminaries in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and in Holland, Michigan.
