About Our Church
We are a gospel-intoxicated Reformed church currently meeting in Excelsior, Minnesota. Governed by a group of men called elders, we are a member of a presbyterian denomination called the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches.
Our Church History
Christ Church Twin Cities held her first worship service on July 9, 2006, at Fairview Lutheran Church in Minnetonka, Minnesota with the goal of joining the Confederation (now Communion) of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC). Christ Church was accepted as a mission church of All Saints Presbyterian Church of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on November 5, 2006 which brought Christ Church under the authority of the CREC. Arnold Abens and Douglas Dahl were examined and installed as elders upon the church’s acceptance as a mission church, with Richard Gall serving as the church’s first deacon. Initial membership consisted of seven households. Christ Church remained a mission church under All Saints Presbyterian until October 2007, when she was received as a CREC candidate church under the Tyndale Presbytery. One year later, October 2008, Christ Church was received as a full member of the CREC.
Christ Church worshipped at Fairview Lutheran Church until October 2014, when she moved to a temporary location at New Perspectives Senior Living. After five months of worshipping there, Christ Church moved to Westview Seventh Day Adventist Church in Excelsior, Minnesota in March 2015, and remained there until November 2023. Beginning in December 2023, Christ Church began worshipping at her present location at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Excelsior, Minnesota.
From her beginning through 2009, the Christ Church pulpit was filled primarily by the elders, along with guest preachers from other reformed churches in the Twin Cities. On January 24, 2010, Christ Church installed Pastor Jeff Evans as her first full-time teaching elder. In September 2011, Christ Church Twin Cities hosted Presbytery and Council for the CREC. In January 2018, Joost Nixon was installed as an elder, and Doug Dahl was made an elder emeritus. In August 2019, Scott Bailey was installed for a two-year term as an elder. In June 2019, Pastor Jeff Evans resigned from employment with Christ Church Twin Cities, remaining an elder, to take a full-time job with the Minnesota Family Council. In July 2020, Dan Collins was installed at Christ Church as a teaching elder and served until April 2023.
In January 2022, conversations began with Pastor Daniel Ralph who was ministering in Edinburgh, Scotland. In March 2022, Pastor Daniel Ralph and his family came to Christ Church to candidate. In March 2023, upon completing all immigration procedures, Daniel Ralph was installed as her full-time teaching elder. Pastor Daniel Ralph was fully examined by a committee of five elders in the Tyndale Presbytery. In October 2023, elder Abens was elected minister pro-tem for the Tyndale Presbytery.
In the fall of 2020, Christ Church Twin Cities began the process of planting a church in Leavenworth, Kansas. Christ Church Leavenworth held her first service December 6, 2020, and ordained elders in January 2021. In September 2023, Christ Church Leavenworth Kansas was received as a full member of the CREC. Also in January 2023, Arnie Abens began to serve full-time as a Pastor at Christ Church Twin Cities to assist Pastor Ralph in shepherding the increasingly growing flock.
At her founding, Christ Church Twin Cities subscribed to the historic creeds and confessions of the Church, including The Apostles Creed, The Nicene Creed, and The Athanasian Creed. Her confessional foundation included The Westminster Confession of Faith and the Three Forms of Unity that formed the bedrock of the Protestant Reformation. Since her founding emphasis has been on covenantal renewal services with weekly communion, Christian education, weekly Sabbath meals, catholicity of the church, and the joy of obedience in our members faith and practice.
Christ Church has continued to grow steadily with her membership now consisting of approximately 55 households totaling over 200 members.
Our Mission
We worship the Triune God, joyfully seeking to obey His Word, and discipling others to new life in Christ.
Our Vision
1) We strive to think, speak, and act biblically
2) We equip and empower the saints to do the work of ministry
3) We invest in Kingdom work
4) We love others in response to the Lord’s love for us worship the Triune God, joyfully seeking to obey His Word, and discipling others to new life in Christ.
Our Leadership
Daniel Ralph
Pastor
Daniel Ralph, his wife Susan and five children have recently moved from Scotland to be our Pastor.
Arnie Abens
Pastor/Elder
Arnie Abens grew up in a cornfield in Illinois, catechized and trained by Godly parents, pastors, and teachers. Arnie enjoys raising cattle, collecting chicken eggs, and golfing. Most of all he enjoys spending time with his family, especially his wife of 37 years, Jennifer. They have four children, four children in-law, and eight grandchildren. Most Saturdays you will find them all enjoying a Sabbath feast together!
Joost Nixon
Pastor of Global Missions
Joost and Kristen Nixon have been married for over thirty years and together have eight children. They have lived in South Africa and Greece serving in pastoral training, and in between Joost pastored and planted churches in the NW. Since 2016 Joost has worked with Training Leaders International, which aims to strengthen the church by sending teachers to equip leaders who have low or no access to robust, biblical theological education.
Missions We Support
Our church supports and participates with an array of ministries, missionaries, and organizations that are furthering the Kingdom of God and fulfilling the Great Commission.
Domestic Missions
Christian Education
Christ Church Twin Cities encourages all Christian parents to provide a Christ-centered and biblically-saturated education for their children, thus fulfilling passages like Deuteronomy 6:6-9 and Ephesians 6:4. Therefore, we prayerfully and financially support faithful Christian day schooling, homeschooling, and higher education.
Minnesota Family Council
Political idolatry, as we sadly know, runs rampant in our culture and stands at odds with the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Though the Church is not called to rule the State, She must publicly and unashamedly confess Her faith at all times and all places. Minnesota Family Council’s mission is to nurture and defend families by restoring biblical truth in our culture and serves as a joyful, winsome voice in the public square. Through our partnership with MFC, we seek to use our earthly citizenship in light of our heavenly citizenship, letting our manner of life be worthy of the gospel (Philippians 1:27).
International Missions
Several missionaries
Whether affiliated with the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches or others with whom we believe the Lord has enabled us to partner for the sake of the gospel.
Training leaders international
Training Leaders International (TLI) is a Reformed missions organization that sends short term teams to provide theological education around the world, acts as a sending agency for theological educators living overseas, and starts schools where formal pastoral education is lacking. We prayerfully and financially support the work of TLI through the labors of our Pastor of Missions/Outreach, Dr. Joost Nixon.
Huguenot Heritage
There are over 300 million French-speaking people in the world who are in desperate need of theological training. Huguenot Heritage is working to bring solid biblical education to church leaders for free, right where they are, through video seminary courses in their own language. Please click here for more information.
JOINT EASTERN EUROPEAN PROJECT (JEEP)
JEEP exists to assist, plant, and encourage CREC congregations in Eastern Europe. As a ministry organized by three CREC congregations, JEEP is unique in its CREC flavor and equipped to serve CREC churches around the world. The overseeing board is able to provide accountability to Eastern European churches (in Belarus, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, and Ukraine) through annual financial reports and transparency of funding sources, routine church visits, and regular communication about ministries. Please click here for more information.