History of Westminster
Faith founded our church in uncertain times…
…through the vision and sacrifice of the people of the First Presbyterian Church. In the summer of 1914, mindful of the rapid growth of South Bluefield as a residential area, they purchased three lots at the corner of Washington and Albemarle Streets planning to start a Sunday School when the time seemed opportune.
Early in 1921, the people of First church believed that time had come. They authorized construction of a Sunday School building on the property acquired seven years before. Their vision became reality on Easter Sunday, 1922, when the outpost Sunday School was organized with an enrollment of 147 people in that new building. Within a few months the attendance was averaging over 200 which led quickly to the decision to plant a church. An associate pastor, the Rev. Dr. Warner DuBose, was called to have charge of the work at the flourishing outpost.
Like the Sunday School, the preaching services which began on April 22, 1923, were very popular and largely attended. Our mother church soon proposed that those of her members, who lived in South Bluefield and cared to, leave that congregation and form this new church. At a meeting of the congregation on October 23, 1923, first church gave the proposed church the Sunday School building it had erected and the manse it had purchased. The two properties represented a commitment of $40,000. Though the Sunday School building was not paid for, First church assumed the entire remaining indebtedness of over $29,000. In addition to this significant monetary investment, the First Presbyterian church also gave us 208 of her members, including many of their most active families. Meeting in the Sunday School building on December 2, 1923, Westminster Presbyterian Church was formally organized with those members from First church, twenty-tree who came from other churches and eight who came professing their faith in Jesus Christ for the first time.
Their vision, their sacrifice, gave us the people and resources that founded our church. Most of those people are gone but their legacy surely remains. Even the building that the First church gave to us still stands as a testimony to their faith (i.e. the office wing and adult Sunday School classrooms). It is used every Sunday in the ongoing ministry of the church.
Just one week following the founding of the church, a building committee was named. The new church had an excellent Sunday School building (including a full gymnasium on the second floor) but there was no sanctuary. They dreamed of a space dedicated to the worship of God. Their vision of a place set apart for worship became reality on June 14, 1925 when the first services were held in our newly completed sanctuary. Dr. DuBose moved on from the church later that same year to become pastor of the First Presbyterian church of Johnson City, Tennessee. Our second pastor, Dr. Charles Groshon Gunn, began ministry here on June 6, 1926.
Vision and reality clashed in 1929 when the stock market crashed. To build the sanctuary the congregation had incurred a $60,000 debt which they planned to retire over ten years. But the economic crisis of the late 1920’s and 30’s severely impacted those plans. Faithful members had endorsed a note for that amount but substantial pledges had been made by individuals who suffered great losses in the Great Depression or who had moved from the area. The anticipated ten years of indebtedness soon reach twenty. But through the mercy and faithfulness of God, the note was paid off November 27, 1946.
Once again, their vision, faith, and sacrifice provided us with one of the buildings used every Sunday in our continuing ministry. We who worship the Lord each week in our beautiful sanctuary are able to do so because those who went before us, at great personal cost, were committed to leaving a legacy of worship for generation to come.
Following World War II, the church entered an era of expansion on all fronts. Prompted by the called of our third pastor, Dr. C.H. Patterson, and coupled with the burning of the church note, the church was on the move. Our current preschool, which originated as a week-day school and kindergarten, had its beginnings in January of 1948. Not only do we celebrate the 84th anniversary of our church this year (2007), but we also celebrate the 59th anniversary of our preschool. We began our own outpost – Westminster Chapel – in a new building on the eastern fringe of Bluefield. Membership in our church, and participation in all of our ministries, was growing rapidly.
Once again with a vision toward the future, the church purchased two houses and lots adjacent to the church in 1953 and 1957. One was used for a few years for overflow activities (especially for youth) and the other (our current youth house) became the manse.
With Westminster bursting at the seams due to a lack of room, early in 1956 the congregation voted to erect a $175,000 education building. The members were asked to pledge the funds necessary for construction. They had their own Special Event, “Step Forward with Westminster”, at the West Virginian Hotel to receive the commitments of the people. Almost $100,000, said to be the largest amount pledged in one night in Bluefield history, was committed at this event. By the end of the week we had received additional commitments bring the total to $158,000. With that much of the money committed, construction on the new building began. It was dedicated on November 7, 1957. At the same time our original Sunday School building was refurbished and the main parking lot constructed. Additional property across the street was later purchased with funds received from the estate of Joseph H. Bowen, Sr., and our lower parking lot added.
From those times in the 1950’s, until today, our existing building have continued to be the staging place for vibrant, biblically grounded, life changing ministries. For 26 years, Dr. Patterson continued to lead us as he said, “giving all who want to work for the Lord an opportunity to do so.”
In the 1970’s, Dr. Al Bixler called us to fall in love all over again, or perhaps for the first time, with our Savior. Lay Renewal ministry teams challenged us to be sure that we did not just know “about” Jesus, but that we really knew him and had experienced the life changing power of the Spirit of God. Though turbulent at times, these years of challenge laid a strong foundation in the continuing process of building a legacy of faith.
Dr. Roger Gulick’s ministry among us in the 1980’s called us to a depth of biblical knowledge and understanding in order to equip the saints for ministry. Ministries such as the Bethel Bible Series took us to new places in seeing the grand themes of God’s revelation of himself in the Scriptures, and the formation of small group ministry brought a new level of intimacy and accountability. College and Career became a place of growth, fellowship, (and marriage) for many of our singles. We reached out into the community ministering to Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS). Youth ministry and Westminster continued to be synonymous as we expanded our ministries to include the outreach of the Winter Youth Conference and youth mission trips under the leadership of Brian Checchio. Missions Conferences brought in speakers, like Ralph Winter, from the U.S. Center for World Missions, and more of our own people heard the call for short and long term mission work.
In the last decade of the 20th century, under the leadership of Rev. Jeff Chadwick, we were called to see the core of our ministry as “bringing people to maturity as faithful followers of Jesus Christ”. We emphasized ministries of worship (i.e. more contemporary styles of worship) and learning and a new commitment to being engaged in the world around us through ministries of witness, compassion and service. Over 150 people were sent out in short term mission service while others committed their lives to career missionary service. In 1991, our commitment to the authority of God’s Word led us to make a change in our denomination affiliation to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, another branch of our Presbyterian and Reformed heritage. Inspired by the faith and vision of our those who went before us at Westminster, and the need to 1) provide improved ministry spaces, 2) facilitate access and upgrade and 3) repair our physical plant in order to continue to minister in the new century, the people of Westminster committed to a 2.1 million dollar renovation which was dedicated in December of 1999.
Now in this new century, the Rev. Howard Finkel, has led us to a new appreciation of our reformed roots and to the biblical command to share our faith to those who do not know Christ as their Lord and Savior. Westminster has also helped launch, with generous contributions and two of its staff, a new church and a new urban ministry. Our own youth ministry has build a unique worship and ministry space adjacent to the Canada House. Seven years after committing to the great financial effort at renovation, we have completed paying the debt. At this writing, the Session is working at the direction of the church to seek God’s further plans.
To God be the Glory!
