History :

Would you move to a new area with only 35¢ in your pocket? The year was 1849. The adventurer was Jan Reints. He had emigrated from East Friesen, Germany and now he was about to cross the Rock River at Byron to seek his fortune. The ferryboat ride cut his meager savings even more. He was determined, however, and soon he had a job as a blacksmith and hired hand at Paynes Point. He was the first East Friesen to move into the area where Ebenezer Reformed Church is located.

As more East Friesens came there was a growing desire to meet the spiritual needs of the settlers. There was no preaching nor formal study of God's Word on Sundays. A Lutheran pastor from Mount Morris occasionally preached in local schoolhouses. For a time a man from Franklin Grove came and held powerful preaching services. This seemed to meet the needs of the German settlers . . . until he started claiming that he could send and receive letters to and from Heaven. This undermined his credibility and the East Friesens again had to look elsewhere for spiritual enrichment. Harm Roos, one of the settlers who lived about a mile north of the present church, opened his home to those who desired to worship. His log cabin became the church's first worship center. He would usually read a sermon and the group had prayer together. This resulted in the forming of Ebenezer Reformed Church. Application for organization was made to the Classis of Wisconsin in 1869. Occasionally pastors from the Reformed Churches in Forreston and German Valley came and preached.