A Great Cloud of Witnesses

 First Presbyterian Church is a member of the Presbyterian Church, USA. We were started in 1955 by local families who deliberately chose to locate on this corner.  They wanted the church to be visible to the many people visiting the downtown,  serving in the military, attending the public school once across the street, or simply passing by on the busy highway. 

The congregation first met in the Old Armory building on highway 84 until the Sanctuary and Sunday school  buildings were constructed. Under the leadership of Olin Fraser, members came each night after their regular jobs to lay bricks and drive nails until dark. Each night the women of the church provided covered dishes and one of the men grilled food in the court yard for the working crew.  This was the first air conditioned church in the county and had the largest seating capacity of 250 people.  Pastors were Raymond Nelson, Harvey Overton, Frank Herrington, Edgar Byers, Dan Lott, Dick Gates, and Tom Mueller.

 In 1975 the church began a pre-school through Kindergarten which eventually grew to the fifth grade level. In 2006, through a generous gift of the Church’s property and with the community’s strong support, a new two story building was constructed allowing the school to be expanded to the twelfth grade level.  We are pleased to continue our strong support of First Presbyterian Christian Academy, through leadership, financial support, and the use of our facilities.  We are proud of the school’s academic excellence, quality sports programs, and most importantly Christ-centered education.  Today we congratulate the class of 2012!  We are proud of you.

                        What is a Presbyterian ?

Presbyterians are Christians and part of a family of reformed churches, which began with the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Our leaders included theologians Huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin and John Knox. Many Presbyterians emigrated to the New World in the 17th century and helped to found our nation. A Presbyterian minister, John Witherspoon, signed the Declaration of Independence.

We are called Presbyterians because we are governed by “presbyters” or in modern English “elders.” They are elected, ordained and make decisions on behalf of the congregation and on regional and national levels too. Similar to the United States’ form of government, we are representational.

Presbyterians believe that it is necessary to receive Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. We also believe the purpose of the church is (1) the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind, (2) the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God, (3) the maintenance of divine worship, (4) the preservation of the truth, (5) the promotion of social righteousness, and (6) the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.

               For more information on the Presbyterian Church visit
                  www. PCUSA.org or www.savannahpresbytery.org