Meeting People Where They Are: Eugene Callender’s CRC Ministry in Harlem and the “Already, but Not Yet” Kingdom of Christ

Abstract

This paper examines the Christian Reformed Church’s (CRC) ministry in Harlem under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Eugene Callender, the denomination’s first Black minister. Drawing on archival materials and theological analysis, it traces the formation of the Mid-Harlem Community Parish and situates it within the broader historical and cultural dynamics of 1950s New York. Central to the study is the Reformed theological framework of the “already, but not yet” kingdom—a vision that shaped Callender’s integrated approach to evangelism, justice, and community-building. By holding together spiritual renewal and social engagement, Callender’s ministry offered a compelling model of faithful Christian witness in a fractured world.

1. Introduction

The Christian Reformed Church (CRC) is a Protestant denomination rooted in the Reformation, emphasizing God’s sovereignty, the authority of Scripture, and a holistic faith that shapes every part of life. It began in 1857 when Dutch immigrants in Michigan formed a new church committed to Reformed doctrine and worship. In North America, the CRC understands itself as a denomination distinct for its cultural diversity and intentional efforts to live out Reformed faith in a pluralistic, modern society (Christian Reformed Church in North America 2025). However, scholars note that the denomination remained predominantly white and ethnically shaped by its Dutch immigrant heritage throughout much of the twentieth century (Dougherty and Mulder 2009). Thus, the story of the Christian Reformed Church’s ministry in Harlem, led by the Rev. Dr. Eugene Callender, offers a compelling glimpse into the intersection of Reformed theology, racial justice, and urban ministry in mid-20th-century America, while also emerging within this tension between denominational aspiration and historical reality.1 Callender’s groundbreaking leadership marked a radical shift toward inclusion and mission in Black communities. His work not only expanded the reach of the denomination but also embodied a deeper theological vision. As Anthony Carter observes, “The African American church is a case study in the Reformed, biblical understanding of truth. We see in the development of the African American church a testimony to the sovereignty of God” (Carter 2003, p. 45). Callender’s ministry in Harlem exemplified this testimony—a concrete expression of Reformed convictions lived out through community empowerment, public worship, and tireless advocacy for the marginalized.

Central to this vision was the Reformed theological framework of the “already, but not yet” nature of Christ’s kingdom—the idea that God’s reign has already broken into the world through Christ’s resurrection, but its full realization remains in the future. This eschatological tension gives shape to the Christian life as one of both spiritual renewal and public responsibility. This paper provides a historical account of the CRC’s church-planting efforts in Harlem while arguing that Callender’s ministry was grounded in this “already, but not yet” framework, allowing him to unite evangelism, justice, and pastoral care within a single, integrated calling. His leadership demonstrates how Reformed theology can hold together the church’s spiritual mission and its engagement with the material needs of a broken world—living into the tension of a kingdom already established and yet still unfolding.

2. The “Already, but Not Yet” Kingdom: A Reformed Framework for Hope and Action

In Reformed theology, the kingdom of Christ is both a present and future reality—already inaugurated through His resurrection, but not yet fully consummated.2 This eschatological distinction forms the basis of a theological vision that joins spiritual, social, and ecclesial life into a single, coherent calling. As Tuininga explains, Calvin rooted this framework in the contrast between the present age and the eternal kingdom, between what is earthly and temporal and what is heavenly and enduring (Tuininga 2017, p. 141). Though all of life falls under the lordship of Christ, He governs it in ways appropriate to each realm. In the present, believers are renewed by the Word and Spirit, voluntarily submitting themselves to the love and justice of God, while continuing to live within fallen institutions and cultural patterns that, though preserved by providence, are destined to pass away (Tuininga 2017, p. 140).

This view resists dividing Christian life into isolated domains. As believers experience spiritual regeneration, they are also called to remain engaged in the temporal world—not as separate spheres, but as overlapping realities held together by Christ’s ongoing reign. For example, the spiritual freedom believers possess through the forgiveness of sins is not merely inward or private; it generates a public, relational ethic rooted in love of neighbor (Tuininga 2017, pp. 142, 159). Even in contexts where temporal institutions may contradict the values of the coming kingdom, Christians are called to serve others self-sacrificially, submitting, when necessary, out of conscience and compassion (Tuininga 2017, p. 160).

Beeke (2020) likewise emphasizes that the church lives in this age as a pilgrim people, participating in society while hoping for the promised life to come (p. 82). Spiritual and political life, for Calvin, concern different ends—the freedom of the soul and the ordering of civil life—but they operate harmoniously, not in conflict (Beeke 2020, pp. 80–82). As Calvin (2011) wrote, “…that kind of government is distinct from the spiritual and internal kingdom of Christ… [but] they are not adverse to each other. The former, in some measure, begins the heavenly kingdom in us, even now upon earth… while to the latter it is assigned, so long as we live among men… to adapt our conduct to human society, to form our manners to civil justice, to conciliate us to each other, to cherish common peace and tranquility.” In other words, while the spiritual kingdom renews believers inwardly, the temporal order—preserved by God’s providence—serves the common good and supports the church’s visible life. “All these I confess to be superfluous,” Calvin adds, “if the kingdom of God, as it now exists within us, extinguishes the present life” (Calvin 2011, p. 1055).

This harmony enables a vision of the church’s mission that is not reduced to worship alone or to activism alone but is grounded in a single, integrated witness to Christ’s reign, through proclamation, public presence, and gospel-rooted service. In this way, the “already, but not yet” kingdom framework in Reformed theology affirms that evangelism, discipleship, justice, and church life are not competing priorities, but expressions of the same hope: that Christ reigns now and will reign fully in the age to come (Tuininga 2017, pp. 158–59). This framework would come to shape the logic and structure of Eugene Callender’s ministry in Harlem, anchoring his efforts in both spiritual renewal and public witness.

3. Eugene Callender: The First Black Minister in the CRC

The Rev. Dr. Eugene Callender, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1926, became the first Black minister and non-Dutch member of the Christian Reformed Church in 1951 (Evans 2015, pp. 27–29; Callender 2012, p. 62). Callender earned master’s degrees from Westminster Theological Seminary and Union Theological Seminary, later receiving a Doctor of Divinity from Knoxville College and a Juris Doctor from New York Law School (Evans 2015, pp. 27–29). He also held the distinction of being the first Black student to attend Westminster (Westminster Theological Seminary 2013). He procured his license to preach and subsequent ordination from the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) within the Hudson and Hackensack classis.3 Callender was commissioned with the specific intent of expanding evangelization within Black communities (Christian Reformed Church in North America 1951–1957a). After continued discussion regarding Callender’s placement—pending requests from multiple congregations—it was officially determined by October 1951 that Callender would be appointed to the New York–Paterson area, with instruction to allocate a small portion of his time to ministry in Cleveland (Christian Reformed Church in North America 1951–1957a). In August 1952, Callender wrote to the Executive Committee of Home Missions within the CRC that after two years of work within the community and “serious consideration and prayer”, he was eager to accept their call (Christian Reformed Church in North America 1951–1957a).

4. Harlem as Theological and Missional Context

According to Callender’s recollection, at the time of his ordination, CRC churches in New York showed little willingness to incorporate Black worshippers into congregational life. This prompted a significant need for the establishment of a CRC ministry in Harlem between 1951 and 1952 (Callender 2012, p. 64). Harlem was uniquely positioned to serve the CRC’s mission in a number of different ways. First, due to its agricultural advantage, it was central to Dutch immigration in colonial New York since the 1600s, establishing a centuries-old connection to the CRC’s ancestral legacy. By the 1900s, African Americans began migrating to Harlem, fleeing overcrowding and increased racism on the West Side and in search of affordable, quality housing (Callender 2012, pp. 67–69). The relocation of Saint James Presbyterian Church from Manhattan to Harlem signified a fundamental shift in Black culture, culminating in what would become known as the Harlem Renaissance. Churches were central to the establishment of spiritual, social, and artistic community; this was later enhanced by the Great Migration and an influx of intellectually and socially conscious minds to Harlem’s cultural landscape (Callender 2012, pp. 69–70). By 1954, Harlem’s population density was 901–935 people per acre, meaning that approximately one-tenth of New York’s eight million residents lived in Harlem. At the time of the CRC’s church planting, Blacks were the majority population demographic in Harlem, making it an optimal location for an African American-centered ministry. Further, the CRC, and Eugene Callender in particular, were ideally suited to overcome many of the previous challenges to evangelization, including difficulty ministering to the unchurched and apartment dwellers and lack of youth engagement (Christian Reformed Church in North America 1951–1957b).

Callender was acutely aware of the struggles and vulnerabilities within his community. He noted the susceptibility of the Black community in Harlem to fall victim to apocalyptic cults4 under the guise of an escape from economic hardship, refuge for the poor and disinherited, and heightened status within a world that functioned in isolation from the everyday reality of social and political inequalities. This escapism, he observed, leaves no room for social consciousness or concern for social order (Callender 1952b, pp. 9–11). As such, it is inadequate to address the spiritual and material needs of Harlem’s residents. It was Callender’s theological conviction that spiritual and material fulfillment can be actualized only by the whole counsel of God with His message of sovereign grace. This kingship, found through Christ, accessible in the present reality of all creation, calls upon the Church’s concern for social and economic injustice. It is through Christ that these social sins may be cast out from the lives of the faithful. This indicates Callender’s belief in the duty of the church to lend support and comfort in the face of such inequalities and to bring those who retreat into escapism into the full counsel of the Word of God. This, he believed, was offered and revealed within the Reformed tradition (Callender 1952b, pp. 9–11).

The reality of sectarianism and theological confusion was clear to Callender within Harlem’s religious life. “Harlem is spiritually impoverished,” he wrote, noting that the social gospel, common in many congregations, often denied essential doctrines such as the infallibility of Scripture and the deity of Christ. Callender recounts misguided remarks from religious leaders who could not understand how he could be an orthodox Christian, especially a Calvinist, calling it “the religion of slavery.” Yet, this resistance only strengthened Callender’s resolve to offer a deeper, more rooted theological vision and further affirmed his belief in bearing witness to the gospel to those who are in the greatest need (Callender 1952a, p. 1229). As he eloquently wrote, “The Harlemite needs for his living here and now, as well as for his living here and after, what all other men need—the saving truth of God” (Callender 1952b, pp. 9–11).

5. Planting a Church in the Tension of the “Already, but Not Yet” (1951–1953)

The 1951 Synod of the CRC made an official endorsement of Black evangelism, to be led by an African American minister within the CRC. Article eighty-nine, section two, outlines the reasoning for this endorsement—mainly, an increasingly positive response among the African American community to the Back to God Hour radio program,5 an agreement the ministry should be led by a member of the Black community, and a feeling that God has providentially led the Church to well-qualified candidates for such a position (Christian Reformed Church in North America 1951). Callender felt deeply that the Synod’s decision was not met with opposition or doubt but rather expressed that “the heart of the church opened up to the opportunity and happily embraced it as the fulfillment of a long-awaited providence.” He further reports that CRC leaders described the decision to him as “the finest moment” of the Synod (Callender 1952a, p. 1229).

The Church subsequently appointed Eugene Callendar, who began his ministry in Harlem in November of 1951, with nothing other than synodal approval and the mailing list of the Back to God Hour. It was a logical first step to contact these listeners, since they had already made some form of initial contact with the Church, and many quickly expressed an interest (Christian Reformed Church in North America 1951–1957a, 1951–1957b). According to Callender, many of the Back to God Hour listeners voiced a growing dissatisfaction with the established Protestant churches and their predisposition to liberalism. Seeking a God-centered biblical message, they found the radio ministry of the CRC particularly relevant; further, the CRC ministry in Harlem, as envisioned by Callender, offered a meaningful and distinct home within the Church that was not limited by race or nationality (Callender 1952a, p. 1229). Upon engaging these listeners, a Bible class was developed soon thereafter, which met every Sunday afternoon. The course began with five members in 1951 and reached an enrollment of thirty by 1953. The class expanded to a second location in the Bronx, with a regular enrollment of twenty-one people. In 1952, Callender developed a new class, with a focus on Reformed doctrine, where approximately ten members met every Friday. Callender’s missionary reports contain detailed accounts of all the hundreds to thousands of canvassing, pastoral, and home calls he made throughout the 1950s to persons of varying denominations, the unchurched, and those who were homebound (Christian Reformed Church in North America 1951–1957a, 1951–1957b).

6. Building the Institutional Church (1953–1956)

As the Harlem ministry continued to grow, Callender maintained follow-up of Back to God Hour mail responses, ongoing canvassing efforts, and frequent visits to Harlem hospitals. Formal worship services were held at the YMCA, along with Sunday and Friday Bible classes, a Wednesday Confession class, and occasional home courses. Central to their mission was the “racial–national” approach—an effort to grow the CRC beyond its historic Dutch American roots to engage deeper racial and ethnic diversity (Christian Reformed Church in North America 1951–1957a). However, as the church continued to expand its reach, Callender felt it was increasingly urgent that they procure a building in Harlem. While the YMCA was suitable for their early ministry, the facilities were no longer adequate to accommodate the growing numbers of church membership, leading to overcrowding during worship and limited availability to schedule formative classes. Callender writes of the limited potential for the church to bring in Christ’s sheep—stating that they “must be brought in, but brought where?” (Christian Reformed Church in North America 1951–1957a).

He felt deeply that the lack of a building was detrimental to congregational growth, placing limits on their ability to host a Sunday school, weekday Bible study, further youth engagement, and membership growth more broadly. As such, Callender routinely made requests to both the Eastern Home Mission Board and the Executive Committee of Home Missions for the CRC to purchase a building for the church in Harlem. In 1953, the CRC Harlem ministry received formal endorsement from the Eastern Home Mission Board, Classis Hackensack and Hudson, and the Consistory of Patterson II for the procurement of a church building. The purchase underwent tentative approval of several different buildings prior to a successful acquisition. This included a building at 383 and 385 Convent Avenue and another at 150–160 West 126th Street, which encountered various issues related to titling and funding. By 1954, the building at 122nd Street and Seventh Avenue was purchased and underwent remodeling in 1955 (Christian Reformed Church in North America 1951–1957a, 1951–1957b).

Logically, the ministry in Harlem began to rapidly expand after the purchase of the building, with 89 children enrolled in the new summer Bible school in June and July of 1955, and another 151 children enrolled in the Daily Vacation Bible School in August. They launched a Sunday school and a Saturday afternoon Bible class and began to hold regular worship services by September. Weekday classes were established for all age groups: beginners, juniors, teenagers, and recreation. Sundays encompassed a wide schedule of activities, including Sunday School, morning worship, vespers, and the Westminster fellowship for young people. In the evenings, they held Religious Education classes for adults, a young people’s choir, and adult Bible classes. By the fall, they expanded to include new activities like the Young Calvinists for girls in junior high, the Mother’s Guild, and the teenage Boys’ Club. All these efforts continued to grow and flourish as the church formally gained occupancy of the new building. The records indicate that the church gradually began to utilize the space from 1955 to 1956, culminating in a formal dedication of the church auditorium for worship on 2 October 1956 (Christian Reformed Church in North America 1951–1957a, 1951–1957b).

7. Meeting People Where They Are: The Ministry Model of Mid-Harlem

The CRC ministry in Harlem, where Eugene Callender served until 1961, became formally known as the Mid-Harlem Community Parish. From the outset, Callender took the pulpit to the streets—literally. Accompanied by a piano and choir, he led public worship services designed to meet people where they were, generating grassroots interest in CRC worship (Callender 2012, pp. 75–76). Distinct from traditional churches, the congregation centered its mission on community-based reforms and social support. It organized rent strikes, launched youth initiatives, and provided services for those struggling with addiction (Callender 2012, pp. 73–74). Under Callender’s leadership, the church established rehabilitation clinics and support programs for returning citizens, survivors of domestic violence, at-risk children, and others marginalized by society (Evans 2015, pp. 27–29). The ministry’s visible impact made headlines, eventually drawing attention from CRC leaders in Grand Rapids, who sent staff to help expand its offerings and formalize religious services. This unconventional but deeply effective model led to rapid growth and positioned Mid-Harlem as a vital, justice-driven outpost of the CRC (Callender 2012, pp. 73–74).

Callender was sensitive to the disconnect between the grand theological claims of American Christian churches and their often uninspired, institution-focused daily reality. Many Americans had lost faith in the redemptive qualities of Christianity—a result of observing their local churches’ preoccupation with paying mortgages, hosting bake sales, or expanding facilities, rather than living out a transformative gospel. While such activities may be admirable, he argued, they are not in themselves religion. True religion begins with the lived experience of Christ, trust in God above institutional preservation, awareness of the forgiveness of sin, and a foundational identity as a Spirit-led community, centering worship, teaching, and charity. Until churches recover this vision, he contended, even the most statistically successful congregation stands before God as a “colossal failure.” This conviction shaped his work in Harlem, where the church’s identity was not measured by its institutional strength but rather its faithful witness to Christ among the most vulnerable (Callender 1957b, pp. 6–7).

Callender also directly confronted the challenges facing “inclusive” churches that remained racially segregated—not because of formal exclusion, but because of passive compliance with residential and social patterns of white suburban outmigration. He argued that integration would not happen by accident or numerical convenience, but rather through intentional policy backed by courageous leadership. In his view, the church must abandon a “conspiracy of silence” and clearly affirm that profession of faith in Christ is the only valid basis for church membership. Whether a congregation remained mostly white or mostly Black was not the defining issue; the essential question, he insisted, was “Is the Church going to be Christian?” This conviction grounded his ministry’s inclusive vision and challenged the broader denomination to move from abstract commitments to tangible change (Callender 1956, pp. 550–51).

8. The “Already, but Not Yet” Kingdom as Missional Vision

Callender’s model of ministry in Harlem was not only practical but deeply theological. It reflected a commitment to the Reformed understanding of the “already, but not yet” character of Christ’s kingdom. In this view, the kingdom has already broken into the world through Christ’s reign, but it is not yet fully realized. Christians therefore live in the tension between two ages: the present, marked by sin and broken institutions, and the future, marked by the full arrival of Christ’s peace and justice (Tuininga 2017, pp. 140–41). Callender (1952b) explicitly articulated this eschatological framework in his writings:

“The Harlem resident needs the whole counsel of God, with its message of sovereign grace and its implication for all of life. He must be told that the Kingship of Christ is a present reality, not something away off in the future. On the basis of the present Kingship of Christ we must become concerned about the economic and social tyrannies that enslave the Harlem resident. It is because Christ is King that He alone can redeem Harlem’s sinful society for us and through us, by casting out the demons of prejudice, lust, greed, avarice, and fear, and destroying the hideous and filthy slums” (p. 10).

This declaration affirms not only the immediacy of Christ’s reign (“already”) but also its redemptive trajectory toward societal transformation (“not yet”). Callender (1952b) continues: “But more important, we must be concerned to bring to those who follow the panaceas of ‘escape religions’ the full counsel of the Word of God, and that divine truth which touches man’s relation to this world as well as to the world to come. This, we believe, is best set forth by the Reformed heritage. The Harlemite needs for his living here and now, as well as for his living hereafter, what all other men need—the saving truth of God” (p. 11).

Here, Callender makes explicit that the gospel must address both the temporal and eternal needs of Harlem residents, offering a theology grounded in Reformed truth that speaks to life in the present world as well as the world to come. Together, these statements reveal that Callender’s theology was not abstract but deeply contextual, affirming that the gospel must speak to both eternal salvation and present, lived reality, shaping a church that embodies Christ’s reign in every facet of its mission.

The CRC ministry in Harlem fully embodied the tension of the “already, but not yet” Kingdom. Callender was deeply critical of institutional approaches that compartmentalized evangelism into church offices or denominational programs. For him, evangelism was not simply part of the church’s work; it was the life of the church itself. He believed that the mission of the church should flow from its deepest identity, shaped by the New Testament concepts of kerygma (proclamation), koinonia (fellowship), and diakonia (service). These, he argued, were not optional add-ons but essential dimensions of Christian witness. Evangelism, in this view, required the church to become fully embedded, or “indigenous”, within the lived experience of a particular people at a particular time, embracing limitation and suffering just as Christ did in the Incarnation. For Callender, the goal was not numerical growth or institutional success but faithful witness—even if, like Christ, the church’s message was met with rejection (Callender 1957a, pp. 17–18).

In alignment with Calvin’s emphasis on the church as the community of the regenerated—those transformed by the Word and Spirit—Callender built a ministry centered on spiritual renewal (Tuininga 2017, p. 140). But as Tuininga notes, those regenerated by grace do not withdraw from public life; rather, they live in temporal, fallen institutions that still reflect aspects of both God’s providence and human sin. Callender understood this and sought to embody the self-sacrificial servitude that distinctly characterizes Christ’s love, even in broken civic and social systems (Tuininga 2017, pp. 140, 160). With a strong belief in denominational relevance and “meeting people where they are”, Callender possessed a natural ability to speak in the language of, and relate to the real-world situations encountered by, the populations he served. This made him incredibly effective at ministering to those with experiences of marginalization and distrust within the context of liberal denominations. Frequently, this also meant engaging in non-conventional church activities, such as his rehabilitation clinic. Such efforts held deep roots in a theology of hope: one of preaching a gospel that spoke God’s hope both for this moment and the final redemption of the world (Callender 1955, pp. 1030–31, 1043). These “non-conventional” programs reflected Callender’s deep sense of eschatological realism. Such efforts were not distractions from the church’s spiritual mission, but rather, they embodied the fruit of a church navigating the realities of this world while bearing witness to the next (Beeke 2020, p. 82). In Harlem, Callender did not retreat from civic responsibility; he leaned into it, believing, like Calvin, that civil life is governed by God’s law and must be ordered toward justice and care for neighbors (Beeke 2020, pp. 80–83). His work in Harlem did not simply illustrate a theological idea; it gave tangible form to a kingdom already breaking in and not yet fully seen.

9. Summary

This paper has traced the formation of the Mid-Harlem Community Parish, situating Eugene Callender’s groundbreaking work within both the historical development of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) and the lived realities of Harlem in the 1950s. In doing so, it contributes to scholarship on Reformed missiology, CRC history, and African American Christian social witness. Detailed archival and theological analysis has demonstrated that Callender’s ministry was not simply a social project or an evangelistic outreach, but rather, a fully integrated expression of Reformed faith in action. Guided by the Reformed framework of the “already, but not yet” kingdom, Callender refused to separate spiritual life from social witness. His ministry embodied the conviction that God’s redemptive work is unfolding now, in real communities, even as His final fulfillment is awaited. This theological vision allowed him to hold together proclamation, service, justice, and community as interconnected dimensions of gospel ministry.

The story of Mid-Harlem is more than a moment in church history; it is a living example of what faithful Christian witness can look like when rooted in the hope of Christ’s “already, but not yet” kingdom. Callender’s legacy challenges the church today to meet people where they are—not with diluted convictions or shallow programs, but with a gospel that holds together worship, justice, and community care. His ministry is an invitation to imagine a church that is deeply embedded in the life of its neighborhood and yet always pointing beyond itself to the fullness of God’s coming reign. As Callender voiced from the pulpit, “Life is broken and makes sense only when we can mend it. The grace of God is glue. It is by the grace of God that my life has been daily mending, molding, shaping to the somebody he created me to be. I, like you, am a testimony that nobody is a nobody” (Callender 2012, p. 328).