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A church Blessed to be a blessing

Westminster Presbyterian Church, which started as a small mission chapel on what is now Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, in Greensboro, NC, quietly observed its 117th anniversary on October 12, 2004. As of the spring of 2002, a survey revealed that Westminster had the ninth largest membership among Presbyterian churches (U.S.A.) in North Carolina. In 2005 we were running out of space and after continued to grow with multiple services. In a leap of faith, we launch a multi-campus site. We now worship on Sundays at the West Friendly Avenue campus and the Lake Brandt Campus in Northwest Greensboro.

Throughout its history, Westminster has had a strong commitment to missions and always has tried to be faithful as the body of Jesus Christ. The third oldest Presbyterian church in Greensboro, Westminster was officially organized on Oct. 12. 1887. However the genesis of the church came in August 1879, when Greensboro's First Presbyterian Church purchased a lot for a small mission chapel in the 400 block of what was then Asheboro Street. In 1883, a mission chapel was built on the site.

Thereafter, Sunday School and worship services were conducted more or less regularly. The work was carried on in this manner until October 12, 1887, when a commission met and organized Westminster Church with 85 members, 80 of whom came from First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro. The first pastor was the Rev. Egbert W. Smith, associate pastor at First Presbyterian. He served Westminster from 1887-1890.

Westminster remained on Asheboro Street until 1958 and replaced its original wooden church building there with a new building in 1913. Following Dr. Smith, Westminster's earlier pastors, and the year they started, were the Rev. J. Horace Lacy, 1890, the Rev. S. O. Hall, 1893; Dr. Charles E. Hodgin, 1899; the Rev. W. P. Jones, 1937; the Rev. C. D. Mosser, 1949; and the Rev. Marion S. Huske, 1954.

In 1957, with the help of Orange Presbytery, land was purchased at what is now 3906 Friendly Avenue and the church, with a membership of 202, voted to build a new structure there. Steps were taken to sell the property on Asheboro Street to another denomination. In 1959, the Rev. William D. Varker came to Westminster and held services at Kiser Junior High while the new church was being constructed. Dedication of the new building, which is now the present-day church Chapel, was held on May 8, 1960.

Under Rev. Varker's leadership, Westminster began to grow again. With this growth, the need for more facilities for the church's Christian education program became obvious, and in 1967 a two-story educational wing was completed. After 10 years, Rev. Varker accepted a call to a larger church and was replaced by the Rev. Herbert L. Underwood, who served Westminster from 1970-73. Membership at Westminster had reached 571 members in 1971, but by 1974 it was down in 421. Rev. Underwood was succeeded by the Rev. Richard A. Brand, who served the church from 1974-76. During these years, Dr. Joseph M. Garrison served the church on several occasions as interim pastor.

Rev. Varker returned to Westminster on August 21, 1977, and stayed until he retired in 1992. Under his leadership, the church grew again to about 500 members by 1981, and Westminster entered into a major building program, constructing its $1,448,000 Sanctuary and Fellowship Hall. To help fund the new building, members made gifts and pledges over a five-year period. A new church loan was arrange to cover the remaining cost. The new Sanctuary was finished in time for Westminster to observe its 100th anniversary on October 12, 1987. The Rev. John Redhead, who had retired after many years as pastor of Greensboro's First Presbyterian Church, was guest speaker for the special 100th anniversary dedication program.

Following Rev. Varker's retirement, the Rev. Leighton Culler served as interim minister of the church. During that time, worship at Westminster was enhanced by the purchase and installation of two manual, Schantz pipe organ designed especially for our Sanctuary. Thereafter, in February of 1993, the Rev. Robert W. Henderson began his ministry at the church.

Under his leadership, Westminster has more than tripled its membership from 486 in 1993 to 2,000 in 2007. The introduction of a contemporary worship service began January 12, 1997. Since then 2 additional contemporary worship services have been added. In January 2005, a third contemporary service at another campus site was launched. This is the first multi-site effort for the church. The serviceswas first held in at the Greensboro Day School's Sloan Theatre and other school facilities are available for special events such as basketball and soccer clinics, sock hops in the gym and music in the park. In 2007, the campus moved from the Sloan Theatre to a former church owned by the Day School at 4747 Lake Brandt Road. There has been a dramatic increase in the church's outreach endeavors, and expanded youth programs.

"Our church is blessed to be a blessing ot others," said Rev. Henderson. "Through our worship and Christian education, we seek to bring people into a fuller experience of faith in God and then give them avenues for expressing that faith in very tangible ways by serving others."

In February 2008, Rev. Henderson accepted another call after serving Westminster for 15 years. Associate Pastors Rev. Cindy Higgins and Rev. Mark Brainderd conduct the worship services. A transition team is working on calling an interim pastor while a Pastoral Nominating Committee will be looking for a senior pastor to call. Read about the Transition news.