User:Heyitsmelindsay/sandbox

First Presbyterian Church
First Presbyterian, viewed from the west side.
First Presbyterian Church
38°57′01″N 92°19′31″W
Country	United States Missouri
Denomination	Presbyterian
Website	[1]
Administration
Synod	Mid-America
Presbytery	Missouri Union
Clergy
Minister(s)	Rev. Marvin Lindsay

First Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian church in Columbia, Missouri. The church is one of the oldest religious institutions in Columbia, having existed for over 180 years. It has relocated multiple times, and has had a major influence among the Christian population of Columbia throughout the years.

History

Nineteenth century

Rev. William Cochren and Rev. Thomas Durfee were dispatched in 1828 by the Presbyterian Home Missionary Association of New York to establish a church in Columbia, Missouri. The first of the church's four buildings was constructed in 1832. In 1846, the congregation moved to a brick facility on the southeast corner of Broadway and Tenth Street.

The church space was used for both religious and educational purposes. In 1833, the Columbia Female Academy, the first girls' school in Columbia congregated in First Presbyterian's newly constructed facility.

First Presbyterian played an influential role in the early days of the University of Missouri. FPC member John Gordon donated the land that Jesse Hall would eventually be constructed on, and nine church members donated money to aid with the university's establishment. The first recipient of a master's degree from MU, Frank Hart, also served as the church's pastor. Many of the university's classes were hosted in First Presbyterian's spaces after the town burned down in 1892.

The church's bell was purchased in 1850. It was the second institution in Boone County, Missouri to do so, after the county court house. The bell was migrated between the church's two subsequent facilities and continues to be used to this day. The brick building was torn down and rebuilt in 1893 on the same site. The rebuilt church would be the longest-used of First Presbyterian's structures to date, having been used for 73 years.

First Presbyterian's first two facilities.

Twentieth century and contemporary history

In 1926, First Presbyterian purchased a home on Hitt street from the Garth family for $25,000 to be used for student outreach on the MU campus. Sunday morning services were regarded as successful, with around 350 students attending on average. The Garth home was also used for housing extra offices for the church, as well as a meeting space for the Boy Scouts of America.

The congregation began moving its facilities out of the Broadway location in the 1950's. A student center was constructed on the church's modern day Hitt street property in 1953, and was accompanied by an education building the following year. It wouldn't be until the next decade that the church officially moved into its new worship space. The relocation occurred on March 27, 1966, when senior pastor John McMallen and campus minister Van Shaw led a procession from the old to the new buildings. The first worship service in the Hitt street building included a baptism.

The 1960's also saw the rise of female involvement in the church's administration. In 1964, Naomi Wallin was elected as the first female elder of First Presbyterian, and she would become one of three women to have commissioner seats in the PCUSA General Assembly in 1965.