First Presbyterian Church (Houston)

First Presbyterian Church
Location Houston, Texas
Country  USA
Denomination ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians
Previous denomination Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
History
Dedicated 1839

The First Presbyterian Church is a church in the Museum District of Houston, Texas.[1] As of 2012 it had 3,567 members.[2]

History

The church was founded in 1839 by Rev. James Weston Miller.[3][4] He was from Pennsylvania as a foreign missionary in the Republic of Texas. The congregation consisted of 13 charter members. Later the congregation become a prominent member of the Southern Presbyterian Church, and planted several Presbyterian congregations in Houston. The church grew rapidly. First Presbyterian begun mission efforts to South Korea and Brazil.[5]

In 2001 B. William Vanderbloemen was elected as the church's pastor.[1] Vanderbloemen resigned in January 2007 after taking leave in December 2006.[6]

In February 2014 the church voted whether or not to sever ties with the PCUSA. First Presbyterian narrowly voted to stay with the denomination.[7][8]

The building behind the Carnegie Library served from 1896 until it burned down in 1932.

In November 2016 the church voted to leave the PCUSA and align with ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians.[9][10]

The senior pastor is Jim Birchfield.[11]

School

Presbyterian School is on the grounds of the church.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Minister elected to lead First Presbyterian Church". Houston Chronicle. 2001-11-12. Retrieved 2017-02-16. "Vanderbloemen said First Presbyterian is in the middle of a growing Museum District that is attracting new residents."
  2. ↑ http://www.pcusa.org/media/uploads/research/pdfs/2012-cs-table6.pdf www.pcusa.org/media/uploads/research/pdfs/2012-cs-table6.pdf
  3. ↑ Carole E. Christian, "MILLER, JAMES WESTON," Handbook of Texas Online <http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fmi18>, accessed October 08, 2014. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
  4. ↑ Robert Finney Miller, 'Early Presbyterianism in Texas as Seen by Rev. James Weston Miller, D. D.', The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 2, 1915, pp. 159-183
  5. ↑ http://www.fpchouston.org/history.php www.fpchouston.org/history.php
  6. ↑ Vara, Richard (2007-02-03). "Vanderbloemen resigns senior pastorate of Houston's First Presbyterian Church". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  7. ↑ Walters, Edgar (2014-02-23). "Houston Church Opts Not to Defect From Denomination". Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  8. ↑ Tolson, Mike (2014-02-24). "First Presbyterian narrowly votes to stay with denomination". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  9. ↑ http://www.christianpost.com/news/texas-presbyterian-megachurch-votes-leave-pcusa-for-conservative-eco-171803/
  10. ↑ http://fpchouston.org/denomination/
  11. ↑ http://www.fpchouston.org/senior_pastor.php www.fpchouston.org/senior_pastor.php

Coordinates: 29°43′40″N 95°23′20″W / 29.7277°N 95.3888°W / 29.7277; -95.3888


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