Our Mission

Inside Sanctuary

Our mission is to glorify and enjoy God by making mature disciples of Jesus Christ who are equipped to serve our community and the world.

To do this, we are committed to God’s Word, the Bible.  We aim to proclaim the whole counsel of God found therein.  Our preaching and teaching is centered on the Bible as the only infallible rule of faith and practice.  We emphasize the ordinary means of grace: the Word, sacraments, and prayer, as the way God transforms and works in his people.

 

Six key values our church strives for:

  • God-Focused Worship – We regularly praise God through personal, family, and meaningful corporate worship. (Psalm 95:1-7a; Hebrews 10:24-25)
  • Christ-Centered Instruction – We encourage personal, family, and corporate growth through the consistent and diligent study of God’s Word and through practical obedience to God’s Word in our daily lives. (Colossians 1:28; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
  • Spirit-Led Community – We establish loving, caring relationships with each other in order that we may build one another up to more Christ-like lives. (Hebrews 10:24-25; John 13:34-35)
  • Other-Focused Service – We encourage and enable ministry to one another’s needs in the church and the community.  We participate in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ through personal witness as well as investing heavily in local, national, and world missions.
    (Galatians 6:9-10; Acts 1:8)
  • Every Member Involved – We want to see every member using their gifts “for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13).
  • Kingdom-Focused Prayer– We Celebrate God by taking our situations to prayer, learning to pray together in small groups and community groups. We emphasize prayer in our services, our programs, and our staff team.

For more about what we believe and our denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America, check out our What We Believe page.

 

History

Members of a small Bible study began to sense the Lord’s call to start a church in 1982, one committed to the reformed faith and that the Bible is without error in all it teaches.  The church officially started on November 14, 1982, and was recognized as a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).  Some of the 62 members came from Grace PCA, who transferred their property to WPC.  The first five elders were installed, and Ruben Wallace was called to serve as the stated supply minister.

  • 1983: Jayme S. Sickert became the first full-time pastor. He faithfully served seven years, before leaving to work with the denomination in Georgia with Mission to North America.
  • 1984: First service in the original sanctuary, now the fellowship hall
  • 1987: Terry R. Baxley added as an associate pastor. He served four years before planting a church in Maryland.
  • 1989: The present 350-seat sanctuary was built
  • 1990: David M. Bryan succeeded Rev. Sickert as senior pastor. He led the church for seven years before pastoring a church in Tennessee.
  • 1990: Alan Johnson became assistant pastor to replace Rev. Baxley, and served three years before becoming a senior pastor in Georgia
  • 1991: Bailey Manor, the PCA retirement home in Clinton with a close relationship to WPC, opened its doors
  • 1995: Brian Austin replaced Rev. Johnson as assistant pastor, and served for the next three years. Also about this time, WPC began to sponsor Campus Outreach at Presbyterian College, a ministry that has impacted the lives of hundreds of students.
  • 1999: Larry J. Gamble succeeded Rev. Bryan as senior pastor and served seven years. Several more assistants passed through, including Philip McClimon, who left to serve as a Navy Chaplain, Tim Bowers, and Geoff Henderson, who now pastors in Florida.
  • 2003: A final building project completed more classrooms, a kitchen, and recreation facilities
  • 2005: Bill Barton served as interim pastor with the departure of Rev. Gamble. At the end of the year, James T. Roberts took over as the fourth senior pastor and served us for 15 years.
  • 2020: Jim Braden will be joining Westminster as interim pastor in June 2020.

Now, many years, later, we celebrate how God has graciously provided for us! The church remains firmly committed to the reformed faith and the Scriptures. We look forward to the future the Lord has planned for us!