NEW HERE?
Service Times
SUNDAY SERIVCE:
8:30am & 10:30am
The Nursery is open and staffed
during the 10:30am service.
SUNDAY SCHOOL:
9:45am
Location
15 N. Chillicothe Street
South Charleston, Ohio
45368
What To Expect
If you are visiting, we will not try to embarrass you, have you stand up, or ask you to give money. We know that many people want to check out a church and “be anonymous” for a while—and that’s fine with us! Come in, enjoy the atmosphere, and see if FPC is for you.
Service
- We offer two service each Sunday - 8:30a and 10:30a. With a children's Sunday School hour in between.
- The entire service normally lasts around an hour, sometimes just a few minutes longer.
- 8:30 Service | The music is typically hymns accompanied by an organ or grand piano.
- 10:30 Service | Contemporary worship music is lead by the Praise Band.
- The message is the same at both service. Often times our sermon series are following a devotional plan through a certain portion of the Bible.
The Building
- Welcome Center | The small table directly inside the parking lot doors is dedicated to providing visitors and regulars alike with updated information about what is going on in our church. There is also children's worksheets available.
- The Coffee Bar | Help yourself to free coffee and hot chocolate! The coffee bar is located on the right side of the Fellowship Hall (the room you enter into through the main entrance) as you walk in from the parking lot.
- The Nursery | The nursury is located on the right end of the Fellowship Hall.
- The Sanctuary | You will find the Sanctuary on the left end of the Fellowship Hall (as you enter from the parking lot) and up a few short stairs. There is also a handicap lift available to access all floors of the building.
- Classrooms | The Sunday School classrooms can be found upstairs for all youth classes.
- The Smith Pavilion | In 2022 we we built a new outdoor space and dedicated it to the ministry of Dick and Linda Smith. The Pavilion allows a safe space for groups and ministries to gather outside as well as provides us with a space to hold special worship services throughout the year.
Childcare
- Our Nursery, for children from infant through age 4, is located just inside the main entrance to the right. This nursery is unstaffed during both services, but you and your child are also welcome to make use of it during the service. There is a live feed to the Sanctuary so you can watch and hear the service upstairs.
- For older children we offer Children's Church after the music portion of each service. This time allows kids ages Pre-K to 4th to hear a message at their learning level and enjoy Bible based activities.
Wear
- You'll find people dressed in blue jeans, tailored suits, and everything in between! Whatever is most comfortable for you is fine with us. We're not as interested in what you wear as we are in you--so, please, just come as yourself.
What We Believe
We believe that God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to die for us in order that we might have a personal relationship with Him and someday spend eternity in heaven. We believe in the Bible as God's holy message to us and that Jesus is the only way for eternal salvation.
FPC's 7 Essentials
Our church is a reformed and evangelical congregation. Our purpose is to exalt Jesus Christ by encouraging one another, equipping believers, and expanding the Kingdom of God. Being reformed, we are a confessional church adhering to the historical statements of the church, most notably the Apostles’ Creed and the Westminster Confession of Faith. Attached is a summary of our congregation’s essential doctrines:
The Bible is Error-free
Is the Bible, as written, completely reliable or are there mistakes?
This is a good question. If we believe that the Bible is the foundation of our faith, then knowing that it is telling us the truth is vitally important. In short, the Bible is absolutely reliable.
Why we use the ESV
As Bible-believing Christians who are convinced that the Bible is the Word of God, inspired and inerrant, we believe getting the Word of God in people’s hands is a top priority! With that, it is our task to get the clearest and most reliable translation.
Attached is a statement as to why we use the ESV translation.
Want to learn more about the Bible? Check out our seminar series How'd I Get My Bible.
WHO IS JESUS?
Jesus is God, and He left the safety of heaven about 2,000 years ago. He entered our world and breathed our air and shared our pain and walked in our shoes. He was fully God and fully man. This does not mean that Jesus had the capacity to sin; this could not and would not happen. Yet He was a man. He was in a human body. He felt human emotion. He faced physical limitations. He felt real pain. It was actual blood coursing through His veins. Yet He was deity. He was God in human form.
OUR SESSION
FPC is overseen by Elders, a group of people who have been called by God and elected by the congregation for a 3-year term. Elders make most of the decisions involving the life of the church family. They are charged with the spiritual leadership, teaching, protection, care, and discipline of the congregation.
Current Session
Pastor Aaron White, Nathan Simpson, Justin Sparks, A.J. Woods
Our Pastor
Many who look at the pastor’s description are often asking questions of his background, family, hobbies, doctrine, and ministry commitments. Often based on who the pastor is and how he preaches, an individual or family will choose to visit a church and potentially make it their home.
In light of this, before I start, I feel compelled to say that I shepherd this particular church with great passion derived from my experience of the unmerited love of the gospel wherein Jesus died the death I should have died, rose from the dead for my new life, and now sits in bodily form as my advocate at the right hand of the Father’s power as King and Lord. However, I am but one of a group of leaders called elders who lead this church. It is important to emphasize this because this is not my church. It is Jesus’ church. This church is not run by a single personality but governed and shepherded by a plurality of elders specifically chosen by God to equip His people towards greater Christ-likeness.
OUR DEACONS
The FPC Deacons serve our church by managing facility repair, keeping track of finances, and organizing fellowship activities. They also serve the South Charleston Community through the Food Pantry and other outreaches.
Current Deaconate
Mitchell Burton, Tim Shankle, Bryan Thompson, Pam Vaughn
HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR HISTORY
EARLY CHURCH HISTORY
- 1822 Presbyterian "Society" established in area
- 1824 First Presbyterian organized church body in South Charleston
- 1833 First church building built on the corner of Chillicothe and John Streets
1854 Rev. John Haight hired as first resident minister
1858 Church moved to present location
1890 Rev. James King Gibson begins 25 year ministry
1907 Current church building is dedicated
1972 Celebrated 150 Years
RECENT CHURCH HISTORY
- 2004 Dedication of Gilbert's Youth Center
- 2006 New Christian Education wing is built
- 2008 Stained glass window renovations begin
- 2018 Called Pastor Aaron White to FPC
- 2022 Celebrated 200 Years
