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The history of Zion Reformed Church began in 1803 when its first pastor, Rev. John King, arrived in Perry County. He was the first minister to live in Perry County, and Zion Reformed traces its roots to him. We are Perry County's first and oldest congregation.
Zion Reformed was born in 1803. We are "As old as Ohio, as young as tomorrow!"
Rev. William Foster was Perry County's first Lutheran pastor. In 1806 the Reverends King and Foster brought their Reformed and Lutheran congregations together to purchase land for a church building and cemetery, constructing a house of worship that was known as "Ribel's Church."
The Reformed and Lutheran congregations shared facilities in a unique partnership until 1910, when Zion Reformed constructed its own facility across the road. We continue to use this beautiful "Akron Design" house of worship.
We are the fifth oldest United Church of Christ congregation in the Ohio Conference, the second oldest in our association, and the oldest within the Reformed tradition.
The German Reformed Church began as an expression of the early reformation efforts of Uldrich Zwingli, John Calvin, and other Swiss Reformers.
We are a faithful part of the Calvinist traditon.
The German Reformed Church changed its name to the Reformed Church in the United States and in 1934 united with the Evangelical Synod of North America to form the Evangelical and Reformed Church. It was then that we became Zion Reformed Church of the Evangelical and Reformed Church.
The Evangelical and Reformed Church united with the Congregational Christian Church in 1957 to create the United Church of Christ. We then moved from our historic presbyterian form of governance and became Zion Reformed Church of the United Church of Christ, within congregationalist governance.
Our roots are planted firmly within twenty centuries of Christian faith and in nearly five centuries of the Reformed tradition, as well as in over two centuries of Ohio history.
We've been around for a long time, and we intend to stay until our Lord comes!
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