In 1792 an Americanized constitution of Church government was adopted, which has gone through two revisions since—namely, in 1832 and 1874. The Church continued to grow slowly. In 1800 there were about 100 churches and forty ministers in service. The number of ministers (lid not equal the number of churches until 1845, when there were 375 of each. In 1846 began a new Dutch immigration which settled in the middle West, but is now penetrating even to the Pacific Coast. Shiny of these new-comers fell into the old Dutch Church, and there are now more than 200 churches from this source and as many ministers.
In doctrine the Reformed Church in America has ever adhered to the standards already re ferred to, adopted in Holland. She also indorsed the Westminster Catechism in 1837. Her form of government is of the so-called Presbyterian type, first proposed by Calvin, and was adopted in I56S. This enumerated four classes of offi cers in the Church, viz. ministers, teachers (or professors), elders, and deacons. Four grades of ecclesiastical bodies were also defined, viz. Consistories, Classes, Provincial Synods, and a General Synod. The Reformed Church has a liturgy, hut this is obligatory only in the admin istration of the sacraments and ordinations. It has received some additions from time to time as necessity required. In all other respects her mode of worship is free. The General Synod ns incorporated and holds all funds and endow ments of the theological seminaries, and, in part. of the colleges and other agencies. The General Synod operates through a board of direction. The colleges are also incorporated. as well as the various boards, such as the board of education, the hoard of foreign missions, the board of do mestic missions. The churches exist in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, :\laryland, Ohio, :Michigan, \Viseonsin, Indiana, Illinois, the Dakotas. Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, Montana, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Washington.
in 1903 the Reformed Church in America re ported 633 churches, 703 ministers, 61.000 fam
ilies, and 113,000 communicants. There are also about 119,000 children in the Sabbath schools. Nearly $400,000 was raised during the year for benevolent objects, and $1,250,000 for congregational purposes,. This Church has sev eral flourishing institutions: Rutgers College (1700) and a theological seminary (1784) at New Brunswick, N. J.; Hope College (1866), and the Western Theological Seminary (1866) at Holland, Mich.; and incipient institu tions in other States. The Church has been especially successful on the foreign field. having missions in India, China, Japan, and Arabia, having sent out more than 200 missionaries, male and female. In 1902 the wonderfully successful Classis of Arcot, India, with 25 regularly organ ized churches, many of them having native pas tors, was formally transferred in the interests of Church union to the Synod of South India, of the South Indian United Church. The mis sions in China and Japan are working in hearty union with missions of other denominations.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. Consult: Hansen. The ReBibliography. Consult: Hansen. The Re- formed Church of the Netherlands (New York, ISS4) : Brodhead, History of the State of Nero York (ib., 1353-71) ; Gunn, Memoir of Rev. John H. Livingston, D.D. (ih., 1829; 2d ed. 18(56) ; Demarest, History and Characteristics of the Re formed Church (ib., 1856: 2d ed. 1590) ; id., Centennial Discourses (ib., 1876; 2d ed. 1577) ; Corwin, Manual of Reformed Church (ih., 1359; 4th ed. 1902); id., Centennial of the Theological Seminary at New Brunswick (11)., 1585) ; id., Ecclesiastical Records of the State of New York, published by the State, under the supervision of Hugh Hastings. State Historian. 2 vols., 1620 1700 (Albany, 1901). These are the documents procured by Rev. Dr. Corwin in Holland (1897 9S), with collateral material from other sources: to be followed by four more volumes (1701 1500).