First Presbyterian Church

Today we worshiped at First Presbyterian Church, 252 College Avenue, Beaver, PA 15009, 724.774.6398, www.fpcbeaver.com., Rev. Jeff Arnold, Senior Pastor.


Bob’s thoughts:

This church has very good signage, including a “you are here” kind of site map at two of the entrances I used. It is a large enough facility that the map was appreciated.

We were welcomed by a number of people (at a 3-service church) and an extensive introduction by one man who didn’t give his name.

The blended service was in the fellowship hall which we found by accident while touring. The fellowship hall was an addition and some of the original stone wall and glass was incorporated. I noticed there was sprinkler protection, a real asset for a church.

Got a peek at the awesome Sanctuary – great wood work and stained glass. Also creative placement of crosses in both the Sanctuary and fellowship hall.

I thought the voices of the praise team blended very well. The screens were not used for this service, but this was explained by a note in the bulletin seeking someone to run a PowerPoint for the 9 a.m. service. We were told that the church has about 600 members. An impressive new members class was received and the service we attended was about at its limit.

The sermon, “What Does Recovery Look Like,” was delivered in two parts with a time of Confession of Sin in the middle. I pray the congregation felt the affect of “I Surrender All.” I thought it was very powerful.

Some of the sermon connected Matthew 5 and the 12-step program. The message was delivered well and I appreciated the obvious, heartfelt passion of the pastor. Too often I hear Christ’s message given with the passion of a rock. How can anyone believing Christ not be on fire in the Spirit to tell of Him?

I noted good evidence of extensive mission efforts and the offering was taken in response to the Word.

The Statement of Faith was spoken together as a benediction followed by the benediction by the pastor.

A highlight for me – a reminder was given of a prayer meeting for Haiti later in the day.

Jan’s thoughts:

With the stone exterior I expected an old church, and in some ways I was correct: this church is over 200 years old. However, they’ve certainly kept up with the times with a beautiful renovation inside including an addition, abundant signage inside and out, well-kept premises, a very informative website, and a move into the world of multi-site churches.

There may have been other parking, but the only parking we saw was on the front street where there were sandwich-boards indicating reserved parking for seniors. We walked past a ramped entrance where there was a sign indicating the direction of the main entrance. Once inside that door, however, we found ourselves in a small foyer adjoining the Sanctuary where, unfortunately, the early worship service was in progress. As we had just come in from the cold rain, we opted to head for the doors across the side of the Sanctuary as quietly and unobtrusively as possible, hopefully not distracting the worshipers in the process.

The Sanctuary, however, is quite beautiful with dark wood boasting intricate details on the ceiling, lovely stained-glass windows, and gorgeous chandeliers.

With three services (traditional at 8 and 11:15 and the one we attended, a blended service, at 9), we expected not to be recognized as visitors. Instead we were welcomed by several people who took a chance and asked if we were new there and who then extended an invitation to the adult Sunday school classes. Prior to worship, one gentleman took the time to tell us a little about the church’s missions and history along with the multi-site plans.

Worship was held in a large multi-purpose room and was crowded. The music was mostly contemporary, but extremely well done and with a beautiful sound by 4 or 5 women and 3 men. The bulletin is one 11 x 17 sheet folded in half and today included one insert with photos and a few words about each of the 25 new members who officially joined today.

The pastor was dynamic and passionate in his preaching. It took some effort for me to remain unbiased as he reminded me very much of a dear friend.

One of the new programs starting up next month is called “Celebrate Recovery.” It originated at Saddleback Church and is a Christ-centered version of the 12-step recovery program used at AA, NA, and probably numerous other organizations. It aims at seeking God’s healing to recover from habitual sins in our lives, and the sermon was about recovery based on the Beatitudes. The sermon outline gave specific steps based on Matthew 5 to aid in this quest for healing and recovery. Interestingly, he gave the first half of the message then stopped and we had the Confession, Assurance, and Response, then part two of the sermon. The sermon included some congregational participation, and the music, most of which was new to me, was powerful. I plan to keep the words to “I Will Change Your Name” just to read and reflect upon:

I Will Change Your Name
I will change your name, you shall no longer be called wounded, outcast, lonely or afraid.
I will change your name, your new name shall be confidence, joyfulness, overcoming one, faithfulness, friend of God, one who seeks my face.
Powerful words and a thought-provoking message that touched my heart.

Since this is part 3, I plan to access previous and subsequent sermons via the website in order to catch up. I’m pretty certain they’ll be worth the time.