Home > About Us: Our Denomination | Apostles' Creed | About Our Pastor | Safe Church Policies

Our Denomination

We are part of the Christian Reformed denomination. We call ourselves Christian because we belong to Jesus Christ and want to be his followers. We recognize as fellow Christians all people who accept the teachings of the Bible as summarized in the Apostle's Creed. We call ourselves Reformed because we're part of that historic branch of the Christian church that follows the teachings of 16th-century reformer John Calvin, who struggled to return Christianity to its biblical roots. We call ourselves Church because God has called us to be a fellowship of his people in the world. We often call ourselves "the CRC" for short.

The Christian Reformed denomination has about 300,000 members in 1,000 congregations across the United States and Canada. Our congregations can be found in cities and towns from British Columbia to Nova Scotia, from California to New Jersey. We have central offices in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and in Burlington, Ontario. We broadcast in radio and television from our studios in the Chicago area, and our programs of Christian outreach, relief, and development circle the globe. Click here for more information about our denomination.

Apostles' Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten son, our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate;
was crucified, dead, and buried;
he descended into hell;
the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
I believe a holy catholic church,
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting.

About Our Pastor

Pastor Vicki Cok and her family came to Waterloo Christian Reformed Church in August of 2005. Previous to this move to Canada, they lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she served on the staff of Church of the Servant CRC.

Vicki is a graduate of Calvin College (1982) and Calvin Seminary (2002). Before entering seminary she taught junior high music and English in Visalia, California, married Dennis and moved with him to California's Silicon Valley, worked as a creative services specialist for a software company, and then started a family and began volunteering for anything she could at the Palo Alto CRC. She began her seminary studies at Fuller Seminary North in 1994 and moved to Grand Rapids in 1999 in order to finish at Calvin.

An avid reader, accomplished musician, passionate scrapbooker, and increasingly competitive Scrabble player, Vicki is married to Dennis Cok, a computer software engineer who is passionate about hiking, running, reading, and being a dad. The Coks have three children: Laura, Adam, and Braden.

Says Vicki, "Waterloo CRC has been my church home since the summer of 2005. I am confident that you will receive a genuine welcome here. I have found WCRC to be a caring community that genuinely shares joy and sorrow, doubt and faith. It's a place where it's safe to ask honest questions and to wrestle with deep answers. I warmly invite you to visit us."

You can find Pastor Vicki at the church during her office hours:

• Tuesday 1:30 - 4:00 PM
• Thursday 9:00 - 11:30 AM
• Friday 1:30 - 4:30 PM

Safe Church Policies

According to a 1992 study in the Christian Reformed Church, more than 1 out of every 4 adults reported that they had been abused. These numbers are similar to studies in the general population. The study also said that 15% reported having behaved abusively. The rates are likely higher because people who have been abused or caused abuse usually under-report.

The purpose of the Abuse Prevention and Response Team is "to facilitate and encourage the church in its mission to be Christ's ambassadors in a broken world, fostering repentance and comfort, and upholding the promise of reconciliation to God (2 Corinthians 5:20; 7:10). The focus on prevention is intended as a visible sign of hope in a spiritual community free from every form of abuse". (WCRC Abuse Prevention and Response Policy, 2006).

Follow the links below to view forms, information or websites related to abuse prevention.

• Waterloo CRC Abuse Policy document—The policy and mandates that guide and underpin our efforts in abuse prevention and response.
• Waterloo CRC Abuse Policy appendices—Appendices and forms that can be viewed for your information or printed and signed as required. Appendix 3 is the application to be completed by those who wish to become a ministry provider and appendix 4 is the Memorandum of Agreement that must be signed to indicate your committment to the mandates of the policy.
• Credentials for Program Leaders/Workers—Requirements for persons wishing to serve in leadership or volunteer roles within the ministries of the Waterloo Christian Reformed Church.
• Resources related to abuse, abuse prevention available through Waterloo CRC—listing of videos, books and pamphlets on abuse, domestic violence, abuse in the church, as well as resources for youth and worship.
• Abuse Awareness site of the CRC in North America—Link to the home page of the Abuse Awareness ministry of our denomination.
• Family & Children Services Abuse & Neglect—Link to the site of Family and Children's Services of the Waterloo Region and provides information on how to identify abuse and neglect. From here you can also find links that provide information on how Family and Children's Services responds to a reporting of abuse or neglect.

Members of the team are: Atie Ott, Rick Budding, Ada VandenBerg, Rich VandenBerg, Lorraine VanderHoef.